SHUTTLE PLAN CHANGES
Due to the unavailability of a bus to contract with for our shuttle, we will have to use ride sharing for the Appleton Locks Paddle. We encourage you to arrange to have someone drop off you and your gear at the launch at Lutz Park and pick you up at Sunset Park. We will ask for volunteer drivers willing to take several paddlers from the takeout back to the launch, leaving their vehicles at Lutz. The volunteers will be given rides back to Lutz after the paddle. Wearing of masks in the vehicles is advised, though the requiring of masks will be left to the driver.
The high flow on the Fox River that delayed the Appleton Locks Paddle in August has passed on through, creating the best prospects in years that the tour of the four Appleton locks will actually happen as planned on Saturday, Sept. 25. A strong current that can draw boats in toward the dams, particularly at Appleton Lock 4 below the E. College Avenue Bridge, has led paddle organizers to set 6,000 cubic feet per second, as measured by a U.S. Geological Service gauge in Appleton’s Lutz Park, as the safety limit for this paddle. That has led to the locks tour turning into an out-and-back trip upstream from Kimberly’s Sunset Park in recent years. After heavy rains, the flow early this month topped 9,000 cfs, but little rain brought a substantial drop in flow to readings lately under 4,000 cfs. Lightning can still cause cancellation, so check the weather and our website or Facebook page for the latest information.