Even with all this rain, northern Minnesota has been incredibly beautiful so far, and I've encountered so many helpful, kind and generous people. I hope the whole trips stays like this!
Day 15 (June 14) we paddled 31 miles in about six hours. Jim Lewis borrowed me a tent that is super easy to assemble compared to my original tent, and it held up very well from the previous night's rainfall. It's a more suitable size than my original tent too. Gabe and I grabbed breakfast at a small cafe in Palisade. This town has only one cafe, two bars and two gas stations...very tiny! We hung around the campground, unsure of the weather as well as how and when I was going to get my new boat (there was a bit of a mix up with the original swap so we had to switch them again - this will be my third kayak). Jim called and advised us that we could push in to Aitkin where he would meet up with us for the swap. We paddled most of the evening and got rained on a few times, but we used the skirts that Chuck gave us so we kept pretty dry. We bypassed the flood diversion channel which looked pretty terrifying. We hung close to the left bank and made sure we were careful not to get pulled in that direction. At around 7:12 pm we landed at Aitkin Campground and Jim pulled up just a few minutes later with my next new kayak. We quickly unloaded my old one and packed all the gear in my new one. The rain started back up just as he drove away. We quickly set up Gabe's tent and then the downpour really began. I quickly grabbed my tent and ran for the outhouse shelter at the campground. Gabe and I set my tent up in there and waited for the rain to let up a bit. We staked it in and walked over to the VFW to get out of the rain. We ended up having dinner there, then walked back to our campsite with the rain at a halt and called it a night in Aitkin.
On Day 16 (June 15) I woke up in a rain storm. I used the two-man tent that Jim gave to me and it held up well through the night. It's a much nicer tent for what we are doing and packs down much better. After checking the forecast and seeing that there was a 80-90% chance of thunderstorms all day, we decided it would be most safe if we were off the water for the day. We walked into town with no plans, other than to find a dry place that we could hangout at. We went to CVS first and met a gentlemen at the check-out counter that said, "Hey, you guys made it! You must be the kayakers down by the river. I was going to pick you up on your walk into town but already had a full vehicle." This is what I mean about nice people! You get that in a lot of small towns. We asked if they carried waterproof sunscreen and they directed us to Hardware Hank just down the road. We walked there and the guy behind the desk greeted us and said, "You guys wouldn't happen to be the two kayakers down by the campground?" Sure enough, this guy knew that strangers were in town as well. It seemed as if everyone there knew we were outsiders. Everyone seemed to know or ask what brought us to town. After waiting out the storm at McDonald's and Dairy Queen for four hours, I called the local police to ask them if they could patrol the campground where all our gear was. The officer said he was the only cop on duty in Aitkin. Very small town. We grabbed a bundle of dry wood from the gas station and walked 20 minutes back to our campsite. After setting up all of our stuff to dry out as the sky cleared for the evening, we then started a fire and cooked our dinner for the night. I was bummed we weren't able to go anywhere today, but you can't take a risk with nasty weather like that. I've heard it's all headed toward Wisconsin now...
We woke up early on Day 17 (June 16) for a long 56 mile day in my new 17 foot kayak. We only paddled about five miles when I noticed some water down by my legs. I thought there was no way the drops falling off my paddle created all that. I used my bilge pump and emptied it and carried on paddling. After another five miles I noticed the same amount of water by my legs. Now I knew there was a problem. I asked Gabe to open my rear hatch to see if water was also back there. Sure enough, there was almost an inch of water back there with a bunch of my gear. I came to the conclusion that there must have been a small crack in the hull. I left the water in the back and called Chuck to let him know what happened. He was very apologetic and said he would happily bring me a different boat of the same size and style. We continued on and I gave Chuck the location of a boat landing of where we could meet him. After the 27 mile day, we pulled into the boat launch off of Hwy 6 near Crosby, MN. Before we even touched land a man in a golf cart came flying down and said, "You two look like you're ready for a cocktail." We laughed and said, "Yeah that sounds great!" He introduced himself as Don Schmidt and asked where we planned to camp. I told him right on the launch where we were standing. He said absolutely not and that we were welcome to camp out in his garage for the evening to stay out of the storm. We hid our kayaks in some bushes, hopped in his golf cart and rode up to the bar only a block away. He bought us two rounds of drinks and then we went back to his place to get the trailer so we could pick up our kayaks. Don made us pizzas for dinner and handed us some beers throughout the night as we talked about what we were doing and why we were doing it. Don has owned 17 different businesses in his life and says when he gets bored with one he'll think of something new. His work ethic was very inspiring. We also met his dogs, Kitty and Babe, and his cat, Louie. The animals kept us company all night and were very entertaining. Chuck met us at Don's house to drop off my (fourth) boat, which was in great shape. It's a 16.5 foot Current Designs Squall GTS. We packed my new kayak and called it a night after setting our sleeping bags up on the floor of Dons garage. It was plenty warm in there that night. Very comfortable and out of the elements for another night!
