Monticello to Anoka on the Mississippi River with Kate

Kate and I made plans last Saturday to do a longer paddle of about 5 hours today. The forecast was for sunny skies and less wind than what it was on Saturday, but that’s not saying much because the winds were blowing 20 to 30 mph.

I called Kate Sunday night and we made plans to meet at Mississippi Point Park in Champlin. We would use Kate’s V1 so we would drive up to Monitcello at the city park where the Mississippi Classic used to start from in her car. I would leave my Suburban in Champlin. We knew the time it would take to paddle from Monticello to Anoka would be about 4 hours so we would have to paddle toward the Coon Rapids Dam to get in our 5 hours and if we went to the dam it would be a 6 hour day.

Kate likes to paddle different areas of different rivers or parts that she hasn’t done in a while. I do too, but if I’m in my C1 then I usually do what is convenient.

When I woke up this morning I was pleasantly surprise to see there wasn’t any wind. I turned on the weather show and it said the temps were 63 degrees and the winds were calm. The wind wasn’t supposed to start picking up until about 3 pm. It was going to be a very nice day to paddle down the Mississippi River. I haven’t paddled this stretch since 2003.

I wasn’t supposed to meet Kate until 8 am. I left my home around 0730 am and decided to stop and get gas. The park is only 5 minutes from my home. Kate was in the parking lot when I got there at 0745 am.

I put my paddling gear in her car and off we went to Monticello. We arrived at the park and prepared the canoe. Kate just got off crutches this past week and still has to be careful on her foot. There was a short rock wall just before the river that we had to negotiate, but after that it was all water to Anoka.

I forgot what time we started but I started my GPS. Shortly after we started we encountered some small standing waves in fact there were a couple sections but nothing serious. Prior to Marathon canoeing Kate used to whitewater canoe so she heads for the fastest water without hesitation.

Before we knew it we were in Elk River around the two hour mark. Usually every time I come through this stretch of the river the wind is always a factor but not today, The river was still flat.

Before long we were at the confluence of the Crow River with the Mississippi River. Kate has never been on this stretch of the Crow River so we decided to see if we could get up it. The first half mile or so is very rocky and water is usually very shallow. I knew if we could get up this first stretch we should be able to get to the Hwy 101 Bridge.

Kate and I made it up the first part of the river trying not to damage our LeVas paddles. Once we got past this section we only encountered a couple more shallow areas. There were a few more houses along the river since I was here in 2003. I’ve only paddle this part of the Crow River maybe 10 times because it’s usually very shallow. I also usually start in Anoka on the Mississippi when I’ve done the Crow River. We made it up to the Hwy 101 Bridge after about one hour. It would take us about 40 to 45 minutes coming back downstream. We did scrape the bottom of Kate’s canoe a couple times coming back down the river, but as Kate described it, not too bad!

We were back on the Mississippi River heading back toward Anoka. We were both very happy to have taken the side trip up the Crow instead of having to paddle down to the Coon Rapids dam to get our time in.

Kate is thinking about going to the BWCA in about a month for a solo trip with her healing broken foot and all. I told her I would look my map when I got home for a possible route. I also told her about Robert Beymer’s books on the BWCA and Daniel Pauly’s BWCA guide.

Earlier this year Kate told me that she would like to lead an all ladies wilderness canoe trip on the Back River. Earlier I gave her a video of Robert Perkins, Into The Great Solitude. This was filmed by Robert Perkins when he paddle the 700 miles of the Back River in his solo canoe the “Loon” for 72 days.

Today, I loaned her my video, Never Before Never Again with Verlen Kruger and Clint Waddell. They paddled their canoe from Montreal to the Bering Sea. An 8,000 mile trip in 176 days.

Earlier I also mentioned to Kate that I’ve been thinking of doing the first 450 miles of the Mississippi River. Just a few weeks ago she asked me if she could join me. Today we discussed the possibility of doing it next June after the General Clinton Canoe Race in New York. We would do the Mississippi River in my Minnesota II.

