Yellow River State Forest - Iowa's BEST Backpacking Loop
Well this trip was a mixed bag.... My wife and I spent two days backpacking Yellow River State Forest, a beautiful section of eastern Iowa just over the Mississippi with over 25 miles of hiking trails.
We started on the Forester Trail next to the park's headquarters, and hiked clockwise around the main backpacking loop. The terrain was a mix of single and double track trails and the occasional gravel road. We originally thought of staying at Heffern's Hill Camp but ended up hiking a bit further to Brown's Hollow Camp.
But as gorgeous as it was, I experienced my first run-in with severe dehydration, eventually earning me a brief stint in the hospital upon arriving back home (I'm fine now). It was late June so the weather was hot and humid, and although I thought I had been drinking enough water, the constant sweating must have thrown my electrolytes out of whack. I didn't address this in the video, but you'll probably notice me feeling more and more run down as the trip drags on.
Nevertheless it was still a fun time, and I'm looking forward to heading back to Yellow River State Forest in the future to check out the other trails.
GEAR MENTIONED IN VIDEO:
- Warbonnet Blackbird:
- Tarptent ProTrail:
- Enlightened Equipment Revolt underquilt:
GEAR I USE AND RECOMMEND
- Garmin InReach Mini satellite messenger:
- Helinox Chair Zero:
- Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape tent/poncho:
- Outdoor Research Helium II rain jacket:
- Exped AirMat HL sleeping pad:
- Nitecore NU25 headlamp:
- Columbia Silver Ridge Lite hiking shirt:
- Darn Tough Socks:
- Opsak odor proof food bag:
- Leatherman Squirt PS4 multitool:
- Deuce of Spades trowel:
- Suunto A-10 compass:
- Therm-a-Rest Compressible pillow:
- Sawyer Squeeze water filter:
- CNOC Outdoors Vecto water container:
- Sea to Summit Mosquito Head Net (w/ Insect Shield):
- AcuRite Digital thermometer:
- Outdoor Research Sparkplug Gaiters:
- Anker Powercore II external battery:
- Saramonic SmartMic microphone:
- BOYA BY-M1 lavalier microphone:
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Filmed on a Google Pixel 2 with Edutige EIM-001 external mic
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Welcome to my random musings on all things backpacking. If you haven't already guessed, my name is Dan. I was bit by the backpacking bug in 2014 and since then haven't gone one day without thinking about my next adventure. I'm from Chicago, a great city but...not so much known for its bountiful backpacking opportunities. Nevertheless, I haven't let that stop me from enjoying the outdoors. Hope my videos leave you with one or two takeaways, or even better, inspire you to head out on the trail. Thanks for watching! Have fun out there!
- Dan
yellow river May 2008
Floated from Ion to Effigy Mounds. Checked out the new canoe campsite
Paddling Iowa's rivers
Come along as we explore some of Iowa's 1800 miles of river, including the scenic bluffs of the Upper Iowa River, with an Iowan who literally wrote the book on Paddling Iowa.
Upper Iowa River
For a complete water trail review, checkout:
0:00 - Put-in by Cattle Creek Road
0:18 - First major bluff
0:20 - Natural springs
0:54 - Tribitary creek with large beaver dam
1:55 - The Chimney Rock horseshoe
3:27 - The famous palisades
3:48 - Bluffton
4:30 - Taking out at W20 Landing
4:51 - Malanaphy Springs
5:12 - Dunning Springs
Iowa Kayaking: The Upper Iowa River (Kendallville, Bluffton, Malanaphy Springs)
#Iowa #Kayaking #Paddling
In this episode I paddle down 26 miles down what is arguably the most beautiful stretch of river in Iowa!
Decorah IA Upper Iowa River kayaking Dunning Springs
What a beautiful part of Iowa. Dunning Springs in Decorah IA is truly a hidden gem. Ice cold spring water cascades down from within the hillside in spectacular fashion. You can take the stairs up to the top or do like we did and take a very short hike up. The hike is worth it if you're able.
We then spent the day kayaking down the Upper Iowa River. The section we chose was from just above Chimney Rock. Very calm river with excellent views of the bluffs. The river was down a little so you definitely need to know how to read the river to avoid bottoming out.
Song: Xavier Rudd - Follow The Sun
Shot with my Go Pro Hero 5
Edited with Go Pro Studio
Paddlin' the Yellow River 6:11:11.mov
Paul's Paddlin' Pals camp and kayak on the Yellow River, Iowa June 11, 2011.
Yellow River July 6-7 2011.mov
Summertime in Iowa with Paul's Paddlin' Pals on the Yellow River.
Kayaking & Canoeing South Raccoon River, Iowa - July 3rd 2016
Redfield to Pleasant Valley Access on the South Raccoon River. River gauge was just shy of 800 CFS on a beautiful afternoon.
This is the first time that I have used my Garmin Virb XE for filming and GPS tracking. The sound quality will be much better than other videos I have posted. I sold my GoPro Hero 3 to get this camera since it had better features - external waterproof mic, external charging, and GPS tracking!! My data stats on the video will need to be tweaked for future videos. Sorry, limited time and just getting used to the settings.
Boone River Kayaking in Iowa. 750cfs on May 2, 2015.
Boone River float with the Central Iowa Paddlers on May 2, 2015. About 750cfs, 70 degrees with a south head wind. Great day on the water.
Portaging Upper and Lower Dams on the Upper Iowa River
Portaging two dams on the Upper Iowa River - June 6, 2016
yellow river rapids and falls 3
july 2010
Upper Iowa Canoe Trip
Canoe Trip on the Upper Iowa River
Backpacking Yellow River State Forest
Map:
Iowa Kayak Camping: Lake Red Rock (Hickory Ridge Wilderness Area)
#kayakcamping #iowa #desmoines
In this episode we kayak around the cliffs of Lake Red Rock and kayak camp at the paddle in campsite at Hickory Ridge Wildnerness Area.
Rock Angel by Joakim Karud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0
Music promoted by Audio Library
Upper Iowa River Trip, April 30, 2011
Central Iowa Paddlers
Osborne, Iowa to Yellow River State Forest. Scenic Drive Lapse
42 miles of the scenic Highways 13,18, and 76 in northeast Iowa. Shot with GoPro HD Hero 2.
Song. Lucid Fall by Sungha Jung
Middle Raccoon River -Central Iowa (May 23rd, 2015)
The five of us venture out on May 23, 2015 to the Middle Raccoon River in central Iowa. Cloudy but nice 70 degree weather with the river flowing at 540cfs. Great day of paddling with the family!
Skunk River Kayaking
Tandem kayaking trip down 7 miles roughly, of the south skunk river near Ames, Iowa. Good day of fun.
Lake Red Rock, Iowa - Kayaking the Cliffs and Sea Cave
We crossed the highway 14 bridge to the south shore of Lake Red Rock and started paddling from the Elk Rock Park kayak and canoe put-in next to the boat ramp and went one mile east to the the 70 foot high sandstone cliffs and short sea cave caused by a slumping block of limestone. The water level was at 742 feet, which is perfect for accessing the cave.