Day 3

Day 3
 I crawled from my tent into a cool damp morning, a slight fog hung over the marsh and nothing was stirring after the storm the night before. Shawn, Joe and myself were glad to report that we all stayed dry and slept like a baby despite the rain and thunder the night before. I choked down a quick carnation instant breakfast drink and jumped into the canoe. My map showed in just a few miles I would have another area of abundant vegetation with the added note that it may be impassable at times. Lucky for me the early season growth was still confined to the river bank and I continued to make good time downriver. About 14 miles into the day my map noted another potential problem, 4 miles marked numerous log jams. As I reached this area on my map the river grew more narrow, 15 ft or less, and entered a wooded area. The shade and change of surroundings were welcome after mile after mile of marsh. The river picked up speed and the banks were lined with gravel and large stones, large trees stuck out from the banks but locals had already cut the trouble makers back opening the channel for easy paddling. It was nice to drift with the current and watch the towering sugar maples blowing in the wind.  Just as I thought the day day was coming to a close with Silver Maple campsite just a bit further i began to hear the drone of interstate traffic. Silver Maple campsite sat on a bluff in a bend in the river and 40 yards from a very busy interstate. Shawn and I talked for a few minutes and decided to push on towards the town of Bemidji 3 miles down river.
As Shawn rounded a bend in front of me I saw his head drop and shake as he looked at a large silver maple that had fallen across the river channel. Having looked the tree over I decided we might be able to get past with the removal of a few branches. With a few swings of my machete and a some man power we were back on our way towards town. The last hurdle was a 1 mile lake crossing with a 15 mph wind and 2 foot waves, with visions of beer and burgers we dug deep and blasted across. We quickly found a spot to make camp on the opposite shore and waited on Joe. Luck was with Joe as the wind laid down and he made a quick easy paddle across.
That evening we enjoyed beer and burgers and talked excitedly about how far ahead of schedule we were and how awesome it was to have completed our first 20+ mile day, only 3 days into the trip.