February 22, 2023

Canoeing with the Cree

Canoeing with the Cree

I just read a book by Eric Sevaroid, CBS news journalist from 1939-1977, that he wrote about his trip with Walter Port in a secondhand 18 foot canvas canoe from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay.  The 4 month adventure  that they took in 1930, soon after they graduated from high school, took them against the current in the Minnesota River from Minneapolis  to Mankato to Big Stone Lake and then up the Red River past Winnipeg to Lake Winnipeg and along several fast flowing rivers to Hudson Bay. The reason I am telling you about this is that they visited Fort Ridgely and I will quote what he said about it here.

" An eighty-two-year-old man, Alec Russell, who lived on a farm twenty miles up river from New Ulm, told us about the Indian uprising of  '62, which he had gone through as a young boy. He related how the battle with the enraged red men had swept back and forth between New Ulm and Fort Ridgely, which was further up river. After long fighting , the white men at the village put up anvils and stove pipes, which the Indians believed were cannon. The Sioux were frightened at this display of unexpected power and retreated.

Of course, we had to see the fort, which now is a state park. Only one of the original buildings remains and someone, believing more in being practical than appropriate, had put a tin roof over it. The view of the Minnesota valley was inspiring from the hill on which the fort stood, but we were startled when we saw how much the river ahead twisted and turned."

Some of you know that two recent graduates of GFW High School in Winthrop did this same trip in a wood strip canoe that they made in woods class while in high school. They are Jesse Rider and Sam Gatton.  I had both of them as students before I retired from GFW.

Here is a link to a Mankato Free Press article that was written about their trip.  https://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/local_news/friends-paddle-2-200-miles/article_ed0258be-4b89-11e6-b39b-5b8d4de1a45c.html

Also a New Ulm Journal with several links to Facebook pages   https://www.nujournal.com/news/local-news/2016/07/26/canoeists-talk-about-hudson-bay-trip/

For lots of pictures see Voyage to Hudson Bay on facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067768904535&paipv=0&eav=AfYfn9Pjw5KjU-2dUqV5Zmag98IzPphPNq2sWmbpTUyf5lybqkj811UrPeTlsLhKDvI

I just heard also that a lady from Grand Forks kayaked from Fort Snelling to Hudson Bay, following the same path, last summer.  Madison Eklund did the trip alone.  Mankato Free Press did an article on her trip on June 11, 2022 as she passed through on the Minnesota River.

Candlelight Hiking on February 4

Park staff and volunteers started putting out the candles at 2pm for the 5-8 pm event. A scoop of snow was put in the white paper bag and the large one inch diameter candle was held up by the snow.  At about 4pm the crew went back along the two paths to light the candles. People were already arriving as the crew progressed along the two loops. Fires were also started at 3 locations: upper picnic area, by the chalet and down in the parking lot near the bathroom that is under construction.  

One hiking or snowshoeing  loop went down the woods path below the chalet, out onto and across the prairie to the path from the Fort to the camping area, up along the road past the bathroom construction area to the path leading back across the prairie where the sliding hill ends and then back up to the parking lot by the Chalet.  The second loop left the chalet parking lot straight up the hill next to the woods. It angled left toward the road by the cemetery and turned back down the path toward the park office and then back into the chalet parking lot. People parking in the upper parking lots had a candle lit path from the fire in the upper picnic area to the corner of this loop by the cemetery road.

Some people used the fires to roast hot dogs or marshmallows to make smores.  There was hot chocolate served all evening in the chalet.  It was a beautiful night with temperatures in the 20's(perfect temperatures for a winter hike) and an almost full moon to add to the ambiance.  The group I was with did not arrive until after 7pm.  We parked along the road from the office to the chalet as the lot was full.  We did both loops and roasted marshmallows, made smores and drank hot chocolate at the chalet at the end of our walk.  Joanne and her husband were in the chalet after 8pm as we and a few others were still there.  The trails had lots of people on them while we were hiking.  Joanne estimated from how full all the parking lots were and how many people piled out of each car that over 1000 people came to this very successful event.

Winter Fun

I am writing this between the two waves of the historic blizzard of 2023.  We shoveled about 6 inches off our driveway this morning so our son could get to work. The bigger wave is supposed to start soon and last into tomorrow (February 23).  Snow days today and tomorrow for most kids in southern Minnesota.

There were many people on  snowmobiles earlier this month on trails for them at Fort Ridgely.  It was much easier to walk on the trails where they had packed the snow down.  The deer also used the packed trails rather than making their own through the deep snow.  Someone told me that it has been great for snowmobiling since the last big storm as all the fields in the countrysides were covered with a thick layer of snow so they could drive straight across the fields and not just go on trails.  It may be even better after this storm is over.

The melting and freezing of the last few weeks diminished some the snow cover and made the surface of the snow hard and easier to walk on at least over the drifts.  The problem for hiking is where there is a  layer of smooth ice that hikers can slip on.  We often looked for thin snow layers to walk on when there was ice nearby.  I have a feeling deer are aware of this and only jump when they are in a deeper, less slippery place. The 2 deer above were resting under a tree in the prairie near the fort when we walked by. Below you can see they bounded off as we approached.

Bathroom Progress

Here are a couple pictures I took recently of the construction on the bathroom.  They have been busy all winter and, as you can see, dressed for the weather.  The windows and doors are in now. Plans are to have the building open by Memorial Day according to Joanne Svendsen.

It is about 2pm now and the second wave of snow is starting up and blowing pretty hard. I will let you know how the historic blizzard affected the park in the next update.