Brainerd to Minneapolis/St Paul, MN
174 Miles (524 Total)
There is one unifying evil between cycle touring and canoe tripping. One thing that is so heinous and miserable that some have even described it as the devil’s breath. It’s called the wind and pretty much it’s the worst thing in the entire world (well, when you’re on a bike or in a canoe; the worst thing in the world is probably the tiny stickers they puts on individual apples in the supermarket).
The wind is the single most frustrating act of nature. Even more so than rain, and yes, even more so than the dreaded mosquito (although those bastards are a close second).
The wind is just so problematic when it comes barreling straight into your face. On top of thwarting your progress to a snails pace, there is something else that happens when you are in the water: waves. And the faster the wind, the bigger they roll.
The wind the second day out of Grand Rapids was gusting over 20 mph. The river was wide and the direction it flowed unfortunately coincided perfectly with the direction the wind was blowing. This created a near perfect recipe for a choppy, slow and tiring slog forward. The waves were much bigger than when we crossed Lake Winnibigoshish, and much choppier too. We paddled with all our might and barely got anywhere.
We stopped in a small inlet away from the wind where our friend Jeff was resting. We had run into him earlier in the morning after portaging around the dam in Little Falls where we happened upon the Midwest’s largest craft fair. We didn’t buy any crafts but we did get overpriced carnival food.
“These waves make me want to smoke one of those,” Qball said, pointing to Jeff’s cigarette.
Jeff took a drag and blew the smoke out. It wafted in the still air before getting ushered away by a stiff breeze.
“You want one?” He asked.
Qball laughed. “No thanks. This wind just really sucks.”
“Yeah, it’s not too fun.” Jeff replied.
Beardoh and Sweatpea paddled up to us.
“This wind is something,” Beardoh said.
We hung out on the inlet for a little while waiting out the wind and talking with Jeff. He told us a little more about James with the dual kayaks.
“So yeah,” Jeff went on, “James told me he started at Lake Itasca with 20 two Liter bottles of Mountain Dew.”
We all had a hard time believing that, but it was probably true.
The wind seemed to die down a little bit so we headed back into the waves. It was only about two more miles until the next portage at Blanchard Dam.
We pulled out near the big portage sign. A series of subsequent signs guided us through a miserable half mile portage on a hiking trail that traversed two railroad beds. I had to stop several times while carrying our 7 gallon water jug. We have a set of wheels to help portage the canoes but because of the terrain they only marginally helped. It took us a while to get everything to the other side of the dam.
Blanchard Dam was the biggest Dam yet. The thick dam walls held back tons of water. The bits that got through the wall rushed like a waterfall down and over the other side, creating a good current as the river continued downstream. The river on the upstream parts of dams are more like lakes. The flow mostly stops and the water is just backed up creating a large pool.
We had some lunch and then we were back out on the river. The flow was really good and we made great time on our way to the campsite.
The following day we had a few more portages around two more dams. It was getting tiresome going through the routine of moving all the gear and canoes. I’ll be happy when the portages are done. The last one we have is 1.5 miles around Saint Anthony Falls dam. There’s actually a lock here but it closed down a few years ago. Asian carp have been introduced unintentionally south of Minneapolis and they shut down the lock to prevent them from migrating northward.
Between the two dams there are some class 2-3 rapids called the Sauk Rapids. The guidebook tells you to Scout this quarter mile section before going through it, as the white water may be dangerous if the river is flowing high.
We canoed to the point listed on the map to look at the rapids and make an assessment on whether we wanted to portage around the rapids are shoot them straight through.
Beardoh got his binoculars out and looked ahead. On the maps the rapids are indicated by red lines over the river. There is a bridge right near them, and the red lines end right before the river goes under a bridge. We could see up until the bridge with the binoculars.
“How’s it look?” I asked Beardoh.
“It looks okay,” he said. “Want a look?”
He handed me the binoculars. The water looked pretty calm.
“Looks not too bad,” I said. “I’m okay going through them.”
Everyone else agreed it looked okay. We hopped in the canoes and headed for the rapids.
The water was fine up until the bridge. But that’s where it ended. The rapids actually extended far underneath the bridge, and ahead was some pretty white looking water.
“Oh crap,” I said to Qball. “The DNR lied to us.”
“What’s our plan here?” He asked.
