Day 25

We slept about an hour later than normal this morning and let our tents dry somewhat before packing them away making for an 8:30 start time. We checked our map and and picked the end of a distant ridge as our target point for the end of Pippin Lake. We had a slight breeze in our faces and small chop on the waters surface. We paddled directly down the middle of the lake as hour after hour passed and the distant ridge failed to appear any closer. There sailboats and large pleasure boats running around the lake offering a distraction from the endless paddling. After about 4 and a half hours we were finally close enough to a point of land to take break but still 30 minutes short of the target ridge. The map revealed we had covered almost 12 miles without resting. Soon after reaching the ridge the Chippewa River entered the channel and current rejoined us for the first time all day. The weather was very hot and a few miles later we pulled into Wabasha MN and had a late lunch at Slippery’s Tavern, the place claimed to have something to do with the movie Grumpy Old Men. The food was the most disappointing we had had to date. After lunch we went to Hank’s Hardware and bought a few items we needed. Back on the water we passed a large Corps of Engineers dredge operation. They were removing sand from the channel and pumping it onto the shore creating a massive pile 50 plus feet tall and a quarter mile long.  We reached Lock and Dam 4 around 4:30 and moved directly through. All 25 gates on the dam were fully open to allow the flood waters easy passage. We stopped below the dam at Aluna Wisconsin to refill our water supply. We used the hose outside of a building labeled Cross Tracks Liquor. The owner was very friendly and invited us inside. We were very confused when we entered because it was a beauty shop. She told us the liquor store was in a back room. We bought two very cold canned cokes and returned across the street to the city dock to drink them. We sat on the dock and told stories about cold canned cokes and fishing trips with our fathers. A quick look at google maps showed a massive sand island a few miles down stream and decided it should be above water for camping. On the way to the island we passed a track hoe on a barge digging sand from the river channel. We guessed the Corp of Engineers must hire contractors to dig out the trouble spots that are less than the 9 foot depth they try to keep. Arriving at the sand island we discovered it was grown up in trees but were still able to find a good campsite very quickly. It was blessing not to spend hours searching for dry land for the first time in weeks. I set up my tent and went for a swim and bath before dinner. We are hoping to see some fireworks somewhere over the next week as towns begin to celebrate the fourth of July.