Don had a huge breakfast waiting for us on Day 18 (June 17). A whole platter of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions and peppers mixed in, a large bowl of hash browns, a plate full of bacon and a plate of thick cut bread all toasted and buttered. We loaded our kayaks into the golf cart trailer, exchanged business cards and headed for the boat launch where he picked us up from. We said our final goodbye and he wished us luck on our journey. I really appreciated him taking us in for the night and for being such a great host to us. We had clear blue sky today and boy was it hot. It had to be near 90 today with no breeze at all. I must have reapplied sunscreen at least four or five times and I still got red cheeks. We paddled all the way into Brainerd (29 miles), where we pulled off the river and hid our boats in a tree line and chained them to a tree. We put all of our electronics and other gear in a backpack and walked into town to get out of the heat. We made it to a Wendy's about a mile and a half down the road and ordered Frosties, which tasted amazing. The air conditioning was nice and we took advantage of the free ice water.
Today we will be heading to Little Falls where we'll be meeting up with Ellen McDonah (a retired school teacher from La Crosse who is kayaking the entire river as well while doing sketches and paintings along the way). She has been an incredible contact since the beginning by giving us warnings of obstacles, updates on river conditions and letting us know what is available at campsites. I plan to return the favor when we bypass her tomorrow. She offered for us to stay at her campsite at the Charles Lindbergh State Park which she paid for. We also plan on meeting up with a Wisconsin gentlemen by the name of Mark Scotch to paddle with us and spend two nights with us. We really look forward to all the company the next few days!!
Day 15 (June 14) we paddled 31 miles in about six hours. Jim Lewis borrowed me a tent that is super easy to assemble compared to my original tent, and it held up very well from the previous night's rainfall. It's a more suitable size than my original tent too. Gabe and I grabbed breakfast at a small cafe in Palisade. This town has only one cafe, two bars and two gas stations...very tiny! We hung around the campground, unsure of the weather as well as how and when I was going to get my new boat (there was a bit of a mix up with the original swap so we had to switch them again - this will be my third kayak). Jim called and advised us that we could push in to Aitkin where he would meet up with us for the swap. We paddled most of the evening and got rained on a few times, but we used the skirts that Chuck gave us so we kept pretty dry. We bypassed the flood diversion channel which looked pretty terrifying. We hung close to the left bank and made sure we were careful not to get pulled in that direction. At around 7:12 pm we landed at Aitkin Campground and Jim pulled up just a few minutes later with my next new kayak. We quickly unloaded my old one and packed all the gear in my new one. The rain started back up just as he drove away. We quickly set up Gabe's tent and then the downpour really began. I quickly grabbed my tent and ran for the outhouse shelter at the campground. Gabe and I set my tent up in there and waited for the rain to let up a bit. We staked it in and walked over to the VFW to get out of the rain. We ended up having dinner there, then walked back to our campsite with the rain at a halt and called it a night in Aitkin.
