Day 23 - Arrival in Minneapolis
Graduating from Portages to Locks
Before I get into today’s post, here’s a video from above of me running the Sauk Rapids. Gives a better idea of all the rocks I was dodging. Thank you to Lee Bergstrom for filming, and thanks to FB for making the video pixelated. If you want to see more moments Lee captured, do so here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MississippiRiverPaddlers/posts/5251073441655966/
Day 23: Islands of Peace Archipelago → Hidden Falls Landing
Date: July 31st, 2022
URM 861 → URM 847
Distance today: 14 Miles
River Time: 6 hrs
Today was a day like no other. I’ve reached a major milestone in my trip: Minneapolis. Over the past 23 days I’ve paddled 495 miles from my starting point in Lake Itasca. This means I’ve paddled approximately 21% of the Mississippi River, and have 1,845 miles remaining.
But there are other milestones today as well. I’ve now completed my final portage of the trip! That feels really good. Now I will begin a new chapter in my journey as I pass through the 27 locks and dams separating Minneapolis and St. Louis.
Arrival in Minneapolis
Today I slept in and hit the water by 8 a.m. I had about 2 miles of paddling before I reached my Upper St. Anthony Falls and my portage for the day. I thought it would be 2 hours anyway, the wind had other plans. Immediately on the water I knew it would be one of those days. I did the only strategy available to us paddlers which is to try and get any inkling of cover from the wind by paddling close to shore. This helped a bit.
I passed through some of the old ports and docks which used to have constant barge traffic in Northeast Minneapolis. They are largely dilapidated now since no barges can access them, due to the closures of the St. Anthony Falls locks. With the loss of the barge access came the loss of business, and huge industrial structures on shore lay vacant and rusting. Large abandoned structures like these always give me an ominous feeling. Because there is no financial incentive to clean up old projects, they are often doomed to deteriorate into the River.
St. Anthony Falls Portage
Why is this portage so long? It’s because I’m passing both the upper and lower St. Anthony Falls locks and dams. I don’t get back in the water between them, I just walk it. Unfortunately for paddlers, these locks have been out of operation since 2016 I believe, in order to mitigate the spread of invasive carp species.1 So while it’s not good for paddlers, it is good for the water, and the health of the Mississippi. As far as I’ve heard, the measure has been successful, and no carp have been confirmed above these dams.
The River was white capping by 10:30 when I arrived at the start of my portage. I was greeted by a welcoming party of my parents and some close family friends! Thanks for coming out everyone! It’s motivation to know people are following and cheering me on!
It was nice to catch up with the crew, but I had a mission and miles remaining after my portage, so we got moving pretty quickly. It was rather odd to be lugging my canoe— an activity that I have done many times in complete solitude — in a very busy downtown area. One canoe and an entourage of people is not a common sight in Minneapolis!
On the one hand, it was very nice to have well-paved roads, but I still had to take numerous breaks on this portage. The wheels make a massive difference in my ability to portage on flat surfaces, but it is still tiring to drag, especially up hills.
I had a quick lunch, while watching the River whip up right before my eyes. The whitecaps were getting frothy. There was no use in waiting for the wind to die down, that would take many hours. I just had to get out there and complete my remaining miles.
For this next stretch, I was toeing the line between staying as close to shore as possible for cover, and not bottoming out or hitting rocks and trees.
During this stretch, I passed under the Washington Avenue Bridge of my alma mater. It was kid of a surreal moment for me, as I have walked, biked, and looked out over this bridge many times over the past 10-15 years. Now be paddling under it was just a whole different sensation. Moments like these make me take notice of how much I’ve grown, and inspire me to reach further going forward.
When I rounded the bend to enter into Pool 1, I was now facing directly south, and the wind was directly in my face. From that point it was a 2-3 mile paddle directly to Lock #1. I stuck to my strategy of staying near shore, shrugging off gusts when they came up, and slowly and steadily I worked my way to the dam.
Here are the paddling conditions while approaching Lock #1.
Lock & Dam #1
Once in the locking chamber, everything was better. I was sheltered from the wind, and was forced to take a mandatory break as the water levels lowered. I rehydrated and got some salt back in me while waiting. The lock was ready for me when I arrived (I had radioed in advance), so I just paddled directly in. Once in, the locking procedure took about 20 mins, then I was on my way on the lower side!
My best guess is that I was lowered 30-40 feet. After this drop, I was deeper into the river valley, so the wind was much less of an issue. In addition, the River is always more narrow on the downstream sides of locks, so that helps block the wind more as well.
I had an easy 1 mile paddle down to the Hidden Falls boat ramp in St. Paul. This is where I will put my trip on hold for 2 glorious rest days. This will also be a chance for me to resupply, and reorganize my gear (goodbye, portage wheels!). I will resume my trip here in the wee hours of Wednesday the 3rd of August.
More photos from the day
River Log Day 23
848 - Lock & Dam #1: Check hours before attempting to lock through. Open Fri., Sat., and Sun. from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Reduced hours Mon. Closed Tue., Wed., and Thur. Subject to change at any time!
https://parkconnection.org/blog/2021/9/27/wildlife-on-minneapolis-riverfront
Great to hear from your adventures and live those amazing moments. I would have loved to cheer you up with a nice beer I had never heard of (sign behind you!), go on and paddle!
Pretty amazing video of you besting the rapids! I knew you were a master of your craft but when you stood up in the canoe to get a better look at what was ahead that confirmed it