The Minnehaha drop from the kayaker’s view

By now you’ve probably seen the pictures of professional kayaker Hunt Jennings’ plunge over Minnehaha Falls on Thursday.

What did it look like from his point of view?

This.

He writes:

After seeing a picture of this waterfall for the first time, I was instantly intrigued. At the end of a long, but awesome Colorado trip, I was able to gather up the motivation to drive to Minneapolis, where this waterfall sits in the middle of the city. While it is very high profile and urban, tons of people, and in the very center of the general public, there is something strangely beautiful about this drop. It is complex, twisting, and questionable depth of landing, and has much more to it than just kayaking. A chain was put across the creek just above the lip that was almost a factor that prevented my decision to run it. At the last second, a log pinned against the chain, propping it up enough to get under in the river right eddy, and leaving no choice but to make a scramble ferry back to the left. After three intense days of thinking and scouting, it finally all came together. Very thankful for the outcome, and to wrap the first half of Summer up with a good run in an amazing place. A huge thanks to the safety team that showed up to help and support. While many people watching probably think we are crazy, the real danger in life is hiding in the crowd, and not trying. Do your thing. Call it what you want, but this is what we do, and this is the story of Minnehaha Falls.