Brunsweiler, Wisconsin, US
|
|
B) Beaverdam Lake to Hwy.13 (10.3 miles)
| Usual Difficulty |
II-III+(IV) (varies with level) |
| Length |
10.3 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
56 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
112 fpm |
2nd rapid
2nd rapidPhoto of 2nd rapid by Bryan Foster taken 09/26/10 @ 11.00 ft
Gauge Information
| Name |
Range |
Difficulty |
Updated |
Level |
|
Brunsweiler
|
|
virtual-11128 |
100 - 400 cfs
|
I(II) |
00h24m |
~ 0
cfs
(rc= -1.0 ) |
Most likely too low to bother. We could use your input! Report correlations of virtual gauge to measure-down readings at Springbrook Road. Virtual gauge (based on Bad River) is very imprecise, and only an indicator of water in the area. Flow in this reach must be confirmed by on-site inspection. |
River Description
Though difficult to catch "up", the Brunsweiler is truly one of the gems of Wisconsin's
South Shore rivers. Access at the listed put-in may be problematic. The only road into Mineral
Lake is private, and may be gated. If you are able to get in (and get permission to launch from
there), you will have to paddle across the lake (if it is not iced over) or walk around a bay to
get to the dam and the river downstream. For this reason, it is entirely likely most folks will
use one of the alternate put-ins. We list the lake/dam as the put-in for this section in order to
have 'completeness' in our descriptions of the whitewater on this river, for those who may be
interested in trying to deal with the access issues in order to see these seldom-run drops.
From below the dam (the listed put-in) the river takes off at a fast clip downhill. When rock
walls begin closing in, get out and scout on the right, there's an intersting
small vertical falls (about 6'-8') just downstream. The run-out below this falls is somewhat
congested and tends to collect wood. The river deflects off a cliff face below, the heads into
another drop cascading about 8'. From here to the Spring Brook Rd bridge are several busy boulder
bed drops.
Spring Brook Road (FR189) is where most paddlers will access this run. From here, the river is
still pretty much non-stop action with extended stretches of class II-III boulderbed interspersed
by three major drops in the class III to IV range (depending on flows). The first of these is a
bouldery cascade that sometimes collects wood, the second a fluming drop through a bedrock sluice
and the third is a very entertaining, good sized slide sequence. Below the bigger drops the river
continues to move at at fast clip though mostly class II. Be careful at a section of braided
channel were the left hand channels have been known to have barbed wire strung across them.
Alternate put-in at Spring Brook Road avoids more difficult upper section. Alternate take-outs at
Cemetary (Eades) Rd (4WD) or Hwy C to shorten the lower run.
The section from Beaver dam lake to Spring Brook Rd is often referred to as the "Upper
Brunsweiler" and the section from Spring Brook Rd to HWY 13 is often called the "Lower
Brunsweiler".
AW members may click here for Part 1 of an article from the AW Journal, way back in 1981!
AW members may click here for Part 2 of the article. <<-- This contains the write-up of the
Brunsweiler.
In addition to this reach, the article also describes the following:
Michigan's
Upper Presque
Isle,
Lower Presque
Isle,
Middle Black,
Lower Black,
Upper Silver,
Lower Silver,
Falls, and
Rock,
and Wisconsin's
Montreal, W.Fk.,
and
Montreal Canyon.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2011-04-11 20:43:28
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
eades road said it was ok to park at the bottom of the hill in the turn a round by their driveway
so as not to have to carry up the hill. All 3 rapids were great at this level. We had to pull and
push through the alders, portage around 1 tree, limbo under another, dodge about 426 others, and
run 8 beaver dams. A typical run. Well worth it if it is up. We did not get up to see the canyon.
down). The three major rapids were mostly clean of wood, but the Class II stuff in between
contained some trees across the river. Between the 1st and 2nd major rapids there was a section
where the beavers had it so dammed and braided that there was no navigable channel. There was also
5-6 beaver dams from 2-5 feet in height we were able to run. The section below Eades Rd. was full
of wood and although only 1-2 had to be portaged at this low level, many more would become real
problems at higher levels as we were able to just 'limbo' several larger trees. Be prepared to
tangle with Alder brush. Also, the gauge was not correlating as the eastern tribs (Upper Bad, Tyler
Forks, Potato) received lots of rain and were swollen while the Brunsweiler and Marengo were low.