This started as a goal to do the 17 mile stretch from Taylor's Falls to William O'Brian State Park, while still making it back in time for one of the guys to get back for other plans later in the afternoon.  Tom, Greg, and I headed out at about 8:15 and arrived at William O'Brian around 8:50.  Our start was filled with delays.  For starters the DNR office for park passes wasn't open until 9 which added a good 15-20 minute wait while Greg got a pass.  


After we dropped off one car, while heading back I started to feel like we should cut off a few miles and go to a later put-in near Fraconia.  We missed it the first time and back tracked and later found it.  I think we spent more time than any other trips getting the boats ready this time around.  I wasn't paying attention and asked Greg to move the Sunny fin to the other side but didn't realize until it was inflated that it was already in the right place.  Then we had the same problem with the seats, To top it all off those annoying pinch valves on the foot braces and seats were challenging us far too much.  50 degree morning temps didn't help.    A couple other guys took out at the same spot and learned they left their keys in the other car and a few cell phone calls later we helped them out.  We were still getting ready to leave when help arrived shortly before 10.



We finally took off.  Greg seemed far too speedy with the Sunny in the solo configuration with the tracking fin.  It took Tom and I quite a while to catch up in the Helios.  I wonder if it would have made any difference had I installed the rudder for better tracking.  A mile or two down we caught up to Greg and continued onwards to the Osceola bridge.

This was a nice place to stop.  We were entertained by three young women who appeared to be overloading a canoe for a trip upstream.  Nevertheless, they appeared to do just fine, with the wind on their back.  We had considered walking across the bridge to get some food and drink in Osceola but it didn't look anything was really within walking distance.





The weather was finally starting to warm up, maybe in the high 60s or 70 degrees or so.  The sun was in our favor the whole trip.  As expected, the St Croix did not provide much assistance and the wind made for a grueling last few miles.  The bridge appeared close when we first saw it, but time stretched on the miles to reach it.

At one point we did some 'sprints' in these inflatable kayaks.  In the Helios, Tom and I were able to get up to 6.7 mph, pretty speedy for an IK.  In the Sunny, Greg reached 6.2, and I hit 6.3, if only for an instant.  Love that GPS!



Shortly after our lunch stop, I decided it was time to switch boats.  The Sunny doesn't really feel that much faster, but it is more comfortable to sit in than the Helios and provide more legroom for tall paddlers.  Tom and Greg appeared to have no problem moving onward.



In the last stretch, we saw a train cross over a bridge not far in front of us.  There were a few paddlers in sight for roughly half the trip.  Lots of canoes, a couple cheap inflatable kayaks (Colemans I'm guessing), and a few kayaks.  Overall, it was a great day for a kayak trip.  However, the roughly 15 mile stretch we did was a bit much for sitting in these kayaks for so long (and trying to make good time no less).  I would have enjoyed more floating and enjoying the day and less active paddling.  For a future trip I would definitely cut this down to maybe 8 miles tops.  2-4 hours at a leisurely pace (or slower!) is ideal when the current is slow.  However, when your paddling time is few and far between, it doesn't hurt to log a few extra miles for the heck of it!



Kayaks Used:
Innova Sunny
Innova Helios