NATHAN INVINCIBLE

I'd previously paddled the West Branch Ontonagon from Bergland to Norwich at much lower flows. The river had plenty of rocks and sandbars to pull up onto, and the rapids were all very approachable. So when a group of paddleboarders reached out wanting to hit the river at spring flow, I was a little hesitant. How would the rapids be at more than double flow (800+ CFS) I'd previously run them at? How would paddleboarders fare in rapids anyway? I've only gone through rapids in a kayak and with canoeists, so my familiarity with anything but the flattest water for paddleboarding was very limited.

Let's give it a try and find out!

Turns out one of the paddleboarders had paddled across all five Great Lakes, so he was an expert. They all had dry suits and were ready for swims, which two of them did regularly for various reasons. We didn't run into any major blow downs which was our biggest fear, leaving nothing but fast moving water to contend with.

It was fast alright! The upper few miles blew past as the river dropped through the usual rapidy stretch. The elevation change subsided a bit, but not the rapids. All rocks and boulders were covered and the river was fairly rowdy at spring flows. There were a few big waves which attempted to gobble us whole but we pushed through. By the time we reached the flat water at the Cascade Creek confluence, we were all smiles. It was a beautiful run and I only wished I could have gotten more photos along the way!

We put in at the M-28 bridge to avoid some properly sketchy water between the dam and M-28, and took out at Norwich Road.