The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 9, 2008

River Journey: The last portage

By Tim Krohn

UPPER SIOUX AGENCY — If you look at the low river bank and then at the prairie, you can envision why this was the perfect spot for millions of buffalo to cross the Minnesota River.

It’s a site about five miles below Montevideo that was first written about by George Featherstonhaugh, who explored the Minnesota River valley in the mid 1800s. The prairies above the river have sweeping bluffs that funnel down to the one low spot along the river that would provide an easy crossing.

As we paddle Tuesday from Montevideo towards Granite Falls and the Upper Sioux Agency, the wildness of the river provides a constant reminder of the history of the river valley, from the prehistoric mammoth to the American bison, the Native Americans and early white settlers.

The river here is considerably narrower than it is near Mankato. In the miles before Granite Falls the river has unusually long straight stretches, with channels you can see down nearly a mile. That’s a stark departure from virtually all of the rest of the Minnesota, which twists and turns sharply. You can paddle past a farm site and 20 minutes later see the same farm from the opposite side.

At Granite Falls, we keep the canoe close to the right bank as we approach the roaring hydroelectric dam. The portage over the dam is through thick and tall vegetation.

The town’s mayor, Dave Smiglewski, who is also the local newspaper editor, stops by to take a photograph. It’s something he said he’s been doing more often lately.

“Just about every week we have people come through here on a canoe expedition. You used to see maybe a couple a year. People are definitely more connected to the river. It’s nice to see,” Smiglewski said.

Last of the portages

A few miles downriver from the Granite Falls hydroelectric dam is the final dam on the Minnesota River, and fortunately the last of five portages we will have to make as we head toward St. Paul and the Mississippi.

Some canoeists may pack light, but that’s not the case with us. Our Old Town canoe, stable and wide, is heavy in itself. Inside are a large cooler, two tents, two sleeping mats, a large bag for kitchen utensils and other necessities, two bags of clothes, a large bag of food, a hard plastic box with camera equipment and a large and very heavy dry bag containing a laptop, video camera, charger and other electronics.

The collection requires at least four trips by both of us during portages and a sharp eye for the poison ivy that at least five people warned us lurked along the path.

Beautiful banks

Just down from Granite Falls the banks of the river become dramatic with granite outcroppings that could easily be along the North Shore or Boundary Waters.

As we move toward our evening campsite at the confluence of the Yellow Medicine and Minnesota rivers, the river remains filled with wildlife and exceptionally quiet and rustic. Other than the occasional highway sound in the distance or the peak at a home or farmsite in the bluffs, the river here is wonderfully serene.

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