On Day 16 (June 15) I woke up in a rain storm. I used the two-man tent that Jim gave to me and it held up well through the night. It's a much nicer tent for what we are doing and packs down much better. After checking the forecast and seeing that there was a 80-90% chance of thunderstorms all day, we decided it would be most safe if we were off the water for the day. We walked into town with no plans, other than to find a dry place that we could hangout at. We went to CVS first and met a gentlemen at the check-out counter that said, "Hey, you guys made it! You must be the kayakers down by the river. I was going to pick you up on your walk into town but already had a full vehicle." This is what I mean about nice people! You get that in a lot of small towns. We asked if they carried waterproof sunscreen and they directed us to Hardware Hank just down the road. We walked there and the guy behind the desk greeted us and said, "You guys wouldn't happen to be the two kayakers down by the campground?" Sure enough, this guy knew that strangers were in town as well. It seemed as if everyone there knew we were outsiders. Everyone seemed to know or ask what brought us to town. After waiting out the storm at McDonald's and Dairy Queen for four hours, I called the local police to ask them if they could patrol the campground where all our gear was. The officer said he was the only cop on duty in Aitkin. Very small town. We grabbed a bundle of dry wood from the gas station and walked 20 minutes back to our campsite. After setting up all of our stuff to dry out as the sky cleared for the evening, we then started a fire and cooked our dinner for the night. I was bummed we weren't able to go anywhere today, but you can't take a risk with nasty weather like that. I've heard it's all headed toward Wisconsin now...
We woke up early on Day 17 (June 16) for a long 56 mile day in my new 17 foot kayak. We only paddled about five miles when I noticed some water down by my legs. I thought there was no way the drops falling off my paddle created all that. I used my bilge pump and emptied it and carried on paddling. After another five miles I noticed the same amount of water by my legs. Now I knew there was a problem. I asked Gabe to open my rear hatch to see if water was also back there. Sure enough, there was almost an inch of water back there with a bunch of my gear. I came to the conclusion that there must have been a small crack in the hull. I left the water in the back and called Chuck to let him know what happened. He was very apologetic and said he would happily bring me a different boat of the same size and style. We continued on and I gave Chuck the location of a boat landing of where we could meet him. After the 27 mile day, we pulled into the boat launch off of Hwy 6 near Crosby, MN. Before we even touched land a man in a golf cart came flying down and said, "You two look like you're ready for a cocktail." We laughed and said, "Yeah that sounds great!" He introduced himself as Don Schmidt and asked where we planned to camp. I told him right on the launch where we were standing. He said absolutely not and that we were welcome to camp out in his garage for the evening to stay out of the storm. We hid our kayaks in some bushes, hopped in his golf cart and rode up to the bar only a block away. He bought us two rounds of drinks and then we went back to his place to get the trailer so we could pick up our kayaks. Don made us pizzas for dinner and handed us some beers throughout the night as we talked about what we were doing and why we were doing it. Don has owned 17 different businesses in his life and says when he gets bored with one he'll think of something new. His work ethic was very inspiring. We also met his dogs, Kitty and Babe, and his cat, Louie. The animals kept us company all night and were very entertaining. Chuck met us at Don's house to drop off my (fourth) boat, which was in great shape. It's a 16.5 foot Current Designs Squall GTS. We packed my new kayak and called it a night after setting our sleeping bags up on the floor of Dons garage. It was plenty warm in there that night. Very comfortable and out of the elements for another night!
Don had a huge breakfast waiting for us on Day 18 (June 17). A whole platter of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions and peppers mixed in, a large bowl of hash browns, a plate full of bacon and a plate of thick cut bread all toasted and buttered. We loaded our kayaks into the golf cart trailer, exchanged business cards and headed for the boat launch where he picked us up from. We said our final goodbye and he wished us luck on our journey. I really appreciated him taking us in for the night and for being such a great host to us. We had clear blue sky today and boy was it hot. It had to be near 90 today with no breeze at all. I must have reapplied sunscreen at least four or five times and I still got red cheeks. We paddled all the way into Brainerd (29 miles), where we pulled off the river and hid our boats in a tree line and chained them to a tree. We put all of our electronics and other gear in a backpack and walked into town to get out of the heat. We made it to a Wendy's about a mile and a half down the road and ordered Frosties, which tasted amazing. The air conditioning was nice and we took advantage of the free ice water.
Today we will be heading to Little Falls where we'll be meeting up with Ellen McDonah (a retired school teacher from La Crosse who is kayaking the entire river as well while doing sketches and paintings along the way). She has been an incredible contact since the beginning by giving us warnings of obstacles, updates on river conditions and letting us know what is available at campsites. I plan to return the favor when we bypass her tomorrow. She offered for us to stay at her campsite at the Charles Lindbergh State Park which she paid for. We also plan on meeting up with a Wisconsin gentlemen by the name of Mark Scotch to paddle with us and spend two nights with us. We really look forward to all the company the next few days!!