Watpa waḳaŋ (Mystic River in the Dakota language) also called the Rum River, is a small, slow river that begins in Mde waḳaŋ, (Spirit(ual)/Mystic Lake in Dakota, also called Lake Mille Lacs). It meanders 151 miles through Onamia, Milaca, Princeton, Cambridge, Isanti, and St. Francis before joining the Mississippi River in Anoka, 20 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Watpa waḳaŋ (Rum River) is a protected Wild and Scenic river in Minnesota.
The walk began near James’s Dam on Mde waḳaŋ (Mille Lacs) in Vineland, MN. The walk was 109 miles long and lasted 4 days.
A note about the river name from Wikipedia: “The current English name is a mistranslation of the one given to it by the Mdewakanton Dakota tribe. Though Watpa waḳaŋ (Spirit(ual)/Mystic River) in the Dakota language, by the late 18th-century Europeans interpreted the Mdewakanton Dakota name for the river not as “Spirit” denoting a mystical force, but instead as “spirit” denoting alcohol and ever since it has been known as the Rum River.”