Day 19: M 10/1- Sauk Rapids, woot!

We had about 9 miles to the Sartell dam, 929. Each dam creates a bit of a deeper reservoir that helped us avoid gravel bars and riffles, which was nice on such a low water year. So we came to the dam midmorning with no troubles and at a pretty quick pace.
The portage was only 300 yards on the right, but the reentry was a steep slope of huge rocks and was way too close to the dam for comfort. So we scouted a fair ways ahead and found a highway bridge that had a much more gently slope underneath, about 1/4 mile farther down.
We passed a couple of young guys heading out to fish who warned us of some really shallow areas ahead and advised us to 'go right at the split'. We thanked them for the advice and found it to be pretty good after we put back in. We still fought low levels and rocks and had a few heart stopping scrapes, but ultimately avoided any holes in the boat, yippee! Then we got to Sauk Rapids.
The map warned that there were Class 1-2 rapids for a stretch through town and that the town provided a portage around, if need be. Unfortunately, the water was so low we couldn't have made the portage if we wanted to and had to were forced to shoot the rapids. And, it was a blast, a tooth-clenching blast. I'd say it was a fair bit more than Class 2, complete with boulders and white water, but at least there was a path. We'll take big rapids over ankle deep riffles any day! We knocks into on big 'un on our way though, with no damage done and rode a nice adrenaline rush for the afternoon.
We had three miles till the st cloud dam, which was easy and pleasant, though the reentry was down a long, steep set of stairs. The folks who worked in the park, Rosie and Bill, we're kind enough to come out and offer to help. Rosie refilled our water for us and Bill help carry out beastly boat down the steps. The Rosie surprised us with some snacks and treats to send u on our way. It was incredibly nice of them and certainly lifted our spirits. If you guys are reading, thank you so much. Crazy people like us are lucky there are nice folks like you on the river!
From there we made for Boy Scout's piping campsite, 913. We had an easier time with rocks and made it there with about an hour of light left. It was on the inside bend of the river on the W bank and the other side was high hills with a few big, ritzy houses tucked into the woods. We heard some hootin and hollering from some kids across the river and saw a couple of other campfires. A the night wore on we heard what seemed to be baseball sized rocks being launched into the river with a catapult. We thought maybe the locals were messing with us, but eventually decided it was just fish jumping. Giant, man-eating fish.