As our trip down the Minnesota nears its end, it is with some hometown pride that we can report that the love of the river is as strong in the Mankato area as anywhere.

Nowhere was there more activity on the river than between Mankato and St. Peter and around Le Sueur: People canoeing or kayaking to and from Seven Mile Creek Park, fishermen, campers on sandbars, people out just enjoying the river.

Getting in shape

We didn’t really notice it at first, but somewhere about day three or four, we stopped hurting.

While the first nights and early mornings had been filled with aches, pains and groans, the days after have not. Yes, it is still exhausting work paddling a long way in hot or windy weather, but without the muscle pain, it is much easier to take.

It is surprising how quickly one can condition muscles in the body.

Rhythm method

A canoe properly paddled is like a beating heart; when everything is healthy and going well, it is a picture of efficiency. But we have noticed that after a long day of paddling and we’re tiring, we occasionally lapse into a canoeist’s equivalent of arythmia. When that happens, our progress slows to a crawl and we have to “defib” as it were and get back into sync. It’s a good sign that it’s time to look for a campsite.

Camping tonight

These last stretches of the Minnesota River aren’t very camper friendly. Sandbars are scarce and the banks are steep with thick vegetation. But just beyond the 35W bridge, things open up a bit and just as a decade ago, we were able to find a campsite that would serve as our last before our final leg into St. Paul.

But we were a little apprehensive when we watched a Department of Natural Resources conservation officer checking anglers on the other side of the river because we weren’t positive that we should really be camping where we were.

We were prepared to throw ourselves on the mercy of the DNR for a little leniency since we really didn’t want to go to the trouble of breaking camp. We also didn’t really want to receive a citation. Evidently we were OK because he never showed up on our side of the river.