Wisconsin Paddler to set speed benchmark for paddling the Rock River!

Chris and daughter Lillie.

Chris Luedke is taking on the challenge for paddling the whole 320 Miles of the Rock River Trail with a goal to finish in 5 days! He is departing Wednesday, May 22. As no one has done the Rock River Trail at this speed, he will be setting the speed benchmark for fastest descent of the river.
We wish Chris a safe journey on this adventure! We will post his progress during his trip.

If you want to track his progress, he has activated a Spot for the trip that you can follow at this link.

You can also follow him on Instagram: His username is 340paddler and he will use the hashtag #marshtothemiss
https://www.instagram.com/340paddler/

About Chris: Chris Luedke is a lecturer at UW-Whitewater teaching Art History, an Art and Antique appraiser and an ultra-distance paddler. He began paddling back in 2008 with an inflatable 10 foot boat before finding the Missouri River 340 in 2009. He registered and raced the first time in 2012 and has not looked back since. In 2015 he finished the race in under 50 hours and has done so every year since along with several top 5 and top 10 finishes. He has also completed the South Dakota Kayak Challenge, the Missouri Freedom Race, the Des Plaines River Marathon, the Callie Rohr and the Wisconsin River Race among other events.

His interest in the Rock River stems from training on the Rock from County MM outside Ashippun to Watertown, although most of the time he is known to launch at County CW for out and back training.

Chris says “The Rock River seems underutilized considering its potential. Some people see the Rock as dangerous or difficult to paddle. That is just not the case, the river is beautiful, safe and accessible along its length.”