The Journey continues…
I was walking where we would be putting our boats in just after the dam when I noticed a man fishing at the end of a dock. I walked over to him and asked him what the fishing is like here. He comes out to fish just after the dam because the northerns, catfish, and walley like the currents. He went on to explain that he worked a job he did not enjoy for too long and is happy to be helping the organization Pheasants Forever. He was knowledgeable and opinionated about land management. Conversations with those who have a vested interest in the river excite me and led me to ask if we could interview this man spending his day fishing along the Mississippi River. He said yes so the documentary crew assembled and I slinked off to load boats.
The ever changing river flowed swiftly onward as we distributed our dry bags and packs evenly between the five canoes. Liz and I put in before everyone else and shot down river with the current, got situated in our boat, and pulled off the river into a lily pad filled pond; created at a bend in the river. We figured this would be a perfect, un-fished spot to throw some casts and wait for the rest of our crew. The lily pads provideth naught and we continued on with the four other boats. Throughout the day, Liz and I were looking for fishing spots and trying to catch something edible. We’ve been using spinner lures which Liz was using the other day when she caught the northern pike we had for dinner. A major downfall of attempting to mix making miles and fishing on a canoe trip revealed itself to us in a snagged lure on a log. We tried in vain to bring in this monstrous log fish. We circled the log like a sumo wrestler gauging his opponents weaknesses; like the mighty sumo wrestler we ceded victory to the valiant log, and cut the line. After our vicious log battle the Blandin Paper Mill and the attached dam loomed into view.
The portage around the Blandin Paper Mill was the first of many long, arduous portages. We had to pull out and unload 300 yards from the dam and then 200 more yards to the put in spot after the dam. To give you an idea of what one of our portages looks like, I’ll mention that it takes each boat of two paddlers two trips (the duffer boat can make one and help another boat make one trip as well). When I say portaged I mean carried either a forty pound boat or between 50 to 75 pounds of gear, almost 1000 yards a paddler-pair. Luckily we were able to take a break for lunch after this grueling portage.
Yada, yada, yada, more paddling…
Sleepy Bear Campsite is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In the “corner” of the site there was this treasure chest of a bear box which contained dry firewood, a saw, and an ax for our camping pleasure. After a delicious dinner of noodles in marinara sauce, Natalie read some of Walt Whitman’s “Stories of Myself.” The direction of the book revolved around a specific focus on personal development. I would be interested in reading the full text as we only got a taste of the book from the excerpt read to us by Natalie. Unfortunately, I was extremely tired and took my leave for sleep soon after the reading. Tomorrow we will be paddling into Jacobson, MN where we expect to go into town to resupply some items and explore a little. As I lay in my sleeping bag I talked with Anna about my idyllic conception of a run across the southern border of the USA from Miami, FL to San Diego, CA; dipping into Mexico for a section. I would want to explore the southern border of the United States while bringing that important information to the populace through a blog. Borders in the United States are occasionally on the news and were highlighted frequently for a period of time a couple of years ago but now that issue has dropped into obscurity outside of SW border states. Besides finding the idea of enforced borders in a “freedom” based country perplexing, I also want to bring more information to the public in a radical, hard to ignore way. Sleep Time.
This border run idea was thrown around throughout the trip but as you will see, it lost steam and ultimately never rooted itself in reality. Although, “Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate.” (Inception 2010)
thecereallife 