Kon-Tiki Meets the Minnesota River: The Tale of the River Bottoms Raft
For this special edition of our #FridayFeature, we're telling the story of one of our trails' most storied features: the raft at the Minnesota River Bottoms that allows riders to ferry themselves across Nine Mile Creek. To get the scoop on how this one-of-a-kind feature came to be, we spoke with Dennis Porter, who is the current River Bottoms trail steward and also one of the founding members of MORC.
Rewind to the mid-1990s, when the Minnesota River Trail was one of only a few "mountain biking" trails in the Twin Cities. Land agencies were not up to speed on proper trail design and generally prohibited the use of mountain bikes on their trails. This was a big reason why MORC formed in the first place: to be a legit organization that land managers could work with and count on.
The Minnesota River Trail, affectionately known as the “River Bottoms,” gave mountain bikers the opportunity to ride singletrack within the picturesque flood plain of the Minnesota River. At the time, there was a huge downed cottonwood tree that rested across Nine Mile Creek. Riders would shoulder their bikes and "tightrope walk" across the tree to continue their ride on the other side.
But when the river experienced a significant flooding event (like the one we're currently experiencing), the tree washed away. Concerned that someone would cut down another tree to serve as a temporary bridge, Dennis, along with fellow founding members of MORC and legends of the sport Don Youngdahl and Gary Sjoquist, as well as other dedicated MORC volunteers, decided to come up with a more sustainable solution—a raft.
The tricky thing was, no one made rafts for transporting mountain bikers across waterways. This was something the crew had to come up with on their own.
To start, Gary secured barrels—specifically paprika barrels that were used to make pepperoni—from Hormel in Austin, MN. Using these as a floating base, the crew was able to McGuyver together a makeshift raft. Pat Sorensen, owner of Penn Cycle, was instrumental in donating the use of their large truck to transport the materials needed to build the raft, and later helped secure used tow ropes from a ski hill that riders could use to pull the raft to either side of the creek.
The creatively homegrown solution proved to be a success. For many years, the raft ferried mountain bikers and their bikes across the creek. Its longevity can be attributed to the TLC it received from the volunteers on the trail crew; in addition to hauling it in and out every year, they were constantly making repairs on it. Sadly, in 2007 or 2008, someone cut the tow ropes, which caused the raft to float away. Last we heard, one of the barrels was spotted near Hastings!
Although Raft #1 was gone, its spirit—and the need for it—were not. The dedicated crew quickly began planning and constructing a second rendition. Dennis and Pat gassed up the Penn Cycle truck, headed out to Victoria, and purchased and picked up a floating swim dock off of Craigslist that is now Raft #2. Many modifications were made to Raft #2 to make it more durable, including filling its pontoons with marine foam.
As a result, Raft #2 has survived multiple repairs, instances of vandalism (including severed tow ropes), and floods over the years. The last repair cost over $700 and was covered by MORC membership funds. (In case you were wondering, this is where your membership and donation dollars make a difference.) Every year in late fall, our hardy crew of MORC volunteers haul out the raft and chain it to the creek bank to prevent the winter ice from damaging it.
Keeping these rafts afloat over the last 25+ years has been a significant, collaborative effort—one that could not have happened without the dedication and ingenuity of our passionate volunteers. We are so grateful to volunteers such as Dennis, Pat, and Gary, and to the many other selfless mountain bikers who have devoted so much of their time to giving fellow riders a way to traverse the entire River Bottoms trail.
In addition to providing a practical way across the creek, the raft undoubtedly adds a unique spark of adventure to a River Bottoms ride. There's something about rafting across a body of water with your bike that makes you feel carefree, not to mention accomplished when you disembark to continue your ride. It's Kon-Tiki meets the Minnesota River, in the best way possible.
Dennis offers these tips for your next trip on the raft:
Take your gloves off so they don't get wet and muddy while handling the tow ropes.
Don't jump onto the raft. Get the raft close enough to the bank so you can safely step onto it.
Help others load and unload their bikes from the raft.
When the raft is taken out for the season, leave it alone.
Don't overload it—the raft is designed for carrying three people and bikes, max.
The raft is for all to use, so please respect it.
The next time you use the raft on your River Bottoms ride (let's hope the flooding recedes soon), be sure to remember all that has gone into building and maintaining this one-of-a-kind feature. With your membership and monetary support, we can continue to enhance our trails and make more adventures like this possible.
In other words, please support the trails and join MORC!
A note from Dennis about MORC:
The trails we use and ride today are no doubt because of dedicated volunteers that started MORC. These trails did not just happen on their own; they were the result of hard work and a lot of volunteer time. MORC supports the trail volunteers and works for more trails, period. Do your part to support these volunteers by joining MORC and supporting mountain biking. While you’re at it, spread the word for others to join as well, especially new riders, friends, and youth racers and their parents. The more members we have, the more clout the mountain bike community can leverage for more trails. Do your part. Thanks, Dennis