Bike, Boat, Rope

The scenery is going to get a lot better

 Last Friday I got head-start on the weekend by getting out of work at noon and meeting ArcFlash for an adventure. I wasn't planning on leaving early or even going with AF but I had all the gear with me at work ready to go, it turns out he had all the gear too. When I knew it would be a short day,I got a hold of AF and informed him of my plan for the afternoon. By 12:30pm we were eating fish tacos at Sea Salt near Minnehaha Falls poised to start our adventure.

On our way

Had to use the full suspension bike since my back is all jacked up for some reason

This creek appears to be in the wild, cars can be heard from any spot along the waterway, but it's still one of my favorite annual paddles.  

  My plan for the day was to ride from work in Mahogany Town, 7-8 miles to Minnehaha Falls for lunch. From there we would follow the bike path up river along Minnehaha Creek to the south end of Lake Harriet. Inflating the packrafts and lashing down the bikes for a 90 minute paddle back towards the falls would be the first challenge of the day. There is a little park with a put-in just south of the lake I have used many times. It's a good place to start for an exciting ride down river to the falls, with  lots of twists and turns, small rapids, and low bridges.

The creek was low so the little rapids weren't as much fun as they could be

AF informed me a clove hitch is a monitored knot just before I got on it ,   Huh ? The one that looks tight is the one I'm hanging off of, the other is just a short whip attached to a small diameter cord. The webbing and the quick-link are the cost of the rap, meaning they are left behind . About  6 $

AF is about to lower his bike. It's approximately 50' to the bottom based on the slack left in my 60 ' pull cord

  Part two of the adventure had us packing up the boats near the falls and riding about five miles to a pit/drainage and a rappel. Keep in mind none of this is necessary but lots of fun just the same and requires a little imagination on why we are doing it. A road or trail can get you just about anywhere in the city with ease.  I don't really like doing things that are easy or safe. I like doing difficult and dangerous things safely.So we just have to pretend there are no roads where we are going and make our own routes.

We're trying to keep his nice new Krampus .... New!

 

AF  taking a shower so I can get a good pic, Thanks Man 

 The rappel was super fun. There was water flowing into the pit which made it a little more exciting. I was also trying out some new gear and techniques. First, I had a mini, four-bar rack for the rappel on a single line. These are familiar to vertical cavers but not to climbers so I had some difficulty figuring out how to use it properly. The people at REI and Midwest Mountaineering had no idea what it even was. I bought it used so it had no instruction manual and no one on the internet posted any good pics of how to lace the rope through it, attach it to the harness, and use it properly. I practiced in my basement the night before and was confident it would work the next day. Second, I wanted to use a single line with a pull cord, this saves on weight and allows one to rap the full length of the rope. Again this is something no one at REI or Midwest knows how to set up. I was quite disgusted at their bullshit answers and lack of knowledge. This is a common technique for canyoneers but there are no good pics of how to do it just right. I practiced that in the basement the night before as well. It boils down to a clove hitch fastened to the spine of a carabiner and  positioned so it cannot be pulled through a quick-link attached to webbing anchors at the top of the drop. It sounds simple, and it is, but when you are going to trust your life on the end of it, it has to work.      The rack and the single rope/pull cord worked awesome !

All Wet 

Exit

Recognize this bridge ?

 After wrapping up the ropes and getting them back on the bike it was time for another short ride and one more quick trip in the raft. We put-in on the Mississippi, crossed a channel on the upstream side of Pike Island to the Minnesota River and took out near the Sibley House. AF and I bid farewell as I headed toward Eagan to join my family for a "last day of school" party and he toward St Paul for another round of packrafting with a mutual friend.

The sun makes it's first appearance in weeks and we are in the shade near the Sibley House

P.S. This is the second installment of "Minnesota Canyoneering". I have named this one "Lor's Pit" for the close proximity to the mythical creature's lair that I invented last fall. This is a popular area for ice climbers and they have their own name for it but mine is a summer, non-ice route so I'm giving it my own name. And just in case you might recognize this spot in a recent post from another local blogger, I have known about it for years and am no way a copycat. In fact I rapped it last fall but didn't find a need to post anything about it.  

Signs of Spring

It's definitely been a long winter around these parts, but the cold and snow are finally starting to give way to warmer weather. On Saturday the morning started out cold and rainy. By noon the rain stopped, it was warm, and A.F. and I were out on the Mississippi with our packrafts.

Calm

getting prepped 

too much current and shallow water to go much further 

 It's been since last fall that I actually inflated the raft and used it, so I was excited to be out. The stretch of water we explored was between the two lock and dams with Minneaplois and St Paul on either side of the river. I've been down there once before on a kayak but didn't notice as much of the little bits of trash floating in the water. It was truly disgusting. We surmised it was from all the run-off of the spring thaw. It's such a beautiful place between the two bluffs it's sad to see the water all shitted up with garbage.

