Scheduled trip on the lower DuPage was canceled, as the pushy state of the water down there was thought to be a bit beyond the Advanced Beginner rating. Instead, seven interested paddlers revisited the section from Naperville to Plainfield (Weigand Park at Washington St. to 135th St.) This section had been canceled two weeks previous due to bad weather.
Water level here was dropping steadily, so it was a fine trip for beginners or anyone. (Naperville gauge about 450 cfs at 6.5 ft.) Brisk current took us from Weigand Riverside Park to lunch stop at 111th St. quickly. Along the way we watched herons and egrets, cormorants, hawks and vultures. We commented how much more enjoyable was lunch at Riverview Farmstead compared to last year when we huddled in the shelter against rain, hail and chilly winds. Actually, the sun dipped behind clouds at lunch time, but soon re-emerged. We had sunny skies and a little headwind for the brief trip to the take out at Eaton Preserve, 135th St. Thanks Larry Stine for bringing me and muddy Sparky back to our car afterwards.