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| another cold spring day on the North Shore |
Early season paddling in Minnesota started off with
some flooding creeks. Temperatures in the Twin Cities jumped in early
April, and the surrounding rivers flashed all at once. Mobilizing was
unique, there are only a few kayakers based in the Twin Cities that
really fall into the class V-caliber. Nonetheless, I was introduced to a
hand full of dedicated paddlers, and early season kayaking commenced.
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| May snow storms bring June flowers? |
The first snow to melt was in the vast farm fields to
the southwest of the Twin Cities. A few of us felt the early season
itch and made our way to a small drainage: Sand Creek. The river was
packed full of debris; logs and ice were abundant, the class 2 creek was
feeling a little intense. Luckily the river had a redeeming feature; an
unmaintained Dam that was creating a fun eight foot pourover. It
allowed the local paddlers to practice their delayed boof stroke and
even let one of them get in a little swim practice.
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| Todd Dammitt trying to dial in his boof on the dam |
Originally, when I packed for Minnesota I
stumbled upon my self-support equipment. Being the tallest peak in
Minnesota is Eagle Mountain at 2301' and Lake Superior is at an average
of 591', I knew that the sustained vertical needed for a typical
multi-day trip was lacking. Funny enough, on Easter Sunday, my second
day of paddling in Minnesota this year, we put on the Minnesota River
for an overnight self-support adventure. Thankfully, the weather stayed
relatively nice as we paddled through the beaver and eagle infested flat
water.
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| not that skittish |
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| Bald Eagle lurking in his perch |
Next up was the mighty Vermillion, a stock low-volume
(200cfs) training ground for the city boaters. Lucky for me, the sun
was shining and upon arrival I was greeted with approximately 2000cfs. A
quick inspection led to the fact that the run still worked at huge
flow. There was a couple of monster hydraulics that needed to be
avoided. The 2000cfs four minute espresso tour went exceedingly well.
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| making my way down the Vermillion river at 2000cfs, water is way up in the trees |
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| charging past one of the big holes on the Vermillion River |
Upon wrapping up the Twin Cities metropolitan
whitewater tour, it was time to head North to Duluth. If you have never
been there, Duluth is classic Minnesota. The accents are more prominent
and wearing a fur hat is not just a trend. Upon arrival to Duluth, the
snow started; It would accumulate another two and a half feet during my
stay. As the snow continued, the Duluth crowd showed off one of their
very odd, but rather respectable surf spots, Stoney Point on Lake
Superior. The water is COLD! but the waves were fun. The fact that there
were a dozen people on the break during a snowstorm attests to the core
nature of Minnesotans.
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| Scott Ewen showing off the North Shore break |
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| adventure brought to you by Chris Baer |
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