Heather Herbeck's thoughts as she plunges down the Kadunce River might go something like this: Okay, oh-kaaay, oh my gosh, dip dip fall, keep straight, straight, almost to the end, just about there, splash and…wow. "The Kadunce River on Minnesota's North Shore is one of my favorite runs," says Heather, who has been running rapids, risking neck and limb, and walking the extreme edge of outdoor recreation for ten years plus. "It's not a long run, but it's a 150-foot plunge so narrow in places that a sideways kayak could get stuck."

The Paul Bunyan and Heartland trails are well highlighted on our Lake Country map. The Itasca and Bemidji State Parks, the Migizi Trail in the Chippewa National Forest along with the bed and breakfast we planned to stay was clearly marked.

Our Fourth of July vacation was neatly planned. We fun time for our twin daughters, biking and hiking for mom and dad, neatly set, perfect, no flaws, then life has a way of changing our best laid plans.

Before I ever saw the Devil’s Kettle, I dreamed of it.

About the Kettle I knew very little; only that it was a waterfall, somewhere in northern Minnesota, that poured into a hole rumored to be bottomless.