Lake Street (MPLS) on one end, Marshall Ave (StPaul)on the other

dwarfed 

This isn't working

 When we could, we paddled into some of the drains along our route. The water moves so fast that forward movement is difficult. This, combined with the fact that we are floating in frigid water, on single wall "balloons",  scraping along rough concrete, forces us to rethink the idea. We decide to stay out of the drains and come back with the plastic boats at a later date.

No gloves, light jacket,    Yeahh

 As the day went on, the weather just got better. On my way home from the rafting I called ahead to see if any of the family would like to go for a bike ride. Big "D" and Super Y were all in. "G" Man was not feeling well and already had his workout in for the day at gymnastics, Lynn was not feeling well either so it worked out OK for the two of them.The three of us headed for a nearby bike path that we all know very well.

I think your feet are wet now

There's always time to throw rocks in the water

 As they have gotten older, we've been able to cover more ground with each ride. Their first time out for the year, they logged a little over eight miles with no complaining, and at a good pace. Lots of water over the trail kept it interesting and fun. Big D has moved up to a larger bike and mastered the rear hand brake, I will be buying many back tires in the future. Super Y is really good at skidding too, and will be in need of a rear tire very soon. The ride was followed up by a movie, at a real movie theater with the whole family, rounding out a really fantastic day.

Out and About

a couple pros

 This weekend was pretty low key, "G"Man was out of town with Lynn for a gymnastics meet, and our little camping trip I had planned for the weekend was cancelled on account of my mom being in the hospital with some heart issues (she's all good now). I was concerned about going out of town so we stayed put and got in what we could, close to home.

A couple pros falling down

It's so much better skiing when the sun is out

 Since the boys had been skiing only the flat trails of Pike Island and were doing well, I thought it would be time for some hills. We went to Ritter Farm Park in Lakeville for some moderately hilly but short loops. This was the most fun they've had on skis this year, it turns out they were getting bored with Pike Island, "all we do is move our feet and arms back and forth" they said. All I could do is laugh when they told me this and acted out the motions of  x-c skiing.  I was really impressed at how they could hold it together on the twists and turns of the hills, they did well.

  After the skiing we headed home for dinner and a movie. They wanted to sleep in the tree house that night so I had to get everything ready and the house warmed up. After it was all said and done, an hour later they came into the house saying it was too cold and uncomfortable. That was just great, it only took an hour to shovel a nice path so they could walk out there, find the space heater, find the extension cord buried in snow and ice, find a three way plug so they could have heat and light, and then haul out three sleeping bags ,mats, pillows, stuffed animals, snacks, books, extra blankets, and more stuffed animals !

That's a real eagle, and those are real kids

It appears this Golden Eagle can turn it's head completely backwards!

 The next day we got up early and went down to Wabasha to the National Eagle Center. The building was really nice and we had a good time seeing some eagles up close. We took time to listen to a speaker while one of the eagles devoured a dead rat. I learned quite a bit, but still have no desire to become a "birder" or spend two grand on a set of binoculars.

My dad and the boys in an eagles nest

That bloody mess is a dead rat MMMMMM

 After a couple hours at the NEC we started making our way back home with a couple pit stops along the way. We took a few minutes to drive out on to Lake Pepin. Lake Pepin is formed by the widening of the Mississippi River, driving on it made me a little uneasy, there's current in there somewhere right ?

About a hundred yards out on Lake Pepin......far enough

Look close, Super "Y" is throwing a snow ball in the water. This was the sole  purpose of our visit, to throw snow balls in a stream :)

Our Second stop was at Miesville Ravine, this park has a trout stream flowing through it and is located along the Cannon River. The shelters are top notch and we will definitely be heading back to picnic under them and do some more exploring when it gets warm out.        Up next...........................Man Trip 2013
D Rider .....out

Zebulon Pike

The confluence, AKA the center of the earth by Native Americans in the area 

 Zebulon Pike sounds like a strange name from a Star Trek episode, when in fact it's the namesake for a small island at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.  Although Christoper Pike was the first captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, he has nothing to do with the island. Pike Island is located within Ft Snelling State Park and is accessible by ski or foot, but not bikes.    :) he he

HWY 55, I know it's man-made, but it's impressive !

 I've made several X-C ski trips to the island this year solo, and with my boys. It's completely flat, so it's not super exciting for them, but it's close to home and I like it down there. The first trip was with Super "Y" and Big "D" almost a month ago when we had snow the first time. That all melted and it wasn't until this  past week that I was able to get back down there with "G" Man.

