HuckFinn2 2010

For our second year canoeing down the Mississippi River Huck Finn style, we started on the St. Croix near Prescott WI. The first day we paddled over 30 miles to our campsite on the Wisconsin side of northern Lake Pepin. The second day presented us with heavy winds and whitecap waves. The only way to leave our isolated campsite was to head directly into the wind, which was also up stream. Fortunately the wind direction allowed us to slowly angle our way over to the Minnesota side. It took us about 2 hours to cross just 2 miles of northern Lake Pepin. The high bluffs on the Minnesota side gave us a short reprieve from the wind and waves. During our break the winds shifted from the Northwest to the South, to once again batter us head on while we made our way down Lake Pepin on the Minnesota side. We eventually made shore at Sand Point, a part of Frontenac State Park that sticks way out into Lake Pepin and provides a sheltered bay.

To continue on from Sand Point our only choice was to head directly into the wind. The wind appeared to come from the next point, a part of Hok-Si-La Park jutting into the lake. But the next reprieve was 3 miles away and the slightest turn of the bow away from the headwind would cause the canoe to jerk around in an irreversible about-face, forcing us to return back to our starting place either paddling or worse yet, adrift capsized. If the wind direction changed the slightest away from the next point, we would be forced to continue on for up to another 9 miles before reaching calm waters. So there we stayed, squatting at Sand Point on Lake Pepin and hoping the next day would bring a shift in the wind. But that evening the relentless wind just intensified, so for Day 3 we decided to end our Huck Finn trip a day early and paddle upstream to the Florence Community Beach.

The video was shot on a ContourHD 1080p helmet camcorder. We call it Rat Cam because the camera is wrapped in synthetic fur to reduce wind noise in the audio.