They couldn’t get into Stevens Point on the water, Monday afternoon, so Jay Thurston and Mike Kinziger picked up their canoe for a two-mile portage to reach the Hwy. 10 bridge.

After spending more than four hours on shore, the pair hoped by portaging they would escape high waves on the Wisconsin River Flowage and then be able to paddle on the Wisconsin River through Stevens Point. If that was possible, they would be trying to make it to the Biron dam by nightfall. That would put them between Plover and Wisconsin Rapids.

Earlier in the day, Thurston said he and Kinziger may have to stay off the water all of Monday afternoon due to the wind. Windy conditions have hampered their attempt to canoe the 436-mile Wisconsin River. With two of the four biggest lakes in the state right ahead of them (the Petenwell Flowage and the Castle Rock Flowage) the pair really needed the wind to die down.

“The Biron dam is the half-way point in the trip,” Diana Thurston, Jay’s wife, said, as she watched the pair portage their canoe. “The ideal situation would be for them to make it to the Biron dam for the night and then be able to cross Petenwell and Castle Rock in calm conditions. The wind is a major factor in allowing that to happen.”

There will be no map with this update. The Broadcaster will have its next update on the canoe trip at around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Website updates will be available subject to cell phone reception and the support needs of Thurston and Kinziger as they head downstream. Jay Thurston, 75, of Viroqua and Mike Kinziger, 60, of Moscow, Idaho, are attempting to paddle the length of the Wisconsin River. Their itinerary calls for them to finish in six days and 10 hours, which would set a new speed record for canoeing the river. Jay and Mike appreciate the support they’ve received from family and friends through the internet posts they’ve received on this chain of stories.