(Political post warning)

I woke up to the sound of Wade and Clyde moving around and beginning to boil water. Turns out they were able to stay dry sleeping under the tarp through the downpour, but didn't get a great nights sleep due to a chilly evening and the infamous Minnesota mosquitos.

After telling a few more hunting stories and discussing the Timber-wolf population in the area (Wade once had one stalk his tree stand while in it), the father and son duo hit the water around 7:45AM, eager to get active and regenerate some warmth all while looking to avoid the rain storm that was supposed to hit around noon.

Another solid day on the river with more good folks met!

Today started off slow...a late wake up, 2 cups of coffee, oatmeal and some morning relaxing lead way to an 11 o'clock start time on the water. A beautiful hot sunny day helped me recognize how lucky I am to be on this trip.

For most of my wilderness camping trips I try to refrain from bringing speakers or music along. For most of us, our lives are constantly filled with artificial noise. Cars, air conditioners, TVs, music, sirens, horns. For that reason, when I do get into the backcountry it's refreshing and replenishing to take in the sounds of our natural world and nothing else for a few days. However, on this trip, which is less of a wilderness trip and more of a grand adventure, I do have my phone with, and boy have I enjoyed bumping music while cruising the river. For the first half of the day I jammed all kinds of tunes- a bunch of bluegrass, a Dylan album, a live Marley shown and some late great Jimmy Martin. Perfect way to spend a few hours.

Another great day on the river!

Things started off early this morning with a 7:15AM call from Clinton Rosette Middle School in DeKalb, IL. A second teacher from the school has decided to hop on board with the project, so we had a quick chat discussing how I envision the project going and some of what I hope the kids get from it. A short 15 minutes later I hung up and set up my lawn chair to overlook the river.

The campsite, Crazy James Point, is my favorite yet. A small hill overlooks a winding stretch of the Mississippi. As I enjoyed a warm cup of coffee I heard the first of 3 groups that would pass my point. The long distance hikers paddled by and we exchanged hellos. About an hour later Jeff cruised by in his yellow kayak. He had taken a wrong turn at the previous lake and went a mile in the wrong direction to start his morning.

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.

Aother great day on the water, and my longest day of the trip yet.

I woke up to a dew covered tent and gear around 6:50AM. The plan was to paddle with John and Jeff, two fellow through paddlers I met the day before, 30 miles to the start of Lake Winni- the largest lake of the voyage and a notoriously difficult paddle.

As we put in on the Mississippi, smoke was rising off the water, letting us know our goal of an early morning start had been made.

Our first big obstacle was Cass Lake, a 5 mile open water crossing.

Another solid day on the Mighty Mississippi! I woke up early, made some oatmeal and coffee with plans of hitting the water around 9:00am. After busting down my tent I realized my rain fly and footprint (tarp that goes under my tent to protect it from rain plus wear and tear) were pretty caked with dew. So rather than rush onto the water and pack away a wet tent I set both rain fly and footprint out to dry as the morning turned into a rather leisurely start.

After a second cup of Joe and a little guitar time I packed away a dry tent and loaded the boat. Most of the river today was wide enough and deep enough to navigate without any real issues. Still had to get out and dislodge myself from a sandbar every now and again, but nothing too bad.