Maumee River Kayaking - 137 Mile Solo Thru Paddle (Fort to Port)

Approximate mileage:
Day 1: 21 miles
Day 2: 24 miles
Day 3: 41 miles
Day 4: 26 miles
Day 5: 25 miles

Partial Gear List:
Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak
Carlisle Magic Plus Kayak Paddle - 220cm
Warbonnet Blackbird Hammock, 1.6 Single Layer
Warbonnet Thunderfly Tarp, 20D Silpoly
Hammockgear Phincubator custom 62” Underquilt
Sea To Summit Coolmax sleeping bag liner
MSR Autoflow Water Filter with granular activated carbon addon
Various Outdoor Research drybags (10-15L sizes)
Columbia Silver Ridge Shorts
Vapor Apparel UPF 50+ long sleeve sun shirt
Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap
Various battery packs to recharge iPhone
BRS-3000 stove and 8oz Isobutane canister
TOAKS Titanium 600ml Pot

Weather:
Day 1: 73°/59° Partly Cloudy
Day 2: 92°/60° Sunny
Day 3: 83°/67° Overcast
Day 4: 85°/66° Mostly Sunny
Day 5: 91°/64° Sunny

Water Data:
New Haven, OH June 1: 1600cfs
Antwerp, OH June 2: 1800cfs
Defiance, OH June 3: 2500cfs
Waterville, OH June 4: 3400cfs
Water Temperature: 68-72°


Going into this I joked (and knew deep down) it would be about 20% fun and 80% a straight up endurance test. By 11am on Day 2, it was immediately apparent that the weather would be the biggest obstacle on this trip. The full June sun was absolutely punishing. Then the humidity kicked in. I literally could not drink enough water.

With very little current (dead still much of the time) it made for 7-11 hour days of nonstop paddling with just a few short breaks and a long one here and there. The last day push towards Toledo was sickening. The sun was stronger than ever, hot, no shade, straight wide runs of river and no apparent flow whatsoever. I found myself hiding under I-90, I-280 and whatever else was on the way for shade.

The rapids! I’d be lying if I said they didn’t have me worried. Two weeks prior the river gauge at New Haven, IN went from 4.28’ to 18.52’ in a few days after heavy rain. Moderate flood stage. That’s what I got after doing rain dances nightly since the entire 137-mile stretch of river was exceptionally low all of early May. So way TOO much…then it started falling…TOO fast! My eye was on the Waterville, OH gauge. The “magic number” is 2.2’ there. Any lower and it’s just not runnable with exposed rocks and dry patches through 7 miles of rapids. So I hit that area at 2.8’. I was pushing it and the hull of my kayak would agree.

I’ve heard of some others doing this trip, usually in March, April or May. I’m envious. Running this river at 8000cfs, 6000cfs or even 4000cfs (depending on location) would be an absolute cakewalk. Basically paddling for course-correction in a sense.

I couldn’t have asked for a better kayak than the Wilderness Systems Tempest 170. It’s a bullet. And the retractable skeg is absolute magic.

That's it, thanks for watching! My goal was to do this solo and completely unsupported. The portages were pretty terrible. One guy in a pickup truck saw me struggling at Independence Dam with the gear and said "throw that in back (of truck) man". I told him thanks but no thanks.