You Betcha!

Aaron and Jake rolled out of their tents this morning just in time to see a black bear swim across the river and lumber up the bank no more than 30 yards from them.  After a quick change of underwear they were able to stop in the town of Aitkin for a warm lunch and then proceeded to put an amazing 51 more miles of river behind them. 

They are camping at Half Moon Campsite, mile marker 1020 a few miles upstream from Brainerd made famous in the movie Fargo "You betcha, and I suppose that is your accomplice in the wood chipper?".  Tomorrow they will pass Camp Riley Military Reservation which will  be on the west bank of the river for 16 miles.  The river  meanders much less from now on so the mileage they acheive on the river will be more similar to "real" miles.

Posted by Aaron's dad

38 more miles

I got a text at 9:42 pm last night and all it said was 38 miles.  I interpret this as "we got a late start today because we were enjoying the 5 star resort".  When I spoke to Aaron on Friday night he said both he and Jake are sore; backs, arms and hands are all hurting.  If you look at the detailed map you can see the campsites are further apart, Aaron did not include a campsite because according to my calculations they are at river mile 1071.  This puts them 10 miles upstream from the town of Aitkin.

Many people have been asking me what the numbers are on the detailed maps.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed a system to keep track of the miles on the Mississippi River.  Miles are counted upstream from the Mississippi's confluence with the Ohio River, the southern tip of Illinois.  This makes the headwaters at Lake Itasca mile marker 1347 because it is that far from the Ohio River.  Aaron and Jake slept last night at mile marker 1071, you should be able to find that on the detailed map.  South of the Ohio River the numbering system starts over again counting upstream from mile "0" at the Gulf of Mexico.  Why there isn't one continuous numbering system is a mystery to me.

1 Shower

I spoke with Aaron on the phone last night after he and Jake traveled 44 miles to Sandy Lake Campsite.  Their goal was to get to the next campsite down river but being a Friday night the campsites were starting to fill up and they were running short on daylight.  Up to this point, the campsites they have been setting their tents on are river only access and usually only have a cleared area - the really nice ones might have a picnic table.  Last night at Sandy Lake they were treated with a campsite that not only included a shower but also a toilet!  I could feel the excitement in Aaron's voice as if they were staying at a 5 star resort. 

Aaron spoke of countless bald eagles, snapping turtles at every turn and a never ending meandering river.  In fact, he said that the river meanders so much that for them to travel 10 miles on the river they may actually be only traveling 5 miles "as the crow flies".

Week one statistics:

236 miles traveled (10% of the trip behind them)
2075 miles to the gulf
33.7 miles per day averaged
9 lakes traversed
300 feet in elevation descended
1/2 way to Minneapolis
$3450 Donated to breast cancer
200 hits on this website within the last 24 hours
1 shower for Aaron and Jake

Aaron and Jake will move from one map to the next sometime today so I have included both detailed maps to the right of this blog.

Posted by Aaron's dad

A drop of rain

On Tuesday, June 1st Aaron and Jake spent a 15 hour day on and off the water battling wind and rain as they crossed Lake Winnibigoshish.  It is said that a drop of rain takes approximately 90 days to travel the entire length of the Mississippi River.  Before this trip began Aaron and Jake estimated it would take 68 days to reach the Gulf of Mexico.  Now on June 3rd with just 6 days of paddling, including 45 miles today, they are 2 days ahead of the projected timeline which puts them at mile 0 on August 3rd.  Those drops of rain that tormented them on June 1st will dump into the gulf around September 1st and will meet their match when in turn they will be tormented by thousands of gallons of oil.

Aaron and Jake stopped at Swimming Bear Campsite last night.

Posted by Aaron's dad.

