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Rapid WI Class III+

Rocket Railroad A

Bad - A) Cayuga to Foster Jnctn. RR bridge (7.6 or 4.3 miles) (WI)

Monitor this Rapid
Gauge Conditions
Bad River near Mellen, WI Upstream Primary
Runnable: 150.0 – 500.0 CFS

Too low for good whitewater trip.

Bad River near Odanah, WI Downstream Primary
Runnable: 1,200.0 – 3,280.0 CFS

Actual flow likely 1/7 to 1/8 of listed gauge reading.

Data from American Whitewater & USGS
Photo
Rocket Railroad A
Photo courtesy of American Whitewater
Description

This is the first of two big drops at the end of the Rocket Railroad Intro. Note the nasty piton rock in the middle. If you run the river-left slot, be aggressive, lean forward ('dive head-first through the hole'), as that pour-over loves to send boats vertical! At moderately high flows, a river-right boof may be appealing (to possibly avoid being unceremoniously stuffed and recirculated), though you'll have to make a quick right to head to the second part of this drop.

The link (clickable up in the main description or cut/paste from here) shows YouTube helmet-cam video as a paddler starts at the railtoad trestle and paddles through to the bottom of the rapids. Footage continues as two more paddlers run the bottom drops. Note how all three paddlers get tail-endered (and the third one swims). This can be a very sticky boiling pool, especially at higher flows!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4HEw2FD8F0

Location
Type
Rapid
Difficulty
Class III+
Mile Marker
4.3 mi
Directions
Navigate
View Full Run
A) Cayuga to Foster Jnctn. RR bridge (7.6 or 4.3 miles)
Bad
II-III(IV) 7.2 mi
Current Conditions
5-Day Forecast
Whitewater data from
American Whitewater