The Great Mississippi River Adventure

Day 35

Stats

61.8 miles traveled in 9:17 hours

River mile start:102

River mile end:40

River mile today: 62

River mile total:1301

% complete: 56.3

Miles to go...URM+LRM+12 to the gulf

40+954+12=1006

Average 6.7 mph (breaks, lunch)

Burned 2383calories

Kayak: Y&H Quest 

Temp at launch 75 degree, at recovery 86 degree

Last night I had a couple of storms roll through. Both of them dumped major rain and both of them tried to collapse my tent. The tent help up fine. The rain tart gets a failing grade. I sealed the seams while I was home. I'm sure they didn't leak. I can't say the same thing about the rest of the rain fly. During the storms I laid in the tent with my raincoat over my torso and that did the trick. After the storms I used my socks to soak up the puddles. Other than that I slept pretty good. 

This morning it took me an hour and a half to cook, eat, pack, load, and get underway.  There is rhythm in everything we do.

The weather was hot but I didn't have to fight the wind.

The barges are a different story.  First of all they bundle more down here. When they had to go through locks, 15 was the max number of barges. So far I have seen a 24 barge bundle. Secondly the current down here is much faster. So the tow boats are using a lot more horsepower to push the additional barges. The end result is the river is churned up for miles after the boat moves on. I've had ocean sized waves 2 miles after passing the tow boat. Thirdly because some barges move slowly and because the river channel can get narrow, the boats get stacked up. I've had 4 boats pass me in rapid fire. On the funny side, every now and then the deck hands will shout and wave. Almost as if they're excited to see me.

My friends the eagles did a fly by this morning and again this afternoon. 35 in a row!

From a something picturesque front. I passed through Cape Girardeau today.

On a side note, today I paddled 62 miles...first 60 mile day. And I paddled 1301 miles total...pretty big numbers.

Well, I'm laying in my tent because the bugs are out and I'm waiting for the evening breeze to start. So for now I'm just sweating.  Soon I'll be able to sleep and do it all over again tomorrow!

Good night all!

Ps a very long barge just passed...I couldn't tell if it was 18 or 24.