We arrived at the landing at the Mississippi Point Park after 5 hours and eleven minutes of paddling. We stopped for about a total of ten minutes during the paddle. The GPS said we went 33.65 miles with a moving average of 6.5 mph.

The wind never became a factor today. When we were on the Crow I mentioned that it was getting warm, but on the Mississippi River there was a slight breeze that really felt good on the home stretch.

I had a very enjoyable paddle today. It sure is nice to find someone who will put in some hours in the canoe. Thank you, Kate!

Chuck

Paddling News

This week there has been some very strong winds. The high winds prevented me from getting in the hours of paddling that I wanted to do this week.

After last week-end Round Robin and Sunday paddle I decided not to paddle on Monday, 07-07-08. I went for an hour and six minute run. Then I went to the health club and did my leg extensions and leg curls. I finished up with some abs, back exercises and stretches.

Tuesday, 07-08-08

I did get out to paddle on the river today after work. I went up to the “Horse Farm” and back. It took two hours and ten minutes. The Mississippi River is down about three feet from what it was earlier this year. There are more rocks beginning to show upstream of the Anoka Champlin Bridge.

Wednesday, 07-09-08

I did the same thing as yesterday but my time was two hours and five minutes.

Thursday, 07-10-08

I didn’t go to Hoigarrd’s Canoe Derby tonight since I didn’t have a partner. The weather was unstable and there were some storms that were happening around the Twin Cities. I went on the Mississippi River out of Champlin. I was right under a storm front. There was nothing but blue skies to the west but a big thunderhead was right above me. I debated putting in on the river but decided to see how far I could go. I was hoping the storm front would move away from me but it just sat above me. Five minutes later I heard some thunder and then saw a large bolt of lightening that was too close. Well, so much for paddling today. I turned around and got a total of ten minutes of paddling in.

I decided to go home and change into my workout clothes and go to the health club. I did some more leg workout and did an hour on the LifeFitness Cross trainer. Also some abs, back exercises and stretches.

Friday, 07-11-08

Too windy to paddle.

Saturday, 07-12-08

I paddled with Io Harberts today. She was in the bow while I was in the stern. When you have two stern people one has to go to the bow. The couple times I’ve paddled with Io this year I’ve been in the bow. We did a little less than three and a half hours. I was planning on doing five hours today. Kate Ellis, fresh off crutches this week, jumped in the bow of my canoe and we paddled about an hour and a half. Keith Canny and Lee Larpey kept us company. I got in four hours and fifty-five minutes. Kate and I made some plans to paddle about 5 hours this Monday. We plan to paddle from Monticello down to Anoka on the Mississippi River.

We were at one of the parks in Anoka where the city was holding a fishing tournament and they were giving pontoon boats rides to the public. One person talked to me about the possibility of putting together a canoe race for their Anoka RiverFest Day Celebration next year. I told this person to check out my blog and he would find my e-mail address.

I got in a run later on in the late afternoon. I did a little over on hour but half way through the run I did six intervals of about 80 to 100 yards.

Sunday, 07-13-08

Today I was hoping to paddle at least seven hours. I didn’t have a partner but even if I did no one would do seven hours. I would be paddling my C-1. The winds were blowing out of the SW when I drove to the river. Although the wind was blowing hard the river where I put in was calm. I paddled downstream toward the Coon Rapids Dam and I could tell the wind was changing. It was now coming out of the NW. It took a little less than an hour to get to the dam before I headed back upstream. There were a couple sections on the way back up where the waves were now very noticeable. I got back up to the landing where I started after two hours of paddling. I went back up to mix another bottle of Sustained Energy before continuing on my way.

When I approached the landing I saw five C-2’s coming downstream underneath the Anoka Champlin Bridge. I was up by my Suburban when they continued downstream past me.

