2004-08-03 Shallow Water on the Mississippi River

Bonnie Peterson & Ed Arenz, Lee Jarpey & Keith Canny, Sarah Kueffer & Rick Lorenzen, and Steve Peterson in a C1 racer paddled upstream from where the Rum River enters the Mississippi River to just below Dayton and back.  Some may have been a bit burned out from racing.  Sarah had exercised over 6 hours before we started so it was an easy practice.  It had been raining steady when I left work to go paddle, but the rain subsided just when we started at 5pm.   

Sarah wanted to paddle bow because she was going to race in the bow at the next Hoigaards race.  She hadn’t been in the bow much lately.  We came out the mouth of the Rum River into the Mississippi River at Champlin and turned upstream towards Dayton.   The rocky bottom shallows were dangerous for paddles when you head upstream against the stronger current of the shallows.  It takes a good sense of touch to let up when you felt the blade tip hit a rock because the current and your force could snap it.  I have broken a few paddles to learn it the hard way.

Sarah and I sprinted a few times going upstream and the others stayed on our wake.  We turned back just as we saw the white fenced ranch below Dayton.  Once we saw the Anoka bridge, Bonnie and Ed headed to the left side where it was shallower.  Lee and Keith put the hammer down and headed right to the deeper water so we followed them.  We couldn’t quite get over their stern wake to pull alongside and after trying for quite a long ways, Sarah decided to let them go.  I was happy to let them go too.  Steve had dropped back so we swung back to paddle along with him. 

Sarah and I practiced a couple buoy turns on the way back up the Rum River.  It had been an easier practice than most had been recently.