Smooth Sailing

Today Aaron and Jake put 34 miles of river behind them, stopping to camp at Leaning Willows campsite just outside Grand Rapids.  This section of river is a transition from the wetlands and forests of the headwaters to the lowland hardwood forest of Aitkin County.  Tomorrow they will need to portage around two manmade dams; one which controls the water level for Lake Pokegama and one that provides hydropower to the Blandin Paper Company.  Downstream from Grand Rapids the river shorelines become agricultural and then forested as it meanders through Aitkin County.

Posted by Aaron's dad

Rough Day

Aaron & Jake are a bit sore and tired after crossing Lake Winnibigoshish in rain and wind, finishing the day at 9:45p.m..  They only paddled 17 miles but wisely followed the shoreline and even stopped a few times to let the wind subside.  As a parent I am relieved and proud that they chose to respect the dangers of this large lake.  They spent the night at Lake Winnie Dam and should have a nice day ahead with a forecast of calm winds and temperatures in the high 60's.

Click on the detailed map to the right to see exactly where they are on the river.

Posted by aaron's dad

2 big lakes down - 1 to go

On Monday night Aaron and Jake camped at Meadowland Campground after crossing Lake Bemidji and Cass Lake covering a total of 37 miles.  Today they have to navigate Lake Winnibigoshish which is by far the largest lake they will encounter.  At this point most of the details are sketchy as cell phone signals are far and few between.  The limited texts we have received describe bald eagles, storms and high winds.

Posted by Aaron's dad

Another big day

Day 2 of the expedition ends with 34 miles at Silver Springs Campsite just outside of Bemidji.  Aaron said he will try to call tomorrow if he gets cell coverage.  Aaron & Jake were hoping to average 30 miles a day for the trip, at this rate they will blow that average away.  The first few weeks of this trip should be the slowest yet they have averaged close to 30 miles between the first two days.

Tomorrow has thunderstorms forcasted and they have several large lakes to navigate.

Posted by Aaron's dad

Day 1, 25 miles down 2286 to go

I got a text from Aaron tonight around 5:00 pm it read "Made 25 miles, camping at Stumphges Rapids".  They will have to pass through Lake Bemidji tomorrow, shortly after the lake they will pass the furthest north point on the Mississippi River ... it will all be south bound after that.

Posted by Aaron's dad

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.”

Thank you

Before we shove off Saturday, May 29th, we would like to thank everyone who showed their generous support for our venture and its cause.  We can't begin to thank all of the friends, family, and organizations who have helped us with gear, financial provisions, and support.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to reach out to everyone individually to tell how much we appreciate their kindness.  There were many people who helped us out, including Denise, who just gave a whole load of food to help us through the northern section. 

The high quality gear and equipment that was donated by different outdoor companies and organizations will help us immensely on the trip.  Their websites are located on the blog, and we hope you will think about the generosity they showed us when looking for your next outdoor equipment purchase.

After much planning and anticipation, we hope that everyone will read our blog and follow along with us on our journey.  Now, we head North.

Thank you very much,

Aaron & Jake

Gear to Grow

Gear to Grow, a non-profit organization out of Utah, is sending us a whole box of camping gear. They are an organization that collects gear donations from outdoor companies and send them to other charities, such as CityWild, Leave No Trace, and more. They have added Canoe for the Cure to the list. We couldn't thank Gear to Grow and JT Von Lunen enough for this donation.

In the News

The Daily Herald has just published an article about our trip! Check it out at:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=373188 .

The Batavia Republican published an article about our trip on May 20:

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/geneva/features/x1070018272/Mississippi-mission

US 99.5

US 99.5 - America's Country Station, has put our trip on their "Concerts and Events" page.  Here is the link:

US 99.5 supports "Canoe for the Cure"

The date has been set

We have decided on a departure date: May 29, 2010. This is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Our friend, Mike, will be driving us to Lake Itasca Friday, the 28th, where we will camp and prepare our gear. As early as possible on the 29th we will launch on our journey down the mighty Mississippi. Of course, this all depends on weather, river levels, and the logistics of the eleven hour drive to the headwaters. As of now, D-Day is May 29th!