I continued upstream after I mixed up my drink. I paddled up to the bridge when I encountered much larger waves so I decided to turn around and go back downstream. It wasn’t long before I saw the other five canoes on the far shore going back upstream in the big waves. I continued on until I reached another section of the river where the waves were building. I decided to turn around and call it a day of paddling. The winds kept building in intensity. The winds were to be 20 to 30 mph today and I would have to agree that was what it was doing.

I did some errands today and I had to pick up some items for the AuSable Canore Marathon that’s in two weeks.

I got home in time to go for a bike ride. Earlier I had gone with a group that were doing a bike ride on Sunday’s at 3 pm. They were doing bike rides because their 3 pm Cardio Kick boxing class had been canceled for the summer. I hadn’t joined them for the past two or three weeks because of some canoe races. I started my ride at 2:10 pm and then a little before three I headed over to their meeting point at the health club. I rode my bike around the area until 3 pm but no one showed up so I continued on my way. I rode my Mt. Bike for two hours and eighteen minutes.

Later I put some lettering on my canoe and worked on my adjustable foot brace. My foot straps will remain the same now and not get too loose or to tight depending on where I position my sliding seat. Al Rudqusit showed me what he did on his canoe so I took the time to do it today.

I spoke to KateEllis this evening and we made our plans for tomorrow’s paddle down the Mississippi River from Monticello to Anoka.

Io Harberts called me and told me about her and Joe Dunaisky’s night paddle today. I wanted to join then but it’s tough when my canoe partner is in Winnipeg.

I forgot to mention earlier but the last I heard, Chris Gerwing from Winnipeg will be assisting Fred Rayman of Ely with pitting for Bill and me at the AuSable Canoe Marathon.

http://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org/

Chuck Ryan

Additional Photo's from Al's Round Robin

I've uploaded some more photos from the race. My step-mother took the ones with her name and my father took the photos that has no name after 2008 Al's Round Robin.

I also added a very short video from the Blackwater Barge Canoe Race.

http://photobucket.com/chuckryan

Chuck Ryan

Al's Round Robin 07-05-08 and other activities for the week...

Photo: Chuck Ryan (father) (CI)

Photo: Chuck Ryan II (me) (CII)

Photo: CI

Photo: CII

Photo: CII

July 5, 2008

Crystal Lake (Ice Lake), Grand Rapids, MN

Al Rudquist's Round Robin race wasn’t going to start until 9 am, but I planned to get there early. I was up at 0530 am so I could eat my normal breakfast and have some coffee.

I arrived at the location on the lake a little before 8 am. This is where we would gather prior to the start of all the heats. Kirski Hakala was already there after driving from Duluth and Al Rudquist was out on the lake in an aluminum canoe putting the buoys out.

Photo: CII

This race is different than most of the other canoe races. The name board showed that there were going to be seventeen heats and it appeared there was a bye or as we call the bye in this race, a Lee Jarpey. Also, each paddler if they didn't want to complete all the heats could split up the heats with another person. This year there would be two paddlers who wanted to split the heats in half. Each heat would last approximately nine or ten minutes. Since there were only going to be 17 heats we were going to do them all in one day. When I did this race in 2003 we had 32 people so we did 20 heats the first day and the remaining heats were completed the next day.

Photo: CII

Each paddler, unless they were splitting up the heats with someone, would race with each of the other sixteen paddlers and they would also get a Lee Jarpey or bye. Lee Jarpey was signed up to do this race in 2003 when there were 32 paddlers signed up. The schedule was already printed up with each paddler paired up with Lee. Lee Jarpey was a no-show so this made an odd number of paddlers so when each paddler was scheduled to race with Lee they would have to sit out the heat and given a time of ten minutes for the bye. This is how Lee Jarpey's name became associated with the term bye.

Photo: CII

There would be five buoys placed about the lake. The majority of the time we would go around the course a certain way starting at the first buoy going counter clockwise, but there would be some surprises in this race where we would be told to do the course in reverse after we were lined up to start a heat.

The racers began showing up for what appeared was going to be a nice, but warm day. Everyone got ready for the race and those would had a canoe prepared it before Al Rudquist called all the paddlers together before the 9 am start.

