Paddlers to tell stories of paddling the Driftless Region

By | August 29, 2016

Paddlers and nonpaddlers alike will be treated to stories of canoeing and kayaking on the rivers of the Driftless Region at the September Friends of the Black River meeting.

Paddling guide book authors Lynne and Bob Diebel will share their adventures paddling the waterways of the Driftless Region at FBR’s Wednesday, Sept. 14 meeting. The meeting will be held in the Jackson County Bank community room beginning at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

The couple authored two guidebooks titled, “Paddling Northern Minnesota: 86 Great Trips by Canoe and Kayak” and “Paddling Southern Minnesota: 85 Great Trips by Canoe and Kayak,” published by Trails Books.

The Diebels have crossed the Driftless Region by canoe, journeying 359 river miles, making five portages and passing through six Mississippi River locks when they paddled from Faribault, Minn., where Lynne’s family has a summer home, to their Wisconsin home in Stoughton, one block from the Yahara River.

Lynne grew up in southeastern Minnesota and has lived in Stoughton with her husband since 1974. She recorded their paddling adventures and her reflections on the landscapes and natural world of Wisconsin and Minnesota in her journal, “Crossing the Driftless.” The award-winning book was published by University of Wisconsin Press.

“It’s both a traveler’s tale and an exploration of the dramatic Driftless Area, a story that follows the streams of human and geologic history,” said Lynne.

She has shared their story with the River Alliance and on Wisconsin Public Television.

Lynne has been canoeing lakes since childhood and learned to canoe whitewater rivers with Bob. Together, the two have paddled almost 3,000 miles on Minnesota’s rivers while researching their two guidebooks.

They paddled downstream on the Cannon and Mississippi rivers, but took on the challenge of paddling upstream on the Wisconsin River, in the tradition of Native Americans and voyageurs.

With maps, pictures and stories, Lynne and Bob will share information about their trip and the rivers they canoed as well as the many tributaries whose confluences they passed in their travels.

Lynne will have copies of her books to sign and available for purchase for $15 after the program.

For more information about the program or FBR, email info_fbr@yahoo.com.

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