Day 29 Mississippi River
I woke up at a decent hour and realized right away that I had missed the thunderstorm projected to roll through in the early morning. All of my gear was still dry. Nice.
I quickly packed up the boat and made a hearty breakfast of 3 packets of oatmeal- 2 brow sugar and 1 apple cinnamon. The weather forecast the night before predicted cloudy skies and a 10-15 mph head wind throughout the day. Enough to create fair sized swells on the large Lake Pepin and make life tough. With that in mind I figured and early morning start may get me at least a bit of calm water.
I pushed the boat in around 8am and paddle a few miles to the mouth of Lake Pepin. At around 20 miles long, Pepin was nothing to shake a stick at.
Just before reaching the start of the lake I noticed a green canoe on a sandy beach river right. Instantly I knew who it was. Max. We had split up 2 days prior after spending 6(?) days together on and off earlier. I quietly paddled into shore and silently coasted toward his camp site. Max had told me that he made a game of sneaking up on fisherman and seeing how long (if ever) it took them to notice him. Remembering this, I decided to return the favor. I got within 10 or so feet before I broke the silence and made him jump.
We shared a few words, reminisced about the rainstorm we both froze in a few days prior and shared where we had each camped. With a few miles under my belt and Max still breaking down camp I continued onto the start of Pepin.
After busting out the first big crossing I took an early lunch break on a sandy beach near a state park. An older gentleman walking the shore strolled by just after I had taken a swim, and Max arrived shortly there after. The gentlemen walking the beach was on his weekly routine of picking up plastic and glass from the shore. He stopped and chatted for a bit, filling me in on some of the French heritage the area was founded on. In talking with him it was evident that he loved his home.
"You know, this area has been ranked by 2 of the top travel magazines as the second most beautiful place in the whole country. But to me it's number one. I've been to Arizona and seen some of the red stone people say is so beautiful. It's nice, but it doesn't even compare to what we have here"
I gotta say, the mans not too far off. The area is absoutly gorgeous. The river and lakes are both surrounded by towering hills and craigy bluffs protruding from the dense forest. Sandy beaches line the river and Lake Pepin. This past November I spent a few weeks in the rain forest of Belize, and if you blind folded me, put me on a flight and dropped me off on the remote shores of Red Wing, Mn or Lake Pepin I would have no trouble thinking it was Central America. Just truly stunning and gorgeous country.
After the break the wind picked up on Pepin. Luckily for us, it was a strong tail wind. With that in mind Max and I spent the next hour or so trying to rig up a sail using my tarp tied between our two kayak paddles. It didn't go so well.... nothing bad happened, we just looked like fools trying about 10 different methods before admitting defeat and resigning to paddle the rest of the way.
By 5pm we had reached the end of the lake, having gotten a fair boost from the tail wind. Just as I was beginning to wear down and look for a camp site Max hit me with the best news of the day. An oasis...also know as Reads Landing Brewery.
The brewery was right off the river, a 20 yard walk from shore. We pulled our boats on the sand and walked across a railroad track.
After settling in, enjoying a local brew and putting in a food order we struck up a conversation with the waitress. She asked about our travels and we filled her in on the plan. After a short chat the couple sitting next to us chimed in.
We spent the next while talking and making friends with Barb and Dan. Turns out they own and run Riedell Skates, a well know ice and roller skate company. Dan's Grandfather had stared the company in small town of Red Wing, Mn and it was now in the 3rd generation of family ownership. For icing on the cake both Max and I owned Riedell skates (I still have a pair sitting in the closet of my old room at my parents house). How cool is that. After some good conversation the couple called it a night. Before leaving they signaled for the waitress to come over and picked up the tab for both Max and I. Good folk in this part of the country.
Feeling full and content Max and I got back into the boat at dusk and paddled across river to a large sand dune for camp. A clear, warm night made for perfect star gazing weather. Heat lighting to the south lit up the sky with an orange hue as the occasional shooting stars tore across the Milky Way.
Lake Pepin is down. Relatively tough going across complemented by a great night with good people. As Max mentioned off hand earlier in the trip, the Mississippi is a "generous river"