Al made a couple of announcements. One was that Dan Hassel hasn’t been feeling well lately and as most everyone knows he has cancer. Al wanted to call him prior to the start of the race to let him know we were all thinking of him and then Al pointed the phone toward all of us and we all yelled, Hut for Dan!

Photo: CII

Photo: CII

The second announcement was that next week would be Al’s parent's 50th wedding anniversary. They were both present for the start of the race. Al brought out a cake and offered everyone a piece, but most of us thought it was a little too early to eat cake especially before the start of some hard paddling.

Al described the race course to us and he pointed out where all the buoys were located on the lake. The normal course would have us going around the first four buoys counter clockwise and then clockwise around the last buoy. One of a few different twists in this race that we would find out about later would have us doing the course in reverse. We now would have go around the first buoy counter clockwise then the next four clockwise. Depending where one was lined up this could give you a slight advantage.

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

The name board had our names and our number that would correspond to the number on our shirts. I would be # 12.

Photo: CI

The people who showed up to paddle today were Al Limberg, Al Rudquist, Joe Manns, Brett Arenz, Devin Arenz, Chuck Ryan, Corey Meyer, Kate Ellis, Dennis Leneveau, Io Harberts, Joe Dunaisky, Mike Davis, George Stickler, John Mundahl and Kirsti Hakala. Krista Matison would split up the heats with Maren Hagen and Steph Larson would do the same with Lilly Manns.

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

The earlier heats were faster than the later heats due to everyone getting tired and the wind became more of a factor. The temperature rose to the mid 80's. If it wasn't for the strong breeze it really would have been a hot day.

When Al was done speaking everyone checked the board to see who they were paddling with for the first heat. I was going to be paddling with George Stichler.

Photo: CI

George and I were in 6th place behind Kate Ellis and Joe Dunaisky coming down the home stretch. It appeared George eased up on his paddling and then stopped paddling a few yards from the finish line.

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

I told him we needed to paddle hard the whole time and George told me he knew that we couldn't catch the canoe in front of us. I told him that the times are added up for the 17 heats and George told me he thought it was done by position.

There were a few different twists to some of the heats. We would only find out about them after we were lined up for the start.

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Besides going around the course in reverse the first twist was when Krista Matison and I were paired up in heat # 5. Krista was in the bow and I was in the stern. We then lined up for the start when Ann Manns told us that we all needed to switch ends. Now Krista was in the stern and I was in the bow. This actually worked out for us and we finished in 5th place for that heat and we were the first mixed team.

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

I believe it was in heat #6 where Al Limberg who was the race leader at the time had to paddle with a heavy wooden paddle. I didn't see Al thrown the paddle to the side before the second to last buoy but we ended up hitting the paddle while it was in the water.

Another twist was in heat #8 when Io Harberts and I were paddling together. We were told that one of the paddlers had to be in the water. We took the canoe back to shore and Io who was in the stern stood in the water prior to the horn to start. There were a couple canoes that elected to do a deep water start at the start line. These two paddlers who were in the deep water were Joe Manns in his canoe and Brett Arenz in his canoe.

Heat #11 had us lined up facing backwards toward the shore. Both Joe Manns and I thought Ann Manns say we had to paddle to shore then turn around. We decided that we would paddle to shore and stay in the canoe while making the turn. Well, to out surprise when we turned around we found that Al Rudquist and Kate Ellis were 25 to 30 yards a head of us. They never paddled to shore but instead they just turned the canoe around. Joe and I caught up with them but we could never get passed them at the end. Al and Kate finished 2.7 seconds ahead of us. We complained a little bit, but it didn't help. Everyone else paddled to shore and then turned around, also.

Al Limberg was the overall winner with a time of 2:41:03.4 and Al Rudquist was in second place 6.9 seconds behind. I came in 6th place with a time of 2:46:36.6.

