I spent yesterday afternoon on the Paw Paw in SW Michigan. In general it’s a friendly little river and paddling upstream is pretty easy. Yesterday it was flowing 1150 cfs against a norm of 600 for this time of year. It’s usually around 300 in the summer.
With all the sunken trees plus the current you do have to pay attention. I think its safer going upstream where you can pick the best line and change your mind if needed.
I passed about a half dozen spots where the river was just spilling over, like the headwaters of a creek. The one below was the only one that was small and gentle enough to approach for a pic. The strongest one I passed felt like it was pulling the whole river towards it, and almost spun my boat as I passed. Amazing (and a little spooky) to see and feel lots of water just spilling down some incline.
I like paddling when the river gets up in the trees, but I’m not big on paddling upstream - shuttle trips for me You definitely need to be careful of the current.
Looks a lot like the Huron where I put in most of my miles. Dodgem trees is a lot easier to play going upstream. When the water gets too high some of the bridges are too low to pass under. And… when it floods like that in summer each trunk is slathered with stranded insects.
Looks like a great day! I paddled on the Silver River last year when the water was over the banks on the lower part of the river. Fun to paddle through the trees in an 18’ sea kayak!
Ahh, I miss flooded rivers. My favorite during flood stage was the southern end of the Rum River before it met the mississippi. Many fun days dodging trees when flooded.
You definitely need to be careful of the current.