Behind the Lines: by David Heiller

David Heiller There are a lot of good reasons for four grown men to take a canoe trip. David, Paul, Dave, and Jim heading to the BWCAW For Dave, it might be to leave his woodshop and clear his lungs of sawdust and take out his ear plugs. The air is pretty clean and quiet where we are headed. For Paul, it might be to leave the metropolis of Duluth and the pressures of working with low-income people who rely on him for so much to go canoeing with three other low-income types who also rely on him, and he them. For Jim it might be to leave the mental mazes of social work. Or could it be he simply comes to his senses and leaves Wisconsin for Minnesota? I can’t speak for them, but I have to admit it’s nice to leave some baggage behind and head out for a four-day trip into canoe country. Two years ago, on the eve of our trip, a guy called me at home, slurring his speech and cussing me out for making a mistake in an ad. It wasn’t a big mistake. Not worth getting drunk and s...

David Heiller The names ring with adventure, a touch of danger: Blueberry Slide, Mother’s Delight, Dragon’s Tooth, Hell’s Gate. Names on a map, on a river, names of rapids on the Kettle River as it passes through Banning State Park, south of Askov. One of the rapids in Banning State Park on the Kettle River. But look at those rapids now, with the water level nearly five and a half feet above normal, and adventure disappears, swallowed up by danger and death. The water curls and sprays through the narrow valley, shaking and roaring its brown, foamy head like a lion. Look at it from shore, and you likely will grab a tree for safe footing. Look at it from a canoe, and your life will pass before your eyes. Randy Rantala and David Weier put their canoe into the Kettle River at Highway 123 landing Monday afternoon, and headed downstream, toward those adventurous names. Their car was parked down river at Highway 70, some 30 miles away. David took the stern. The 20-year-old had m...