There was some very turbulent water ahead. We navigated as best we could. The waves rocked us and we went head first into a big wave, water blasting me in the face.
“Left, hard!” I shouted over the roar of the river. We paddled hard and fast and went over another big rapid.
Eventually we made it safely downstream where the current evened out. Our adrenaline was racing.
“That was awesome!” Qball said.
It was quite a rush. Luckily nobody hit any rocks and we all safely navigated through in one piece.
The next day the current was really flying. At one point we clocked our sitting speed without any paddling at over 3 miles an hour. As we drifted taking a break a guy in a small boat pulled up next to us.
“You all thru-paddlers?” He asked with a smile.
We said yes.
“I’m Tom and I’m a river angel,” he said. “Where are you staying tonight?”
“Probably go about 10 more miles today,” said Beardoh. “And then find a place to camp.”
“Well, you’re more than welcome to stay at my place,” Tom said. “We love to host paddlers. We’re going to cook up some chickens tonight. My wife and I would love to have you over for dinner too.”
We didn’t have to think too hard to make a decision.
Tom and his wife Kris opened their home to us, fed us until we couldn’t eat anymore, and even drove us to resupply on groceries. They were some of the nicest and warm hearted people I’d ever met. Tom and Kris have been hosting paddlers for the past five years, but we were only the second group to stay this year.
Tom gave us some great tips for further down the river, and told us about a Facebook group for paddlers. He said there were a few other River Angels, and Facebook would be the best place to get in contact with them to arrange a place to stay as we progress further south.
The next morning we left and said goodbye and thank you to Tom and his wife after they fed us a fantastic breakfast of French Toast and sausage.
The morning was nice but it was heating up rapidly. It had been in the 80s the past several days and today was no different. It’s hot being in a canoe without any shade and it’s important to make sure you drink lots of water. We had a leisurely day and ended a few miles before the portage through downtown Minneapolis.
We woke up sticky and hot. The temperature didn’t cool down more than 65 the prior night, and I had a hard time sleeping. We got going around 6:45 and paddled the quick 5 miles to downtown Minneapolis.
A few miles out we had views of the city skyline and all the bridges. Paddling in was really neat. Cities look a lot different when you view them from the water. The sun was just rising too and it cast a warm glow on all the buildings.
The 1.5 mile portage to bypass the closed locks went smoothly. Qball and I took our canoe first and then I hopped in an Uber to go back to Beardoh and Sweetpea. We loaded the Uber up with our things and I went back to Qball and Beardoh and Sweetpea walked their canoe.
The portage was all on a bike path and it was nice seeing a little bit of the city. It seems they had turned a lot of the old mills into housing, and their were several really nice parks that we passed. I kind of wished we had planned to stay a night in Minneapolis, it looked like a great city to explore a little bit.
After the portage we canoed 6 miles to our first Lock. Locks are used to allow the passage of boats through dams. The locks themselves are big chambers on the side of the dam that fill up and release water to move a boat either up or down river. It’s kind of like an elevator.
We pulled a large string on the side wall just before the lock to signal we wanted to get “locked through”. A man over an intercom spoke to us through static.
“When you see the green light pull into the lock. Hold on to the ropes as the water lowers.”
The gates opened and we canoed in. We found the rope on the right side and held our canoes in place. The big gates behind us closed and then the water started to drop. Down and down we went as the water continued to release into the lower river. We went down about 39 feet and could hardly see where we began 10 minutes ago. It was really something.
The front gates opened and out we went. Our first lock had been completed and there were now about 20 more left before the locks ended altogether near St. Louis.
The river suddenly changed after that first lock. There was a lot more boat traffic now. And the channel of the river was mapped with red and green buoys. For boats facing down river, the red buoys are kep on your left, or port, and green buoys are on your right, or starboard. For us, the buoys tell us the part of the river to avoid. So we try to keep the buyous opposite of the boats to stay out of the channel as much as possible.
There was a lot of industry on the river as we passed through St. Paul. Large loaders clawed at dirt and salt and moved them from barges to big piles on shore. Train tracks and mills and even an oil refinery lined the shore too. We saw our first moving barge coming near us and we stayed far to the right. A tug boat was behind it pushing the barge forward. They are the kings out here and I have no problem staying far out of their way. They have my utmost respect.
Woohoo! We made the blog! Really, really well-written and beautiful photos that capture the essence of our river. Travel safe!
Thanks, Kris!