My first recon trip on the Crow River

On the 4th of July, I had a chance to take my first meaningful trip down the Crow River. (I had been to the Crow once before, but paddled upstream only a mile or two, and then drifted back. It was more of an upper-body workout than a kayak trip.)

Saturday was a beautiful day, weather-wise, with a light overcast sky to protect me from a very intense sun. I put in at Riverside County Park at Hanover, Minnesota, and took out near Berning’s Mill, just east of Saint Michael. “As the crow flies,” the route is only 2.6 miles, but when following the dramatic and scenic contours of the Crow, the route is closer to 5.1 river miles.

I’ll share some really nice wildlife scenes shortly (that’s what made this trip so much fun). And as “people who know the river” led me to expect, there was surprisingly little trash or debris. Only two items justified recording their location by GPS.

One of the objects seemed to be some kind of culvert or sump well liner; made of black vinyl and way too big to toss onto my kayak. The photo to the left is deceiving; it is actually about three feet in diameter, and probably more than four or five feet in length.

The other item, I think, is what's left of a sectioned plastic canoe that probably failed to survive one of the several light rapids near here. If it is a canoe (and I’m only guessing that’s what it is), it is only the center section; the gunnels are missing, as well as the fore and aft sections of the craft. But knowing I would have to return for the well liner, I decided to save this item for my return trip, too. If weather permits next weekend, I’ll bring along my portable reciprocating saw, and take both objects out in sections. (As always, click on any photo to enlarge.)

© 2009 Mike Anderson, Saint Michael, MN. All rights reserved.