“Urban wilderness” trip report

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September 28, 2009

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Saturday morning for a great canoe trip down the Mississippi River. It was a beautiful day and a fun adventure on the Twin Cities’ “urban wilderness.”

About 70 people turned out for the event, filling eight voyageur canoes. Despite passing under major vehicle bridges and canoeing right through the heart of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, we enjoyed some fall colors, at least one Bald eagle, a couple Great Blue herons, a kingfisher and other wildlife. There was also lots of great conversation about the Boundary Waters and other adventures around Minnesota.

Thanks to Wilderness Inquiry for their assistance in making this event happen!

: A ranger from the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area addresses the group before departing.

: The paddlers get instruction from Wilderness Inquiry staff at East River Flats before heading down the river.

: The large group split up into groups of eight to 10 people per canoe and got to know each other before hitting the water.

: A view down the river from the East River Flats landing.

: Friends executive director Paul Danicic.

: Two of the canoes wait while the other boats load and launch.

: Heading downriver.

: There were beautiful splashes of fall colors on the river banks.

: The floatilla makes it way down the Mississippi.

: Two of the 24-foot voyageur canoes.

: Taking a break while a Park Service ranger talked about the geologic history of the Mississippi River gorge.

: Smiling canoeists.

: Onward.

: There is probably no better way to spend a Saturday than with a canoe full of friends.

: A highlight of the trip was passing through Lock and Dam No. 1.

: The canoes stuck close together while being lowered in the lock.

: The big canoes loaded back up on their trailers.

: The lock gates begin to open.

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2 Comments

Aaron Seymour-Anderson says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:35 am

Thanks so much to both The Friends and Wilderness Inquiries.

Great idea. Hope you do it again.

aaron

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L Scull says:

September 28, 2009 at 1:00 pm

How do we find out about future trips? We saw the group landing at Hidden Falls while on our bike ride Saturday afternoon. This looks like great fun!

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“Urban wilderness” trip report

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