There is a large beaver (w/ four legs and a flat tail) under the bridge .

There are deer running across the river behind "G" Man. We thought it would be sad if they fell in but funny none the less. We even made sound effects as we imagined what they would say crashing through the ice.   :)

 While Super"Y" and Big"D" 's trip seemed to be more about snacks on the trail, "G" Man and I saw a lot of wildlife. To start, we saw a couple dozen turkeys, then a beaver, later a coyote, randomly mix in 26 deer and it was like a zoo down there.

That's a real fall, not one of the hundred or so they did on purpose  in the first kilometer 

 I was impressed to see how well the ski lessons last year stuck with them. "G" Man is quite fast, as I actually had to try to get ahead of him. The other two were pretty good but were having a competition to see who could fall the most. They paid the price for this on our way back when they were so tired of falling on purpose that when they actually fell, it was becoming difficult to get up.

Big "D"  looking good 

Can we have snacks now?    It's been like a mile :)

 None of them have made it all the way to the end of the island to see the confluence first hand. It's a goal of mine to get them all the way down and back, about 6-7 k. For now we'll just go as far as we can and keep it fun.

Super "Y"   no problem

 

New Toy

I can't believe this is all you get for 850.00 $

 Last week I opened a new door to adventure, I got a packraft! I had the idea of getting a raft several years ago when the stories of bike, and boat, stared hitting the internet, but couldn't justify the need for one just then. I also didn't really want to spend that kind of money if I had no one to go with since none of my friends had them. Fast-forward several years and I meet ArcFlash (from this day forward, Steve shall be known as ArcFlash) who has the same addictive need for adventure as I do, and we decide to get rafts to further our quest for fun. He's had his for a couple weeks and has already done several short trips, so when I was ready to get out for the first time, he had a route already picked out.

Testing

We put out this wildfire on the way to the river

 Before the trip I had inflated the boat several times to get the knack for it. I also spent time in the basement the night before learning to attach the bike so I would not be wasting a lot of time when we were at the water's edge ready to go.

Oh look the bike matches the pack and the paddles, "for cute"

 I met A.Flash at his house early Saturday morning and we headed out to the Mississippi River for my first packraft adventure. I admit I was ill prepared for the day, I could have used more clothing, some food and a rope.

My first crossing of the Mississip'

It's so natural down there

 An extra set of gloves would have been nice, as well as a warmer jacket or under layers. It was December 1st and although it's been unseasonably warm I was cold once we got on the water and my stuff stared getting a little wet. The spray skirt I ordered with the boat would have kept me warmer and dry but I opted not to use it since I had not been in the boat and was unsure how likely a wet exit would be. It turns out the boat is super stable and being confined in the boat by the skirt would not have been an issue for me. lesson learned.

The lake appears to be very smooth

That's because it's covered in ice! 

  After making our initial crossing of the Mississip' we made our way to Pig's Eye Lake. The wind was really blowing on the river crossing and made the water quite choppy, but when we got to the lake it was smooth as glass. That glass turned out to be a thin layer of ice on nearly the entire lake. We thought we could ram our way through but as we got a few feet in, the ice thickened up and was too much to paddle through.The new plan was to get to the nearby island, walk across, and get to the open channel on the other side and complete the crossing. The one item I had that A.Flash did not, was my neoprene kayaking/water shoes. These proved invaluable in the pursuit to complete our route. Not being one to quit ArcFlash took my shoes slid them on and got in the water to break the ice and clear a path.

Great day for a swim in ice water

 A.Flash ordered the dry-suit from alpaka rafts when he got his boat, and this was just the test for it. The water was not too deep and the ice not too thick, I was laughing my ass off as he slipped into the water for the first time and stared breaking ice. This is when the rope would have come in handy, I was trying to pull his boat behind mine with a short bungee cord,which did not work due to the fact it was really narrow channel and I could not get any purchase on the ice with my paddle to move me forward. Eventually I had to get towed through the channel and up on top of the ice when it got thick enough to walk on. Meanwhile I was sitting in my boat barefoot in a small pool of splashed-in water, freezing. I was temped to walk across the ice once we got close to shore but my feet were numb and the thought of breaking through prevented me from doing just that.

Only about 500 more feet and were there

The ice is thick enough AF briefly gets on top of the ice before falling through, it's ok he likes doing stuff like this

Once we made landfall the rest was easy. We had a short walk on the island to an open channel, which we crossed in about five minutes. From there we packed up our stuff and rode back to A.F.'s house. This was a great little trip to break in the new boat, but has set the bar high for what we will do to complete a planned route.

That's a dead duck just to the right in the water

Time to pack it up and head home