Joe & Isaac's Adventure: Episode 2 - Chapter 6

We stayed one night in Red Wing and then turned around. Lake Pepin was a little rougher for our return crossing, but still mercifully calm considering its capability and reputation. It was time now to begin with our primary reason for making this trip. We were there to explore the backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. We were in dam pool number 4 where the Wildlife Refuge begins.

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (UMWFR) was created by Congress in 1924. Today it extends from river mile 503 at Cordova, Illinois to river mile 764 at the confluence of the Mississippi and Chippewa rivers just a few miles above Wabasha. The UMWFR spans twelve of the twenty-seven dam pools in the Upper Mississippi River Nine Foot Navigation Project -- dam pools four through fourteen. This section of the Mississippi contains some of the most productive and important wetland in the country. At each of the dams the river backs up into a large shallow lake; at the back end of these lakes, stretching at times for miles, is swamp and wetland crisscrossed by a labyrinth of sloughs and back channels that periodically raise and lower with seasonal floods. This is prime wildlife habitat. The refuge is home to 113 species of fish, 45 reptiles and amphibians, 57 mammals and countless plants and trees. Periodically the refuge provides habitat for some 270 species of birds. It is the most important migratory corridor for waterfowl in the nation. Isaac and I rarely visit the refuge now without sighting at least a few bald eagles. The refuge is also the best example in the nation of human and wildlife cohabitation. Along the entire 2,340 miles of the Mississippi the highest concentration of human population is in and around the refuge.

Geologically, the refuge includes the driftless region of southeastern Minnesota, southwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Iowa. When the glaciers of the last ice age scoured the surrounding terrain they passed by this region. The land here is therefore more rugged with steeper slopes, higher bluffs and deeper valleys. In other words it's very beautiful. The river flows through an old valley bounded between 600-foot bluffs on either side. The valley is wide because the ancient river that flowed here thousands of years ago flowed with tremendous volume and force as it drained away the melting ice of the last ice age. This wide valley floor makes the UMWFR possible. The twelve dams that flood this valley floor create the dam pool lakes and wetlands that are the essential habitat of the refuge. Limited by the bluffs that tower over the valley, the refuge nonetheless includes approximately 194,000 acres of crucial wildlife and fish habitat.

Although the navigation dams provide some stability, the refuge is a dynamic place. Melting snows and Spring rain raise the water behind the dams flooding much of the refuge's wetlands including access roads, islands and even some campgrounds. Then in mid-summer the water level begins to fall. Roads that were under two feet of water become usable again, campgrounds dry out and islands reappear. Acres of water lilies break the surface and burst into flower.

The constantly changing conditions in the refuge can wreak havoc on boaters; especially those with larger boats and bigger motors. There's always something just emerging from the water or worse, something hidden just below the surface waiting to dent, bend and chip a propeller or scrape a hull. Sunken trees are a common hazard. This condition encourages the recreational boaters to stay in the main channel and deeper waters near the dams. Only the local fishermen manage to find their way into the backwaters. At the left is a section of the Corps chart that includes Fountain City and Merrick State Park. Isaac and I worked our way up into the backwaters near the state park that you see to the right of the main channel and above Fountain City. We spent two nights there. Once well into the backwaters we only saw an occasional local fishing boat. It was clear the operators knew their way in and around the hazardous waters. To be able to navigate these areas Isaac and I took along two wooden poles and our canoe. When we would leave the main channel and head into the smaller sloughs one of us took a pole to the front of the boat and began checking the water depth. We had marked the poles with duct tape to indicate critical depths. Eventually we would have to raise the motor out of the water, but we could then pole the boat or move it with the canoe paddles. This would allow us to take the pontoon boat into waters that no motor could function in. Finally, we used the canoe to paddle into the swamps and bogs where the water was only inches deep.

It was exhilarating to penetrate deep into such a pristine wilderness. I remember having the same feeling last summer and telling Isaac how special it was that we were passing through wilderness that could only be entered with a canoe and a commitment to at least three or four days of hard paddling. Last summer in northern Minnesota we really were in sections of vast wilderness. Here in the UMWFR our wilderness experience was a paradox. To reach on foot some of the places we saw would have been nearly impossible unless you were willing to drag yourself on your belly through stinking muck for hundreds of yards. I can swim a few hundred yards in deep water, but what do you do in water that's eight inches deep? If you try and stand up you sink to your thighs in muck. And yet we were never more than a few miles from a road or a town or a boat launch. We really did expect to see other canoeists in the refuge. We saw a few, but not nearly what we expected. It was fairly easy for Isaac and I to pole and paddle our pontoon boat into a secluded pool or slough where we were entirely alone for the day. No one else it seems was willing or prepared to go as deep into the backwaters. I think this may have a lot to do with the fact that in the backwaters it can be really hard to find a suitable campsite. Out in the river channel there are plenty of islands with sandy beaches that make excellent campsites, but in the backwaters the islands are muddy and the shore is often very hard to reach. You rarely have a clear break between water and shore where you could pull up a small boat and get out. Rather you have thirty yards of reeds and grasses at the boundary between the water and shore and these are very hard to pass through. In other words, if you're going to go so deep into the backwaters that you may have to spend the night, then you will probably have to spend the night on your boat. Which is precisely what Isaac and I were prepared to do.

This place is wondrous and beautiful beyond words. It is abundant with life. You know the thrill of moving quietly along a river in a boat until you come upon a couple of turtles sunning themselves on a log. You sit completely still and let the current carry you closer hoping for a good look at the turtles before they spook and jump into the water. Countless times Isaac and I came upon logs in the river with so many turtles out sunning themselves that we couldn't count them before they jumped in. I got into the upper thirties once and that was counting turtles on just one log. A few yards further down was another log! We experienced the thrill of watching a bald eagle fishing. Oh, and the fish! There were huge fish jumping all around us. Every so often we'd startle one as we poled our boat through the water lilies. It would splash loudly as it rushed off. Birds and waterfowl were everywhere. After a couple of weeks I was so happy. It was the same feeling that came over me last summer on the river paddling the canoe. A life energy infuses the water. If you're sick I wouldn't be surprised if this place could heal you. If your soul is sick this place will heal you for certain. You can unload all your cares and troubles in the river. It's like a drug. I was no different than a ten year old boy ready to play through and unending summer of fishin' and adventurin' on the river. For at least a few days I was able to play in the river without a care in the world. It is so intoxicating, and to have had the same experience now two summers in a row, I found the withdrawal this year of returning to work very onerous. Every day I think about escaping back to the river.

Our first venture then into the backwaters of the refuge was in dam pool 4 just above Alma at the confluence of the Mississippi and Buffalo rivers. We spent two days and two nights there and right away got a good case of the fishing bug. I was terribly frustrated to have twice lost what I can only assume were huge fish when my line broke. After the second one Isaac and I got suspicious and tested the line on my brand new (inexpensive) reel. We could both snap it easily with our bare hands. Needless to say I bought some new line.