Results: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p5GF8iYH0j-JErlCW3mL6IA

Here are the results from 2003: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p5GF8iYH0j-Ki4lGbcWYIGg

Here are the results from 2004 to the present: Thanks, Joe!

http://home.comcast.net/~mannsjp/

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

The whole race took a little over seven hours to complete.

I want to thank Al Rudquist and his volunteers for putting on this race. This race is a great way to paddle with some other people you would probably not have the opportunity to paddle with.

I took some photos before and after the race. My step-mother and father took some photos of the race when they showed up. My step mother took a few short movies and when I get time I will post a link to them, but it might be a while.

Photo: CII

Photo: Joe Manns with CII's camera

Afterwards, everyone was invited over to Al Rudquist's for the cook out.

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Photo: CI

Edit: On 07-11-08 I uploaded additional photos from this race to my Photobucket. If you linked to my blog from skinnyski.com it will bring you to this post. You need to type in CIIcanoe.com to see all the post after this one, but I will put a link here to the same photos photos that I posted today. http://photobucket.com/chuckryan

Sunday, 07-06-08

Since we completed Al's Round Robin in one day, most of us decided to go for a paddle on the Mississippi River.

Thirteen of us showed up to paddle from the landing at the Blackberry Bridge. This was the same landing that some of us paddled from last week. He thirteen people were Al Rudquist, Krista Matison, Al Limberg, Kate Ellis, Io Harberts, Joe Dunaisky, Corey Meyer, Steph Larson, Joe Manns, Ann Manns, George Stickler, John Mundahl and me.

I would begin paddling with Ann Manns who was in the bow. Her husband, Joe, would paddle Al Rudquist's C-1.

Al Limberg only wanted to paddle about two hours since he had to drive back to Wausau, Wisconsin. Ann Manns has had problems with one of her arms or shoulder and decided to switch with Joe about a halh hour downstreAM. Ann paddled the C-1 back to the landing while the rest of us paddled further downstream.

After Joe and I began to paddle together several of us took part in several sprints going around the bends in the river. Al Limberg was paddling with Kate Ellis in her Corbin V1 Pro while Al Rudquist and Krista Matison paddled in their V1.

Al Rudquist and Krista wanted to try Kate's Corbin boat so they switched canoes on the way back upstream. Kate likes the Corbin boat for when she is paddling with a heavier bow paddler. The gunwales are tucked in further back in the bow so the bow paddler can sit further back helping to properly trim the canoe when there is a much lighter person in the stern.

We arrived back at the landing after two hours and seven minutes of paddling. I asked a couple people if they wanted to paddle some more since I planned to paddle another two hours. It was the holiday week-end so I knew there was going to be a lot of traffic. I figured I would rather sit in my canoe for another two hours and leave a little later and hopefully traffic will have cleared some.

Al Rudquist invited me back to his place for lunch but I declined since I was going to paddle some more.

I put my C-1 in the river and decided to paddle upstream. Last week I came down this stretch but it was at night when we did our night paddle. I saw an eagle and a couple deer while paddling back upstream toward Grand Rapids.

I finished my paddle back at the landing after two hours and eight minutes. My total paddling time for today was four hours and fifteen minutes. I felt pretty good today after yesterday's seventeen sprints over a seven hour time period.

There is only 3 weeks before te AuSable Canoe Marathon.


Other activities this past week.

Monday, 06-30-08

Today, I went on the Mississippi River out of Champlin in my C-1 for two hours and thirty –five minutes. Then I decided to do a one hour run before going to the health club for some leg extensions and leg curls. While at the club I did some ab work and stretches. Well, I might as well go for a bike ride. I took the road bike for a one hour and twenty-one minute spin.

Tuesday, 07-01-08
Mississippi River paddle in my C-1 for two hours.

Wednesday, 07-02-08

No workout!

Thursday, 07-03-08

I was back on the Mississippi River out of Champlin in my C-1 for two hours and forty minutes. I came across several others paddling downstream while I was going upstream. I asked if any of them were doing the Round Robin as they paddled by when I heard no one in this group.

