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Barry Kalpinski

News

Timothy Bauer at Canoecopia 2024

Canoecopia 2024 is almost upon us! Best yet, paddling proselytizer, guidebook scribe, and Milespaddled.com’s own Timothy Bauer will be presenting two talks over the three-day event. That’s right,  not one, but two presentations that will surely be equal parts…

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Wisconsin River XX

Otter Rapids Dam to County Road O: This trip on the upper Wisconsin River is one of the DNR’s six recommended routes located within the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest, and it comes with two very distinct personalities. The…

Video

Crawfish River Video: Columbus to Astico Park

Here’s some video of a Crawfish River section which was a far more interesting paddle than I ever expected. The first half is narrow and intimate with easily-navigable deadfall followed by a section strewn with boulders, boulder gardens, and…

Video

Crystal River Video: Rural to Shadow Lake Road

Here’s some video of one of my favorite paddles on the Crystal River near Waupaca, Wisconsin, a lightwater paddle that’s pure fun over crystal clear water with an amazing amount of diversity from beginning to end for beginner and/or…

Video

Kishwaukee River South Branch Video: Kingston to Irene Road

Video of the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River, a generally easy-going and beginner-friendly trip at first, before flowing through two forest preserves full of large amounts of deadfall which require the right skill level and patience to navigate…

Video

Big Rib River Video: County Road A to Rib Falls

Here’s some Big Rib River video of an unassuming but really engaging and somewhat-secluded section captured last year. With modest outcrops and plenty of gentle riffles, it’s a fun day trip that’s perfect for novice paddlers, provided the water’s…

Video

Tomorrow River Video: Nelsonville to Amherst

Video of the short but popular upstream section of Central Wisconsin’s Tomorrow-Waupaca River that begins as a charming and woodsy small-stream paddle, but then transitions to wide marsh-like environs towards the takeout. (Adjust to 4k for the best picture.)…

Video

Kishwaukee River Video: County Line Road to Red Horse Bend

Kishwaukee River video of a simply solid Northern Illinois day trip. While not particularly scenic, there’s enough unique features to keep it interesting. When the water levels are right, it’s worth a visit. Have a look. (Adjust to 4k for the…

News

Miles Paddled 2022 Year in Review

With another year in the (dry) bag, we’re officially calling it on 2022 in a very short year-end review. For us, it was a relatively quiet – but very good year of paddling new miles. We posted 16 trip…

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Crawfish River IV

Columbus to Astico Park: A far more interesting paddle than I ever expected due to a surprising amount of variety – provided, you enjoy some wide-river paddling. The first half is narrow and intimate with easily-navigable deadfall followed by…

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Crystal River I

Rural to Shadow Lake Road: The Crystal River is just that, crystal clear and as charming as the town of Rural that it flows through. It’s never very deep and you’re never far from civilization, so it’s about as…

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Kishwaukee River: South Branch

Kingston to Irene Road: A tale of two personalities on a long-ish section of the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River, a generally easy-going and beginner-friendly trip at first, before flowing through two forest preserves full of large amounts…

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Big Rib River II

County Road A to Rib Falls: There’s something unassuming and subtle, but really engaging about this somewhat-secluded section of the Big Rib River. With many modest outcrops and plenty of gentle riffles, it makes for a scenic and fun…

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Tomorrow River

Nelsonville to Amherst: This short but popular section of the Tomorrow-Waupaca River located in Central Wisconsin is an easy-going paddle that begins as a charming and woodsy small-stream paddle at the put-in, and then transitions to wide marsh-like environs…

★ ★ ★

Kishwaukee River II

County Line Road to Red Horse Bend: A simply solid Northern Illinois day float, this section of the Kishwaukee River is a delightfully appealing paddle with easy accesses to boot. While not particularly scenic, there’s enough unique features to keep…

Video

Des Plaines River Video

Here’s some video of the Des Plaines River I captured last fall. A sliver of an oasis located between a densely populated area of northeastern Illinois that flows through the open wetlands of a series of preserves, this trip…

Video

Deerskin River Video

For your viewing pleasure, here’s our Deerskin River video which captured one of the more unexpectedly delightful paddles of 2021. It’s a mostly undeveloped river that gently meanders through classic northern Wisconsin landscape over crystal clear water, a sandy bottom…

Video

Grant River Video: Short Cut Road to County Road U

Best paddled in spring when the foliage is less dense to expose more of its stunning features, this section of the Grant River has long been one of our favorite Wisconsin driftless paddles. The usual riffles and rock formations…

Video

New Wood River Video

New Wood River is a short lightwater trip which is quite delightful when running. With constant riffles and occasional Class I waves, it’s best considered a companion run to others in the area due to its short length. (Adjust to…

News

Miles Paddled 2021 Year in Review

Well look at that, another year has passed and we’re once again looking back in our year-end review. 2021 was an interesting year for MilesPaddled.com. From an outsider’s perspective, we may not have appeared all that busy, but behind-the-scenes…

News

Running Free: The Baraboo River Restoration Story

If you’ve ever paddled the Boo, specifically the downtown section, I recommend watching Running Free: The Baraboo River Restoration Story. It’s a short film about what’s resulted from dam removals on the river which once shaped the local economy. Removal…

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Des Plaines River

Russell Road to Wadsworth Road: This section of the Des Plaines River is a sliver of an oasis located between a densely populated area of northeastern Illinois that flows through the open wetlands of a series of preserves. This trip…

★ ★ ★ ★

Deerskin River

Deerskin Road/Forest Road 2199 to Rangeline Road: The Deerskin River is a wild and mostly undeveloped little gem that gently meanders through classic northern Wisconsin landscape over crystal clear water, a sandy bottom and around occasional glacial erratic boulders. It’s…

★ ★ ★ ★

Grant River I

Short Cut Road to County Road U: When it comes to Wisconsin driftless paddles, the Grant is as captivating as they come with its twists, turns, riffles and rock formations. However, there’s currently one big caveat and by big, we…

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New Wood River

County Highway E to Tesch Road: A short northcentral Wisconsin lightwater trip, (made even shorter due to the closure of the once popular put-in just upstream from this ad hoc access point) the New Wood River is wildly appealing…

News

Miles Paddled 2021

Hey all, apologies for the downtime the last couple months but I had a “whole thing” I had to fix (like, moving the entire site). The good news is that we’re back up and the site is healthier than…

News

Miles Paddled 2020 Year in Review

So 2020 wasn’t what any of us were expecting, but here we are on day one of a whole new year with hope for better things ahead. Emphasis on hope because let’s face it, nobody wants to relive another…

Feature

20 Best Paddles of 2020

In keeping with Miles Paddled tradition, we’re pleased to bring you our annual year-end list of favorite paddles from the past season. While 2020 was challenging for a number of reasons, perhaps the easiest part was choosing twenty of…

News

Miles Paddled Threadless Shop

Hey all, this isn’t necessarily new news if you’re a regular to the site, but we’ve added a second store for Miles Paddled and Wisconsin paddling gear in our Threadless Shop. Threadless affords us the ability to offer items…

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