Day 22 Mississippi River
I woke up this morning to a wet tent floor. The water from the sand bar had seeped up and my sleeping pad paid the price. I heard Max rustling around before he spoke out.
"What's up! You get wet?"
"Just the sleeping pad and tent floor. I'm dry. You?"
"Same"
After hearing Max exit his tent..."Uhh we got bigger problems. My boat is gone"
I whipped my head out of the tent, thinking he said that MY boat was gone. Sure enough, my boat was still pulled up halfway on the sand bar in an eddy. Max's though, nowhere to been seen. In a mix of hysteria, bafflement, humor and the fogginess of the first few minutes of morning Max took my boat to run down river and look for his.
Luckily, as he pulled out from our sand bar he spotted his green old town canoe (almost identical to mine) pinned against an over hanging tree on the rivers shore about 50 yards down. He pulled my boat back and walked to retrieve his. After some laughs and amazement at our stupidity and yet still good fortune, we packed up camp. No harm no foul. Another 2 portage day was in store.
Max hit the water about an hour ahead of me. I enjoyed 2 cups of coffee, did a bit of writing and tried my best to dry the tent out. After leaving camp the next 9 miles were gorgeous. The river is now getting large enough that working from one shore to the other takes some effort. Big islands need to be navigated and current plays a larger role in the speed of travel.
As I approached Sartel, MN (effectively a suburb of St. Cloud) I noticed the homes and boats start to get nicer.
I pulled up to the Sartel Dam, and as I stepped out of my boat, mentally preparing for the ensuing portage, a black poniac whipped into the small pull in at the portage start.
A women walked out of the car down towards me. Ashley had come to do some fishing, and this was her favorite spot to catch catfish and largemouths in town. After talking for a bit she offered to lend a hand and drive me around the 1st dam! Score!
I stuffed all my gear into her small sedan with plans of coming back and carrying the canoe. We drove a short distance and scouted out the put in. It was a rough, rocky access point. Then, the real kicker came.
"Why don't we just load your canoe ontop of my car and I can take you past the St. Cloud dam?"
Ahhh...yes!!
We drove back to the boat and loaded it on top of a blanket on the roof of her car. I had two tie down straps that went through the inside of the car to secure the boat (just a few days prior I had been cursing the straps. Having not used them in the 20 days thus far I pondered the usefulness of them vs. their weight and clutter). She drove me past the second dam of the day, and in between I even got a small tour of town, including a beautiful flower garden and the local hockey and football stadiums for St. Cloud St. University.
We unloaded the boat and gear below the second dam and Ashley went on her way. An awesome encounter that left both of us feeling good about society. One of those chance encounters that just so happened to occur at the exact right time.
Camp was an hour paddle from the dam. I floated past a pair of guys standing in a big eddy fly fishing. It's a beautiful sight to see a fly cast done well. The perfect combination of fluidity, patience and intent.
I arrived at camp around 6:00pm and took a swim. Max pulled up, having busted out both portages, around 7:30. We made dinner, burned a good size fire and told stories into the night.
Good day, good people, good river.