Day 40 on the Mississippi River

September 30, 2021

Thursday

Durnam Island

RM 861

481 miles completed

Jeff Karan made a special trip to the store to get caffeinated coffee for me! What a great couple Lisa and Jeff are. They are wonderful hosts. We had a great visit.

We paddled four miles to the Coon Rapids Dam. The portage was about 1/3 mile. We ate lunch at the take out spot and watched Sheriff deputies train on water recovery and rescue of a sunk car.

After the portage we paddled about 4.9 miles to the south end of Durnam Island. We had to stop here even though we hadn’t gone but 9 miles. There is no place to camp for the next 30 miles. Also, we have been told by several people that the upcoming Minneapolis/St. Paul area is not safe due to high crime. We will have to deal with that tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are looking at 26 miles plus a long, long, long portage at the two St. Anthony Falls dams.

Dinner was mashed potatoes and Tuna. We also had an apple.

The forecast was for chance of rain and mild temperatures.

I slept in my tent with my new self inflating air mattress.