Navigating the Upper River, water levels, getting lost, etc?
Making your way through the twisty, swampy reaches of the Upper Mississippi can be a challenge. I was lucky to have a decent water level the river when I did my trip, but even so there were times when I was not sure if I was in the river or had wandered into a side channel that went nowhere. One tactic that helped me was to pay attention to the flow of the underwater weeds – one can usually read the current by watching them. In years of low water, the river channel often becomes clogged with weeds, especially in late summer and fall. I suggest monitoring water levels by checking with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
