Photo submitted by Tom Conroy Madison Williams paddles a kayak on the Minnesota River just northwest of New Ulm Saturday. She’s on a four-month, 1,700-mile, solo trip from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay. She laid over in New Ulm for a day and night and visited with New Ulm Area Sportfishermen Club members.
Grace Rich, New Ulm: “I use coupons and work more hours.” Hannah Baum, New Ulm: “I walk everywhere.” Jimmy Stenquist, New Ulm: “I live upstairs from work. The bank is across the street.” Photo submitted by Tom Conroy Madison Williams paddles a kayak on the Minnesota River just northwest of New Ulm Saturday. She’s on a four-month, 1,700-mile, solo trip from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay. She laid over in New Ulm for a day and night and visited with New Ulm Area Sportfishermen Club members. Photo submitted by Tom Conroy Staff photo by Fritz Busch Brown County Commissioners will consider hiring contractors for well installation and plumbing work at the landfill scale house on June 7. Pictured here is the landfill entrance with the scale house in the background. Lori Polz, Lafayette: “I work more hours.” Myriah Smith, New Ulm: “I don’t own a vehicle.” Photos by Deb Gau The current Runnings store in downtown Canby is located in multiple buildings. That will change when a new store is built in 2023. Sarah Smith, New Ulm: “I live one block from work.” Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman, front left, tags out Minnesota Twins’ Jose Miranda, front right, who was attempting to advance on a single by Gilberto Celestino in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP) NEW ULM — Upstate New York native Madison Williams grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and spent much of her life outdoors, finding it as a way to help her deal with depression in her younger years.
Recently marrying Tom Williams took Madison Williams to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he is stationed with the U.S. Air Force.
“We tried living a long distance apart from each other for a while before I moved to Grand Forks,” she said.
She described Grand Forks as about as opposite the Adirondack Mountains as can be.
“It’s flat. There are no trees or trails. About the only outdoors things the locals there do is hunting and fishing,” she added. “I fish, but I’m not a hunter. I just wanted a way to stay connected to the outdoors, so I decided to get a kayak.”
Photo submitted by Tom Conroy
Williams said she thought about taking a long-distance kayaking trip on the Red River and noticed it flows into Lake Winnipeg.
“I started talking to Grand Forks people about things to be aware of in a hunting safety course and learned about a woman who went from Minneapolis to the Arctic a few years ago, and that I should look into that,” Madison said. “I learned Natalie Warren made the trip in 2011. She and I have been talking ever since, and here I am.”
She began the trip May 7. At Le Sueur, she had to stop for a couple weeks because of the flooding, but said she was fortunate to meet a friendly family, the Straubs, at the boat dock, and spent two weeks with them before continuing her voyage.
“They were great, with a bunch of kids and a farm,” Williams said.
“There’s been lots of bugs, mostly gnats, the last three days,” she explained.
She usually paddles 10-15 miles a day going upstream and often against the wind on the Minnesota River.
Williams has a bilge pump close at hand in her kayak in case the boat starts to flood. Her other supplies include an ultralight backpack, tent and sleeping bag.
Her expedition is sponsored by the Big Agnes, a lightweight camping company.
In addition, she is doing river water quality testing for the state of North Dakota.
Williams has also connected with local groups to do public conservation events in communities including Fargo and Grand Forks and other cities along the rivers she’s on. She plans to talk about river cleanups, tree planting and other acts of conservation.
By the time she gets to Brown’s Valley, Minnesota, she’ll change from going upstream to downstream.
Some of her other plans include boat cleaning to prevent the spread of invasive species and picking up trash along rivers.
She sourced much of her clothing and gear from secondhand sources.
Williams has celiac disease, an autoimmune condition in which gluten ingestion leads to small intestine damage. It is estimated that 1 in 100 people have the disease, but only about 30% of them are properly diagnosed.
She has an immune response if she eats anything with wheat, barley or rye, so she has to eat entirely gluten-free food. Most of her food is sent from her husband to post offices along her route. Sometimes she’ll buy food.
“I often eat rice and ramen (noodles),” she added. “I tried pasta and mac and cheese, but it doesn’t work well on my stove. It congeals up because it’s so starchy.”
She also eats mashed potatoes, Jerky, fruit cups, oats for breakfast, lots of snack foods and other things.
Williams is unemployed right now.
“Nobody would give me time off for the trip,” she said.
Williams worked as an overnight mail handler for a while in the Grand Forks Post Office. She’s worked for 10 years in retail, including management.
“I’m still trying to figure out my career. I studied civil engineering for three-and-one-half years and learned I don’t want to do that,” she added.
For more information, visit expeditionalpine.com and follow Williams on Facebook and Instagram.
(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.)
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
The League of Women Voters of New Ulm is hosting two candidate forums on July 6 in the New Ulm City Hall Council ...
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Copyright © The Journal | https://www.nujournal.com | 303 N. Minnesota St., New Ulm, MN 56073 | 507-359-2911