Little Eau Pleine

Well, I finally did the whole run. (based on higher flows)
The Marsh Road put-in is from an old railroad bed that is now a trail with a nice parking lot. At the now nonexistent railroad bridge there is a nice slope to put in from.
The paddle starts out flat, really flat until a house on the right signals the beginning of a continuous 0.5 mile stretch of boulder beds and ledges. At higher flows this becomes a solid class II with boulders becoming poor overs and water running through trees in the flood plain. The end of this rapid is marked by a sharp right turn with a ledge drop.
After a few light riffles you will pass under CTH E. After about a mile the river constricts and drops over a ledge that forms a fair sized hole with good line down the right side to avoid it. Strong eddy lines formed after this feature, opening the possibility for squirt play.
The action subsides and only a few riffles and a few miles of paddling bring you under Galvin road and Stadt road bridges.
The pace begins to build at the Hwy 97 bridge until “the gorge”. Scouting is usually done on the river right shore to get a good view of the main drop. Carry up is easier on the left shore. The first drop is usually run at a diagonal from left to right and lead out has a variety of lines, but usually focusing down the right half of the river. At high water waves get large and the speed is fast, but no sticky holes were observed to form.
A few more wave train rapids leads up to a small concrete road and bridge, both of which are submerged for most boatable levels. This however does form a weak low head dam, and an undercurrent on the right side by the bridge. It would be wise to stay left to miss these two features.
A couple more wave trains and you have hit flat water, which leads through a swampy forest to your Mann road bridge takeout.