OVER THE BOW: THE KETTLE RIVER

Only fools run rapids, say the Indians, but I know this: as long as there are young men with the light of adventure in their eyes and a touch of wildness in their souls, rapids will be run... I know it is wrong, but I am for the spirit that makes young men do the things they do. I am for the glory that they know. --- Sigurd Olson

The fast-moving reddish-brown root beer colored rushes over the rocks past rugged cliffs and a heavy forest of black spruce, pine and aspen making Minnesota's Kettle River one of the state's most scenic and wild rivers. Offering an array of complex rapids along a stretch at Banning State Park filled with waves, holes and many play spots, it's a place I just had to paddle.

My son Cole and I had traveled all the way across the state just to get there during a father-son kayak camping trip in the fall of 2011. It was a chance to practice our developing paddling skills and play with our whitewater kayaks.

Just past the park's boat access, we paddled the river's Blueberry Slide (a Class II in low water rapid; Class IV in high water).  This rapid is considered to be one of the most challenging in the park as the water tumbles over sandstone ledges and rocks, forming the rapids. In the springtime, this spot can offer some pretty tall waves, but in that fall the water was very low giving us chance to surf and practice running the bumpy water. We found the slide mostly dry with the deepest water in a channel along the left side brushing up against the rocky ledges for about 100 or more yards.

Like kids in an amusement park, we ran down those dancing waves and over the ledges over and over again.

The next day we packed up our kayaks and headed toward the North Shore of Lake Superior, but that's another story.

Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, we would love to see it. Submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com

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