Friday, 07-04-08

I drove up to Grand Rapids to my father's place on Pokegama Lake. When I got there we went for a pontoon ride and later that night I took photos of the fireworks that took place off Drumbeater Island. The fireworks lasted twenty-five minutes.

Chuck Ryan

All Rights reserved

CIIcanoe.com

Group Paddle in Grand Rapids with Friends

Sunday, 06-29-08

I called Al Rudquist at 8 am as planned to see where we would paddle today. If the wind wasn’t blowing hard we were planning to go to some Chain of Lakes about 10 miles north of Grand Rapids otherwise we would go on the Mississippi River.

The wind was blowing so Al told me to meet them at the Blackberry Bridge Landing at 9 am. We passed this landing during the night paddle last night.

There would be two additional people joining us this morning. Krista Matison and Maren Hagen.

Maren and I would paddle together today. I actually met Maren in 2003 when Deighen Blakely and I met Theresa Alto and her to paddle from this same landing.

Al Rudquist would go with Dan Shaffer. Io Harberts and Joe Dunaisky, Corey Meyer and Krista Matison today.

The sun was shining and it was just a nice day to be paddling. We went downstream for about one hour and fifteen minutes. This was about 10 minutes past the landing where we took out on our night paddle last night. On our way back upstream Krista was bonking so I gave her a Powerbar to eat. Then Dan Shaffer jumped in the bow of her canoe and Corey went from the bow with Krista to the stern with Al. Krista felt much better after eating some of the Powerbar and paddled on with a smile back to the landing.

Joe Dunaisky wanted to know if I would be doing a Point System for the canoe races like I did in 2003. Io Harberts also said she would like to see it done. I told them about some of the conflicts I had in the past about doing this so at this point I don’t think so , but I’ll think about it some more.

I told them about some other plans I have to have the racers interact more but I find the Minnesota racers are an independent group and they don’t necessarily do a whole lot of communicating outside a little group by e-mail or phone. Then there is the Minnesota Canoe Racers MSN site. I’ve never like this site because of a variety of issues and there isn’t much communication going on it, but when I wanted to move from this site there was resistance from a couple people so this site remained “active”. I don’t know if it will be worth my time and money to implement my plan, but it would benefit the racers, race directors and the general public.

We were back to the landing three hours and one minute after we started.

We will all be seeing each other next week-end at Al’s Round Robin on Ice Lake in Grand Rapids. See my earlier post on upcoming races for more details.

Chuck Ryan

Night Paddle in Grand Rapids

Saturday Night, 06-28-08
Earlier in the week Al Rudquist, Io Harberts and I made plans to do a night paddle Saturday night. During the meal after the Blackwater Barge race we were letting everyone know that we were doing a night paddle tonight.

Al Rudquist told me to meet at 9:15 pm at the Steamboat Landing a few blocks downstream from the Highway 169 Bridge that goes over the Mississippi River in Grand Rapids.

Joe Dunaisky told me about an LED bulb for a Mag light that he put in his flashlight that was much brighter than the standard one that I had in mine. I went to five locations in Grand Rapids before finding one for my three “D” cell mag light. These bulbs aren’t cheap, but it’s going to be nice to have a brighter light.

I went back to my father’s and began to work on my light set up. A few minutes later my father came home and helped me out. Years ago I had attached the mag light holders to a piece of wood that was cut to an angle that was going to be installed on my Wenonah V1 Pro. The bow plate on the Crozer was different than the Wenonah’s so I needed an additional piece of wood to raise the light up a quarter inch or so. After the triangle piece of wood was cut for the top of the bow plate and another one was cut for underneath I secured the light so it couldn’t tear the thin carbon fiber of the bow plate.

While working on the light set-up it began to rain hard and the wind was now blowing strongly whipping up large white caps on Pokegama Lake. I had a couple of cups of coffee while waiting for the time to leave for town. It would only take at most 20 minutes to get there. When I arrived at 9:10 pm everyone was taking the canoes off the other cars. Al said we would spot my Suburban and Joe Dunaoisky’s car at the take out point.

