Paddle Paddle Paddle

This weekend I participated in the Mississippi River Challenge – a two day canoe or kayak trip to raise money for the Friends of the Mississippi River. This was my third time in this event.  I had a great time.  Our trip was shortened this year by five miles because the organizers wanted to start on the Minnesota River instead of the Mississippi. With the threat of Asian carp coming up the locks in Minneapolis, we avoided that issue by starting at the Bloomington Ferry site.  I have never been on the Minnesota River before and I enjoyed seeing new sights.  The water on the Minnesota is much muddier than the Mississippi.  All the rest stops had mucky bottoms.  We sunk in the muck past our toes, past our ankles, and sometimes past our knees.  While waiting at the final rest stop, we were floating to avoid walking through the muck.  We had dock side service of fresh water, nectarines and energy bard.  We were caught unaware when a speed boat threw up a big wake.  Water went up over the sides of our kayaks and into the seating area leaving my pants and legs coated with silt and gritty mud.  Even dunking your hand in the water would leave a gritty coating.  The river was pretty though for the most part. We saw quite a few eagles.  Young eagles were sitting in trees crying for food while their parents hunted.   Belted kingfishers swam back and forth.  I saw Canadian geese and tree swallows and a white egret.  The water moved slowly.  Each break seemed farther away than they should have because paddling was a lot of work.  One barge was moving on the river but I handled that okay.  Those barges displace a lot of water and create all kinds of unpredictable waves.  Toward the end of the day we were sent up a side channel.  Right away I noticed we were paddling against the current.  What the heck?  Why are we paddling upstream?  I didn’t know we were paddling around Pike Island.  I also didn’t know that the Mississippi flows into the Minnesota on that side of the island.  Right away paddling was super difficult.  I came to a pedestrian bridge with three sections to go under.  The right section was crowded with trees and branches.  I chose to go under the left section.  As I approached the bridge, the current pushed me to the side so I adapted and aimed for the second section.  Again I was pushed aside. The current was super strong there.  I ended up in the dead tree so I turned around and paddled as hard as I could to get under that bridge.  Wow, that took all the energy I had left.  But I made it. A little danger makes for a good trip.   I was glad to see the end of the trip location just ahead.  I walked up the huge hill to Fort Snelling.  My first stop was the restroom where I could wash the muck off my legs and feet.   We enjoyed some more snacks and a massage while waiting for the luggage trunk to bring us our tents and clothes.  We set up our tent and enjoyed root beer floats, a great dinner and entertainment before turning in for the night.   The Friends of the Mississippi organization really appreciates our efforts and treats us very well.  More tomorrow on day two of the adventure.