Day 17 - The Zero Day

I have paddled every day for the last 16 days, so it was time to have a proper rest day. I slept and ate a lot mainly and it was wonderful.

I did agonize over this decision a bit, because today is a low-wind day that would have made for great paddling, while tomorrow is calling for storms and rain. However, I have a really amazing campsite here, and I couldn’t pass up spending a day in a really neat state park so I opted to rest today, and paddle in the rain tomorrow. And who knows, the forecast may clear up in the meantime. Here’s hoping!

Day 17: Crow Wing State Park → Crow Wing State Park

Date: July 25th, 2022

URM 991 → URM 991

Distance today: 0 Miles

River Time: 0 hrs

Today I slept in and it was glorious. I woke up stiff and sore as usual in my shoulders, as the muscles try to repair themselves. But today I didn’t have to limber up and use them anyway, so that felt nice to just let them keep repairing. I do hope I’m not doubly sore tomorrow.

I spent most of my day relaxing, wandering around Crow Wing State Park, and of course eating. I still have the same appetite of paddling days; I think my body is trying to catch up!

I spent much of my day looking out over the River from my bluff, at a particularly active and eternal boil. Endlessly it erupted, never getting tired for all of its sustained effort — it’s one of the things I find fascinating about rivers: they are alive.

While walking around the park I learned a lot about the historical significance of the town of Crow Wing. It used to be a bustling little town situated on two major trade routes. The fur traders used this location often to exchange wares. It’s also home to the oldest structure still standing in Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities.

Beaulieu Mansion

Today’s focus was relaxation and recovery, so I don’t have too much more to post. But here’s a few more photos from the day:

Sunrise at Crow Wing Island

Future Planning

Weirdly enough, I’m already thinking about when I arrive to Minneapolis, and I’m already planning backwards from there. Now normally I don’t plan too far ahead — so many variables can change on a river trip every day and even every hour — but this time my hand is forced. The reason being is that Lock & Dam #1, which is near Fort Snelling (UMR ~847), has very peculiar hours when it comes to locking through pleasure craft, like me. Because of this, I have to plan my visit carefully, and make sure I approach Lock #1 on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday afternoon. After today, I’ll have approximately 150 miles before Lock #1, and 6 days in order to paddle them. It’s always good to have a little leeway, so I’ve drawn up the following plan to arrive on Sunday, and if it gets pushed back to Monday for whatever circumstance, I’ll still be in good shape.

Here is my tentative itinerary that gets me into Minneapolis on Sunday. If I miss any of my stops, my arrival will be moved back to Monday.