I took my canoe off and put my paddling gear inside it. Joe Dunaisky and I followed Al Rudquist and Dan Shaffer to where we would spot out vehicles downstream. Io Harberts and Corey Meyer were left to fend for themselves in the 59 degree wet, windy weather.

Al drove down the River Road to the landing that I believe was about 10 straight road miles away. Coming back to where we would start our paddle a doe ran out in front of Al’s vehicle where we just missed hitting the deer. Luckily there wasn’t a second deer.

When we got back to Steamboat Landing, Io and Cory were standing on the lee side of a building to get out of the wind. Prior to the start I took a photo of everyone. I believe we all started with some sort of rain jacket or warmer long sleeve top but those quickly came off once we began paddling. We were on the water at 0947 pm.

The rain held off and the wind was mostly to our backs, but there would be a couple areas in the oxbows of the Mississippi where the wind would be in our face. Al said our paddle should take us two and a half hours.

Early on there was still plenty of light to run the river without lights. As we paddled longer there were several sections where a light was needed because it was so dark. Al knows this part of the river like the back of his hand, but there was one tree that was lying in the river that wasn’t there the last time Al paddled this section. This tree was in an area that was so dark that we had our light on so the tree didn’t pose a problem.

Since Al knew the river he knew all the correct lines to run the corners. If someone was running the river at night that didn’t know it as well they would still get down the river but with more meandering. This is the same with any river that someone doesn’t know well or at all.

Al told me my light was fine the way I set it up. I couldn’t see how my light was illuminating the water in front of him since all I could see is Al’s back. I could see the wide angle off to his sides and I could see the light in the trees further in front.

We didn’t need to run with the light constantly, but when we would get to an area that was totally black I would ask Al which way to go.

I remember in 2000 when I did the AuSable Canoe Marathon with Al DuBois there were times why I was in the stern I couldn’t tell which way the AuSable River would turn. I would say, Al which way and he would reply, I don’t know! Sometimes we wouldn’t know which way to go until we got there and then to complicate things there would sometimes be a sweeper that we would need to maneuver around.

I remember being totally focused during the whole night while on the AuSable and that the night seemed to pass quickly but it was also mentally exhausting.

Tonight, Al Rudquist would say some things about the river such as a cut coming up or we are going on the inside of a tree off the point. Of course, I couldn’t see these things until we were just about upon them. The river gives you a whole different perspective while paddling it at night. Hopefully what ever you find on the water you have enough time to react to it safely. This is one reason to practice paddling at night.

One aggravating factor when doing a night paddle is when a canoe behind you keeps their light on. This bright light bounces off everything blinding you so you can’t see in front of the canoe. If the person in front of you is wearing white clothing this really causes a problem. It’s a good idea to wear dark clothing. Last year Kate Ellis became nauseated and was vomiting because a canoe behind her wouldn’t turn off their light for three hours or so.

We finished our paddle right at two hours. Al was surprised that we finished so quickly. We did have some wind at our backs but we all paddled hard tonight.

Several of us talked about mentioning a head of time when the Blackwater Barge Race is held next year to plan on doing another night paddle and then another paddle on the Sunday after the race. So everyone mark your calendars next year for a week-end full of paddling. Everyone can do the race on Saturday, a night paddle on Saturday night and then a daytime paddle on Sunday.

Every canoe doesn’t have to have a light source on their canoe to do the night paddle next year.

Chuck

2008 Blackwater Barge Festival Canoe Race

Saturday, 06-28-08

Today was the Blackwater Barge Canoe Race in Cohasset, Minnesota. The race wasn’t scheduled until 1:45 pm. This is a later start than most of the other canoe races. I was staying at my father’s place on Pokegama Lake not too far away.

I was up early and just hung around the house until I left for Portage Park where the race would start and the festival was being held around 1130 hours. I had to go the long way around to Cohasset from my fathers place because of road construction on Hwy. 17. I needed to stop into The Home Depot anyways for some batteries than I would need later for our scheduled night paddle on the Mississippi River.

