Day 34 Mississippi River

After another solid nights sleep at Marty's I woke up early to see Marty and Finn off to work and school. The amazing weekend had come to an end. As Marty gathered his things Finn and I quietly watched TV.

At 7:00am I said goodbye to Finn, and he walked out the front door to catch his bus at 7:15. Shorty after I gave my many thanks to Marty for hosting me, showing me Winnona, feeding me, and so much more. He mentioned that he got a kick out of hosting me, and I certainly got a kick out of hanging around for the weekend!

With Marty off to work I began organizing my gear. I intended to leave a few items with him that I seldom used and had been weighing me down thus far on the journey. In the end, I left an old guitar, picks and strings, a book "Entrepreneur Life", and some fire tending gloves I had yet to use. I also planned to leave my old canoe with Marty and Finn. Figuring that it made sense to get the new Wennonah, especially considering the way it came about, I told Marty that he could have the Old Town on a long term loan. My only stipulation was that he and Finn would have to go out on at least one overnight trip in it within a year from today.

With my gear purged and organized I grabbed the old bike Marty had lent me and started peddling the 20 or so minutes toward Wenonah Canoe Company. The ride took me on a well paved bike path along the north side of Lake Winnona. A great way to start the day.

When I arrived at Wenonah, I asked the front desk for Mike. The receptionist listed of a few different Mikes. The woman who had taken my name and number for the boat on Saturday popped her head out from the corner.

"Cichanowski. Tell him it's about the Prism from the weekend."

With that the receptionist walked upstairs, came back a minute or two later and informed me that Mike would be down soon.

About 10 minutes later Mike came striding down the wooden stairs. We sat on rocking chairs in the main reception room and he asked my thoughts on the boat. I told him that it felt great, tracked well and cut through chop like a hot knife through butter. After talking about the boat and paddling in general he gave me a pair of clear safety glasses and told me he would show me around the factory.

For the next 2 or so hours Mike took me to all the different sections of the canoe factory (Wenonah also makes and owns Current Design kayaks and C4 Waterman Standup paddle boards- both of which are made under a different roof than the canoes).

As a boat nerd myself, it was fascinating to see the detailed and time consuming process of making boats from scratch. All different kinds of boats. Different materials, different shapes, and different needs. Some racing, some fishing, some solo, some 4man, and just about everything in between. With Mike walking me through each step and me asking all kinds of questions I learned more about boats in those two hours than through years of paddling. The most useful takeaway was learning and understanding the notion of tilt. As Mike explained it, tilt is the distribution of weight in your boat. Depending on what direction the wind is coming from, more weight (or tilt) in either the bow or stern of your boat will allow for an easier paddle. Generally speaking, with a headwind, the bow should be weighted down more than the stern, as this allows the nose of the boat to have a smaller profile in the wind and thus get blown around less. The same principle applies to a tail wind with the stern of the boat. When you stop to think of it, it is common sense. I guess I had just never stopped to think.

As we walked out of the factory and back toward the main entrance Mike asked if I was going to take the canoe. With the sales pitch he just pulled, of course I had to!

We went into the back hallway behind reception and did some basic paperwork. The best way I can describe the transaction is that Mike charged me enough that I needed to think about it, but gave me an enormous enough deal compared to the value of the boat that I would have been dumb not to take the offer. He also asked what I planned to do with my old canoe. I told him the deal I made with Marty (at least one overnight trip within a year) and he liked the idea. After telling a coworker about it he paused for a second as if thinking to himself..."the only issue is that now he has an Old Town!" He chuckled.

After some more talk of the trip and the river ahead there was one more detail to work out. The boat and all my gear was stashed at Marty's house, a few miles from the river. With no car and only Marty's bike I needed to find a way to get my boat and equipment to the Miss. I told Mike this, and without hesitation he offered to send one of his employees with a pickup and boat rack to help me out. Awesome. After a quick wrap up we shook hands and went our separate ways. As I walked out Mike said "stay in touch, let us know how you do".

With Marty's bike in the back of the pickup myself and Connor, a Wenonah employee, headed back to home base. After loading gear in the truck bed, strapping the new boat onto the rack and making sure everything was squared away at Marty's we hit the road. Connor dropped me off at Prairie Island, the same campground that the Bluegrass festival was at, and the same boat launch that Marty Finn, Tres and I had started from for our afternoon paddle the day before. Full circle!

By the time I got on the water it was about noon. I took my time loading the new boat, trying to figure out the best way to store all of my gear while keeping equal weight distribution in mind. While a fair headwind blew I experimented with my new knowledge of tilt. I didn't realize it until I put the new Prism in the water- but my new understanding of tilt played directly into the manufacturing of the boat. Both the seat and foot brace have the ability to move about two feet back and forth, independently. This allows the paddler to constantly adjust his/her weight in the boat toward the bow or stern, thus changing the tilt for whatever wind condition may be present. As I learned, a small weight change toward the front makes a big impact on the ease of paddling into a headwind. Score.

After a full afternoon I camped on a sandy bank some 20 miles upriver from La Crosse, WI.

A great day. Funny how circumstance can lead you to the exact right place at the right time.

The Mighty Miss flows on! And after a 3 night layover in the beautiful river town of Winnona, MN- I flow on too.