Sturgeon River Misery Paddle Tour
My second Misery Paddle Tour was an expansion of the first: Keep heading south on the Arnheim Ditch until we reach the Sturgeon River. From there it'd be a simple float down the river to our starting point! Easier said than done: the current picked up considerably the further south we went on the ditch, slowing our progress through the alder to a crawl. Eventually we reached the valve that allowed water into the sloughs from the Sturgeon River. After hauling our kayaks out of a 20' ravine, the adjacent landowner informed us she'd never heard anyone coming up the ditch in her 40 years of living there. She graciously let us portage across her lawn and into the Sturgeon River. Floating past Otter Lake for the first few miles was great until the current gave out, by which time our arms were sore and the sun setting. 23.5 miles later with a single portage, we returned to our vehicle. 2017 was a monster of a Misery Paddle Trip indeed.
Check out my Flickr album with all of the photos from this ridiculous trip.
