CHURCHILL DAM, LAC QUI PARLE LAKE - They’ve endured seven straight days of stifling heat, humidity and steady headwinds, and they have nearly 300 miles yet to paddle.
Such a start might take the wind out of any group’s sails, but not this one. The five paddlers comprising the Paddle Forward 2015 adventure were more than eager to launch their two canoes and kayak Monday morning below the Churchill Dam on the south end of Lac qui Parle Lake and get back on the water.
“This is our first like really nice day where it’s not crazy hot,’’ said Liz Just, to explain the paddlers’ obvious enthusiasm. “A tough bunch,’’ she added.
It’s a tough bunch with a goal that is larger than just covering the miles to their destination, according to Just, who is serving as the support person for the trip.
Sponsored by the Wild River Academy, the Paddle Forward 2015 trip is all about connecting with students and schools in the Minnesota River watershed. Each day the crew posts video, photos and a narrative about what they have encountered. There are teachers and students following the trip on the Internet, and taking part in a curriculum that uses the trip to explore lessons in everything from history and geology to how people interact with their environment.
Wild River Academy was launched four years ago to lead young people on expeditions on water trails close to their homes in Minnesota. Nick Ryan, who is among the paddlers, helped co-found the Academy. He has led middle school and high school students on four different overnight excursions along portions of the Minnesota River this past summer.
Each year the organization also supports an adventure the length of a river.
Three years ago, Ryan was among those who completed the first Paddle Forward adventure by paddling the length of the Mississippi River. Last year they took on the Illinois River.
This year they returned to the Minnesota River and the organization’s roots. Wild River Academy was launched by co-founder Natalie Warren after she and friend Ann Raiho made history as the first women to replicate Eric Sevareid and Walter Port’s 2,000-mile paddle from Fort Snelling to Fort York on Hudson Bay.
This year’s trip began in the Big Stone National Refuge on Sept. 1, and by design is going “really, really slow,’’ according to Just. That’s because the group is spending a day or two at various stops along the way to learn about their surroundings. At the start, they learned about the area’s prairie heritage and the importance of stewardship to protect the resources that make this one of the nation’s most productive agricultural landscapes.
Ryan is leading four paddlers who are new to the Minnesota River on this trip. They come with a mix of paddling experience. Grace Heneghan, originally of Madison, Wis., is a graduate of Northland College in Ashland, Wis., and spent last summer guiding canoe trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
David Benda, of central Illinois, is making his first extended canoe trip. Benda is interested in writing and decided to quit his job in Chicago and join the trip for the opportunity to visit with people and tell their stories.
Benda said he has already enjoyed a taste of the “Minnesota Nice’’ he had heard about before the trip. Just a few nights earlier, the paddlers pitched their tents at Randall’s Resort near the Milan Bridge as guests of the resort owners. Jeff Randall surprised his guests with a hearty pancake breakfast the next morning.
Ryan said the paddlers came with expectations of seeing a highly developed, industrial-style landscape along the Minnesota River.
After they left the homes lined up along Big Stone Lake like books on a shelf, they have enjoyed the beauty of a river corridor that retains much of its wild character. “The people have been really surprised that the river is as picturesque as it is,’’ Ryan said.
The river maintains its beauty and wild character despite the pressures put on it, although the signs of human interaction are plentiful too, the paddlers said. The algae blooms in Marsh and Lac qui Parle Lakes told the story of excessive nutrients reaching the waters. “No one wanted to swim,’’ Just said.
They look forward to seeing all that awaits them downstream, especially now that they have put the wind-swept waters of the upper lakes behind them. “I’m excited to introduce new people with fresh eyes to the river,’’ Ryan said.
The paddlers were planning to camp in Montevideo’s Lagoon Park Monday night and today and explore the efforts in the community to make people aware of all the river has to offer. They expect to reach Mankato by the end of the month and St. Paul by Oct. 10.
To follow their adventure on social media, visit the Wild River Academy website
http://www.wildriveracademy.com/
or the Paddle Forward
http://paddle4ward.com/
page.
