Well, it was bound to happen - the Wisconsin River drains nearly a third of the state of Wisconsin and after all of the recent rains we've had, river levels have doubled from about 2.5 feet to 5 feet. It doesn't sound like much, but anyone that's been rudely awakened by their own canoe floating into the tent at 4am knows that even a change of a few inches can make for an interesting story for the unprepared (and serve as a reminder of why you should set up camp at least a foot above the waterline).
As such, we've built a new feature into the website that tracks daily river conditions from data collected by the US Geological Survey accessible from the "More Stuff" menu. We're providing both the gauge height (river depth) and flow rates (current). This should give people a better idea of what kind of river conditions to expect on their trip and provide a point of reference for anyone concerned with river levels.
In addition to water levels, the flow rate (measured in cubic feet per second - cfs) is nearly as important. This is the amount of water being funneled downstream and is directly related to the amount of current you'll come up against while on the river. Higher flow rates mean a much faster experience, shorter times to react to obstacles, and more dynamic river conditions (shifting sandbars, trees and other water hazards).
For beginners, flow rates of 15,000cfs on the Wisconsin River can be intimidating, and rates above 20,000 shouldn't be attempted as the current can approach speeds of 5-6mph. That said, if you know how to hold a paddle and manage your canoe, high flow rates are pretty exciting and make the typically calm and docile river a little bit more adventurous.
On the other side, flow rates below 10,000cfs will mean plenty of sandbars to choose from and a very gentle current in the range of 2-3mph. Of course anything below 5,000cfs means more sandbars than you'll know what to do with (but still more than enough water to make it down the river.
