Mississippi River – Day 2

Bear Den Campsite to Bemidji – Hampton Inn

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Day 1 was pretty epic and I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out, but I was pretty wiped out last night. I was so tired that I didn’t write my blog about Day 1 last night, so that was my first job on Day 2.

I write my blog and take care of a few other chores and then I am up and out of my hammock by 6:30 am.

The view from the Bear Den access is breathtaking in my humble opinion.

I pack up camp and get back on the water around 7:45 am. This is kind of a late start, but I needed the rest and today promises to be an easier day than yesterday.

My goal for the day is the Hampton Inn at Lake Bemidji. My wife and daughter are waiting for me there. It’s about a 25 mile paddle.

My view of the surrounding area for the first part of the day.

It only takes me 45 minutes to reach the Fox Trap campsite after I leave Bear Den. I’m glad I stopped at Bear Den though.

The next section of the river is sometimes referred to as “The Bog”. I was a little leery of this part of the river. I’ve read accounts of people getting lost out there and having to be rescued. I think that mostly happens in the late Summer or Fall when this area is overgrown with vegetation, but I had never been there and had to wonder what it would be like.

I believe “The Bog” section I paddled today was about 7 river miles long. It seemed to go on forever. There were about three different places where the main channel of the river opened up onto a large shallow pond. I didn’t know where the outlet to the main channel was.

I was able to use Avenza and my deck mounted compass to figure out the general area where the outlet should be. Then I looked at which way the weeds in the water were pointing and followed them to the outlet.

A couple of times I wasn’t sure if the weeds were leading me in the right direction because it looked like a dead end. Once the opening was not much wider than my kayak, but after a short distance the channel opened up and there was the river again. I now understand how this could be a nightmare later in the year.

I saw two different groups of six river otters playing in the river today. They were in the bog section. Sorry. I didn’t get any photos of the river otters.

The map says “Numerous Log Jams” ahead. Gee, I wonder why.

The next challenge before reaching Bemidji is a section of river marked as containing “Numerous Log Jams”. Today it was mostly just an obstacle course. Most of the log jams had a clear and obvious path through them, but they very often require some maneuvering on the paddler’s part.

Just when I thought I had made it through the log jam section without getting out of my boat, I came across a tree that had recently fallen across the entire stream. I was able to pull my boat over and through the tree, but it could be a tricky spot for a while.

After the log jams comes Lake Irving and then Lake Bemidji.

Lake Irving was a bit choppy today. Being Memorial Day weekend the lake was somewhat busy with all sorts of powercraft. I experienced one foot waves and wakes during the mile crossing. Thankfully, all of the powercraft operators gave me plenty of room, but I kept my head on a swivel anyway.

The iconic bridge where the Mississippi River enters Lake Bemidji.

Lake Bemidji was much calmer than Lake Irving. It was an easy and uneventful paddle over to the Hampton Inn. I arrive around 4 pm and then get pampered for the rest of the day. Life is good!

Day 2 was a good day on the river.

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