The Cook County ATV Club Kick-Off Party on Saturday, June 18 had about 50 people in attendance. Members enjoyed a free burger or brat, played games, and visited at the Cook County RidgeRider’s groomer building on the Meridian Road in Grand Marais. Daniel Lashinski of Grand Marais won the grand prize—a 22-inch plasma TV. The ATV Club board said thanks to Buck’s Radio Shack for the deep discount on the TV. Members who joined the ride enjoyed 27 miles of scenic Cook County back roads. Left: Charlie Tice pulls over to take a break. Above: Chuck Bolinger of Hovland and Charlie Tice visit at another stop—while four-wheeling Golden Lab Ripper patiently waits to get going again!
Natalie Warren and Ann Raiho graduated from St. Olaf College on May 29 and so far, like a lot of other college graduates, it’s been all upstream and against the current for them. Literally.
To date, Natalie and Ann have paddled upstream on the Minnesota River into 35 mile per hour winds. Endured several days of over 100-degree heat. Gotten lost (briefly), battled rough currents in flooded waters, but are still on pace to make Hudson Bay by early September.
They have also been fed free pizza, stayed overnight in several people’s houses they have met along the way, conducted a half dozen TV and print interviews, met with constituents of a paddling club, and, as they head into more long stretches away from cities and towns, encountered eagles, otters and watched fish jump around their canoe.
The two former Menogyn campers are trying to become the first two women to paddle to Hudson Bay from Minneapolis. They left June 2 from Fort Snelling Park in a 17-foot Kevlar Langford canoe given to them by Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply of Grand Marais.
They have named their canoe Kawena Kinomaeta, which means “no worries” in Cree. They call it Queenie, for short.
“We’ve been working really hard to get through the flooded waters. Once we tried to take a shortcut through a lagoon to cut off a bend in the river. We were in there for about 45 minutes and lost every sense of direction! When we found our way back out we were only about 10 feet upstream of where we had entered the lagoon. We haven’t tried any shortcuts since,” wrote Natalie.
Natalie and Ann have stopped in LeSuer, St. Peter, Mankato, New Ulm, Granite Falls and Montevideo. From there they will cut through a small portion of South Dakota, head across North Dakota and into Canada. Soon they will leave the Minnesota River and enter the Red River. In Canada they will paddle the length of Lake Winnipeg and then enter the Hayes River and head for the homestretch, Hudson Bay, where they will be picked up at York Factory.
Ann Raiho, paddling in front, and Natalie Warren are trying to become the first two women to canoe from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay. They are following the route made famous by Eric Sevareid and William Port, who first made this venture in 1930 and documented it in the book titled, Canoeing with the Cree. Warren and Raiho met at Camp Menogyn and are using the trip in part to help raise money so that campers can attend the YMCA camp located midway up the Gunflint Trail.
When Ann’s parents were asked, “What is your largest concern for this summer?” Mamma Raiho replied, “Ann and Natalie going over dams in the canoe, crashing into rocks, being attacked by a polar bear or a regular bear, being stalked by a crazy person, surviving a tornado, getting sunburn, getting sick, breaking something, arguing, losing the SAT phone, losing the canoe paddle, missing the float plane, missing the train, (and finally) missing mom and dad.”
When Natalie’s parents were asked, what did you think when the idea first came up?
They replied, “Another crazy idea of Natalie’s.” and then, “No you aren’t going!”
Along the way Ann and Natalie hope to motivate people of their generation to get out and enjoy the outdoors. They also hope to raise funds for kids to attend Camp Menogyn.
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