Jonathon Heide's Blog (8)

Here is a list of where we will be (mainly by river mile and campsite name) on the river on a given day. Obviously, since we aren't sure how things will play out on the river, these dates are flexible. Mississippi Headwaters Canoe Trip Schedule (dates need to be somewhat flexible) Monday, June 9th: Itasca to Coffee Pot 16.5m Tuesday, June10th: Coffee Pot to Pine Point 22m Wed, June 11th: Pine Point to Lake Irving (Bemidji) 22.5m Thu, June 12th: Lake Irving to Island Point 17m Fri, June 13t… Continue

Props to three guys who are kayaking the Mississippi from St. Paul to New Orleans! Melody and I met with these intrepid voyagers and talked about details and motivations for what they are doing. They too are raising funds for an organization. They plan to raise $20,000 for International Justice Mission, an organization that is working to end slavery (specifically in the sex trade). These guys were fun to talk to and have big goals for the next two months. If you have a minute, check out their… Continue

Lately any article about the Mississippi catches my eye. Even driving or biking over a bridge gives me mixed feelings of excitement and anticipation. Today, the river's force appeared evident down by St. Anthony Falls. The south wind blew strong, making the raging current seem even faster. I'm thinking about that current as I read this article from the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/18747819.html It mentions that yet another body was found in the river yesterday. H… Continue

On Saturday, I laid out all the DNR maps and plotted our route. For a few sections I was also able to use Lynn Diebel's Canoeing Northern/Southern Minnesota books. I found her book extremely helpful on the Rum River trip. She details hazards to watch out for and interesting sights that may not be immediately noticed. When I charted our route, I stayed conservative, planning the longest days at about 40 miles. We will cross a few large lakes, the biggest being Lake Winnibigoshish, which is the t… Continue

Yes! One week after calling the DNR, All nine detailed maps of the Mississippi in Minnesota are on my coffee table. But not only those nine fold-out sections, two wire-bound Boating DNR maps of the river sections of the metro area. One through downtown Mpls and St. Paul, the other is from Hastings to Iowa. They also sent a National Park Map, because 72 miles of the Mississippi through the metro are considered a national river and recreational area. The DNR has maps of most major rivers in Minn… Continue

Three friends and I battled through driving snow and plummeting temperatures this past weekend to canoe a little over 30 miles of the Rum River. Chris, Matt, Ryan and I put in at a DNR site in Onemia, just south of Lake Mille Lacs. We heard it was going to be a cold weekend, but three inches on the ground with 40 mile-per-hour wind gusts ... a little surprise for the end of April. None of the guys wanted to back out. All of us wanted adventure over comfort. So we launched over the rocks and int… Continue

It rained all day today after that beautiful 70+ degree day yesterday. I say, bring it on! I want the rivers to be flowing like crazy! This weekend, some friends and I will be canoeing down the Rum River, so I hope the water levels continue to rise, even if that means we have to get snow tomorrow. Snow! Ha! Minnesota is amazing. Continue

I've always been leery about giving to organization I don't know much about. When Melody and I decided to raise money for Shelter for Life, we still had questions about how efficient they would be with the money. We sat down with the president of Shelter for Life, Randall Olson, and talked to him about the organization. We left the meeting feeling confident about his heart and commitment to seeing donated money used with efficiency and wisdom. He not only knows much about troubled areas around… Continue