Root River Days.

Every spring, during the ensuing snowmelt and April showers, a diamond in the rough shows up in Southeastern Wisconsin. Just an hour away from WaveDog’s hometown of Madison, The Root River runs through downtown Racine.

The Root is generally considered to be a park ‘n’ play spot, with a small carry up from the take out. When it reaches levels above 1200 cfs, it develops some wave and holes that rival many popular playspots in this country.


Check out the AW description here:

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_state-summary_state_WI_

This morning, Steve B. and I loaded up the truck and made the drive out, despite the frigid temps. There are three main playspots at this level (1400 cfs). The first one is “Upper Pipeline” which is a sweet “V” shaped wave. While too shallow to really do anything vertical, it’s a great wave to grind and spin for a good warm-up.

The next feature is “Lower Pipeline” which is a pretty cool feature, I’ve never really seen another wave like this one anywhere else. At this level and higher levels, it is a river-wide green, steep wave. There is a bit of a catcher’s mitt at the top, and is reminiscent of a mini-version of some Hawaiian off-shore breaks. This is a wave that makes you feel like you could set your paddle down next to you while you are surfing, and pick it up again in a minute or two. It’s that smooth.

Finally, the crowning feature of the Root River (especially at these levels), “All Evil”! This is a feature that is extremely unique to Midwest rivers. At levels around 1400 and up, this hole starts to develop some Rock Island characteristics. Big and meaty, it will deliver a beatdown, regardless if you are careful or not!

This is where Steve and I spent the majority of our time. This level was a little lower than ideal, which made the “slide-out” onto the surfer’s right shoulder a little tricky and flushy, but once you get on, watch out! The surfer’s right shoulder is great for delivering lefty blunts, and we discovered that there is a nice seam between the shoulder and the meat that allows you to plug in for loops and godzillas. Overall, most of us hang on for dear life!

Surfing a hole like this all day made me thankful that I was paddling a WaveDog! The natural, continous flex of the wood really saved my shoulders and wrists. I’ve used carbon paddles in big holes like this before and would have to hit the “Vitamin I” bottle afterwards. Not so with my WaveDog! As I write this I feel great and am ready for another session!

Thanks to Steve Bletsch for the Photos.

See you next time!