We're off!!!!!

Aaron’s dad will be updating this blog every week as they make their journey down the Mississippi River. You can follow their progress on the map to the right. Actually the first week of the journey they will be heading north. The Mississippi River headwaters begin at Lake Itasca and then travel north east through the Minnesota Northwoods. I was told by Aaron that the water is very low which means the first few days could be the hardest part of the entire journey.

An excerpt from the Minnesota DNR’s canoe map: Lake Itasca – Cass Lake


“At Lake Itasca 2,348 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, 560 miles from Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Mississippi River begins its course. In its first 90 miles, the river winds through ancient lake beds, and occasionally rushes through narrow valleys of spruce. At Bemidji, the river flows through the first of several lakes. This is the most scenic and most remote of the Mississippi’s Minnesota miles.The paddlers need some skills and patience in this section. There are rocky riffles, snags, and beaver dams to be maneuvered around. Campsites that are accessed from the river only, require wilderness skills.”