Day 8 Mississippi River

Lake Winnibigoshish aka Winni is in the books!

John, Jeff and I woke up at our crashed campsite at 7AM, ready for the big day ahead. Lake Winni, the largest lake crossing of the trip, was starring us dead in the face. With 15 miles of open water and no wind breaks, the lake chooses when you can cross, not the other way around. Winni is a notorious challenge for through paddlers, and earlier this summer I heard of a group who was wind bound for 3 days before they got a clear day to cross the beast.

For us, the morning held a slight breeze and a beautiful sunrise. After cowing down 2 packets of oatmeal and a banana I packed up the boat and the 3 of us hit the water. The plan was to stay together to mitigate any difficulties/disaster should one occur.

A 5-10 MPH headwind translates to rolling waves and a few small whitecaps. At the on start I was a bit nervous. The current waves were manageable, but should the wind pick up and waves get bigger I could be in for trouble in my open canoe. A wave breaking over the bow of my boat would mean taking on a fair amount of water.

The wind stayed steady around the 5-10 MPH range, and by mid crossing I was comfortable with the conditions, though it made for tough paddling. Our crew of 3 had gotten split up all at our own pace once we all felt comfortable, with John taking the lead followed by Jeff (both in quicker kayaks) and myself soloing the canoe.

As we paddled into the wind I noticed another group of 2 aluminum canoes a few miles behind me. I thought to myself that they must be through paddlers, as no one else would be dumb enough to cross 15 miles of open water in a 10MPH wind! Lol!

While paddling I was constantly trying to gauge how far I had gone by looking at both shorelines, one the goal to reach and behind me the shore we had left. Once both shorelines were vague blobs of level tree tops I knew I had made it halfway.

After fighting through the wind and rollers for about 13 of the 15 miles we stopped at Birches Landing, a cabin resort on the east shore. There we met the two other canoes, filled with 4 through paddlers. John had camped with them a few nights ago. Jeff and I introduced ourselves and we traded stories. The group considered themselves long distance hikers, who had competed the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail and now wanted to try their hands at paddling the Mighty Miss.

We all gubbed hard and relaxed for a bit, reveling in the difficulty of the paddle we had just (mostly) accomplished. After looking at maps we all decided our goal for the day. John planned on busting out another 20+ miles, as he is on a tighter schedule to get to Minneapolis and meet his brother who is coming in from out of town. The rest of us decided to likely stay at the upcoming dam a few miles away.

John pulled out first, leaving the rest of us behind. The 4 hikers then pulled out followed by Jeff. I stayed back, relaxed a bit longer and chatted with Tyler, the 17 year old ground crew/Mantinence guy at the resort. We talked hunting and fishing for a while before I made my exit.

After a 2 mile crossing, a dam and portage marked the end of Lake Winni. It felt damn good to have the beast in the rearview! It also dawned on me that I had now crossed 100 miles on the trip so far. Not bad! Until I realize I only have 2,200 more to go.....

Once at the dam the hikers gave me a hand with the portage, letting me use their wheels to transport my boat. The crew planned to stay the night at a picnic area next to the dam. That was my plan as well, but after an hour break I felt the need to get away from the group and back into my own groove. I loaded up my boat at about 5:45pm and hit the river with the goal of reaching the next camp 5 miles down river before sunset.

The paddle was absolutely perfect. A gorgeous night, a setting sun and glass water. I arrived at camp around 7:30, giving me 30 minutes until sunset and about an hour of dusk light. Perfect. The camp site was called Crazy James Point, and it is my favorite camp so far. Perched on a hill, it overlooks the river and gave way to a sunset that covered the sky in a pink hue. Campbell's chunky chicken noodle soup and 2 packets ramen noodles were on the menu. Once I hit my sleeping bag I was out for good.

Winni is done. Grand Rapids, MN next. Life is good on the river!