Al Rudquist was already at the festival when I arrived. We would be racing together today. We went up to register and got our free t-shirt. There was still plenty of time before the race so I talked with some of the other racers before getting my canoe off my Suburban. I also watched the short parade where candy was being thrown to the children who watching the parade. It looked like Halloween with the children with all their goodies that they collected!

It’s a shame that more racers wouldn’t be attending this race since there were three other races scheduled for today in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I know of some other racers who were attending the other races today so there wouldn’t be that many people racing in the Pro class here in Cohasset.

There was also a recreational class that would do one lap and they start on the water. The Pro’s would do two laps. They do a LeMans start and there’s a longer portage between the two laps.

Al Rudquist assigned the start order for the LeMans start. If I remember correctly there were six canoes in the Pro class. There was Al and me; Fred Rayman and Ed Arenz; Io Harberts and Cory Meyer; Joe Dunaisky and ??; Dan Shaffer and ??, Keith Canny and Lee Jarpey.

We were all assigned our order of placement by Al Rudquist and we all lined up single file. Al and I were the last ones in line. When the signal was given for the start of the Pro class everyone grabbed their canoe that was on the ground and we all started running down the street before making a sharp right turn down the boat launch to the river that’s probably 10 feet wide.

When Al and I got to the water there was just a small opening. Al ran into the water with me following. We had a smooth start and we were the third ones to start paddling. The course begins by paddling out and around an island then we head back around a buoy near where we launched our canoes. We rounded the island first and back to the buoy. After the buoy turn we decided to have a sociable first lap and we let the two other canoes catch up to us. These two canoes were Io and Corey and Ed and Fred.

When we all approached the portage through the cattails and other vegetation, Al and I made it in first. Al got out first and began pulling the canoe a head before I jumped out. I was hoping I wouldn’t sink too far in the muck. The portage begins with a short run before we have to go up a steep, short incline before running through the Portage Park complex, across the road, then down the boat landing before getting to the lake.

The second lap was like the first one. Up around the island and back to the buoy before making the long circle back to the Mississippi River. After we rounded the island we could see that we had a sizeable lead over the second place canoe of Io and Corey. Way behind then were Ed and Fred. Something must have happened to them because all three of us approached the first portage together.

Al and I did a steady paddle back to the portage off the Mississippi River. This time we only had to run about 100 yards before the finish line. We finished the course a couple seconds over one hour and twenty-nine minutes. I believe it was 1:29:04.

Io and Corey came in second followed by Ed and Fred in third. I noticed that Ed couldn’t run. Ed told me later he had pulled a muscle in his calf on his second step during the first portage. I watched as Ed hobbled across the finish line with Fred behind him.

I don’t have the race results at this time but I hope to have them soon. I will post them if I get them.

I hope more people attend this race in the future. The organizers treat everyone very well. Besides giving out cash prizes and trophies to the winners they provided a meal to everyone who attended the festival.

The one sight I wish everyone could have seen was when Micki Rayman was paddling with her three young nieces. They were all in a recreational canoe with the two smaller ones in make shift seats in the middle of the canoe. The start of the recreational class had begun and I could hear Micki call, Hut!, and the young girls would all switch sides in unison. The two middle girls had to raise their paddles high over the head of their sisters in front of them. Once they got the paddle to the water they began a very quick stroke rate. They appeared to be having a blast!

Several of us, including Al Rudquist, talked about this week-ends lack of participation of the racers and we decided next year to promote the race better by letting people know that theirs going to be more paddling than just the race. We decided to make this week-end a paddling week-end. In addition to the race on Saturday we would schedule a night paddle for Saturday night and a day light paddle on Sunday to make the trip worth while for those who drive a distance to Grand Rapids.

I want to thank my step-mother, Donna Ryan, for providing the photos so that I could post them on my blog. She also took a short video before the batteries ran out. When I have time I may see how to post it on You Tube and provide a link to it.

Chuck Ryan