NEAR READS LANDING, Minnesota – At the edge of the Mississippi River, eight kayaks floated in an orderly row. 

The group of paddlers had spent the last hour meandering the languid channels that connect the Chippewa River to the Mississippi, spotting flowers that popped with color on the gray September day and watching eagles swoop overhead. Now, they needed to cross the river’s main channel. 

Michael Anderson, the owner of Broken Paddle Guiding Co., in Wabasha, Minnesota, parked his kayak at one end of the row. At the other end was his fellow guide, Isabel McNally, who instructed the kayakers to cross together and move fast, lest they come upon a boat or barge.