Weather conditions:
High: 75
Low: 59
Skies: Clouds and sun early. Stray shower or thunderstorm later.
Winds: NNE 5 mph
Today’s mileage: 9 miles
Total mileage: 52 miles
Where we traveled: Mr. Sippi Campground toIsland on left band descending at Lake Pepin Head Light, mile marker 785.4
Ate:
Breakfast: steel-cut oats, quinoa, and strawberries
Dinner: taco mac and cheese
Dessert: pineapple upside down cake
2:29 p.m.
Trees surround me on a sandy hill overlooking the Mississippi at the top of Lake Pepin. We stopped early because it was too late to cross the 20-mile long lake. We are relaxing and preparing for storms this evening before a long day tomorrow. Ripple is resting upside down, tied to a downed tree 150 yards from us. John created a path lined with trees kindly left by the beavers to avoid dangers such as, ironically, the beaver-created stumps.
The mosquitos have found us.
Clouds cover the sunny skies as I munch on a chunk of parmesan, followed by homemade venison jerky chaser. Hard cheese is a treat in the early days of our trips.
This morning our alarm sounded at 5:00. John hit snooze twice before I put on my headlamp and crawled out of the tent into a dripping world. The fog nestled in as we ate breakfast but had lifted by the time we carried our gear down the rocky, steep hill and stowed it in Ripple.
The beginning of our day was calm, with eagles swooping and yelling at us.
We passed through Red Wing, Minnesota, which is where we intended to launch when we left home last week. However, through text correspondence, Dennis advised us to launch in St. Paul so we wouldn’t miss the section of river between St. Paul to Red Wing. The river didn’t disappoint.
Today, hills and bluffs have emerged in the Minnesota landscape, limiting our stopping point options, except for an occasional marina. As soon as John noticed Red River Marina, we stopped to buy him a toothbrush. (Yes, he forgot his.) We found the boat ramp, walked through the adjoining park, down the gangplank to the marina store. We tried the door handle. Locked, reminding me of the locked restrooms in the early weeks of our trip in 2015. They open at 12:00. We asked a guy on shore what time it was—10:30. Back to Ripple.
Yes, we asked someone what time it was because neither of us brought a watch. We didn’t think we needed one—we had our phones. The problem is we rarely have them on to save the battery. We have added a watch to our gear list.
When we returned to the river, so did a headwind. Even though we had paddled only a few miles before taking a break, my energy supply was depleted within a few miles. Then the Lake Pepin Head Light (there’s also a foot light) announced our arrival. Since John wasn’t sure of the camping options along the lake, he planned to stop before beginning our crossing. It was 12:30—too early to stop for the day. It was 12:30—too late to traverse a long lake. I was tired, but didn’t see any nearby options. John tried to sound upbeat and make jokes, but I could hear the stress in his voice.
We tried the back channel on the other side of the island by the head light. We pulled over once. John climbed the hill and came back before investigating very far. “This isn’t going to work. It’s too overgrown.” Honestly, I wasn’t disappointed. I wasn’t a fan of fighting the weeds. “Let’s go back to the river and try the other side of the island.”
Luckily, we found a spot on the riverside of the island.
We landed, built a path, and ate a snack. Now, I think I will read.
8:15 p.m.
After supper, we watched eagles from the beach. They didn’t see us, so no screeching. John set up a tarp shelter before we crawled into the tent at 7:30 to read and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we cross Lake Pepin.
Good night.