Day 18

Day 18

We woke to another increase in the river level and current for the 6th day in a row. We were aiming for another 30+ mile day and at least one more portage. Crow Wing State Park is located across the river from Fort Ripley Military Reservation. As we paddled in the quiet of the early morning we could hear various weapons being fired across the river. Shawn a Marine Vet and I am a Army Infantryman Vet, so we took turns guessing what weapons systems we heard firing. Between the steady conversation and paddling we were amazed we covered 10 miles in 1.5 hours. The current was really moving. The river channel was constantly splitting around various islands, channeling the current and quickening our pace. In just over 4 hours we had covered 20 plus miles and could see the formidable Little Falls Dam. We had heard from Joe, who is about 50 miles in front of us, that the water below was rough. After docking the boats at the start of the portage trail I went to see how the water looked. The water was rushing from most of the gates creating a mass of foaming, tossing, rolling and crashing waves for 100 years downstream. The current continued to boil, swirl and run in cross currents for a half mile more. I unloaded my canoe in two trips had everything stacked 150 yards downstream. Since I had a clear path of sand and grass I drug the canoe rather than carry it. Shawn was lucky enough for have a dam employee drive his gear down below the dam while he rolled his kayak on a set of portage wheels. After the boats were reloaded we walked to the Great Wall Chinese restaurant for the lunch buffet.

Returning to the boats we relaxed in the shade for an hour while we studied the raging waters below. Shawn said he was ready and quickly shoved off into the rough water, a counter current quickly grabbed his front end and he was at the mercy of the current. After a few seconds of panic he managed to paddle along the shore to a down stream current. I took my canoes front rope and walked it down the bank about 50 yards and pushed into the downstream current. Reunited a mile downstream we laughed at the boost of adrenaline we had gotten. The next section of water was 10 miles long and ended with Blanchard Dam, an even larger dam. The area between the dams was a large lake with no current. We slowly paddled and talked about trying to find someone to drive us around the dam because it was a 1000 yard portage. We soon landed at boat ramp just upstream from the dam. There was no one around so I started to walk up the road to check out our surroundings. I found the ravel road was an access road for the boat ramp only and looking into the distance could see spray from the dam rising 40 feet into the air. After about 30 minutes several trucks with boats arrived and Shawn approached one telling them of our situation and asking for a ride. Prospects did not look good. As the gentleman was launching his boat he said to load our boats on his trailer and he would drive us around. We quickly loaded our boats and gear and we were headed towards the downstream boat ramp. The ramp was only about a mile away and we quickly told our story before the nice man dropped us off and was gone. We had taken the time to thank him but never caught his name, just another kind River Angel. We ended our day at Royalton Sportman's Campground campground with 37 miles traveled.