Daily stats
Start: 6:30 AM - South of Caruthersville, MO
Finish: 3:40 PM - 35 miles north of Memphis, TN
Time: 9:10:00
Daily dist: 65
Total dist: 488 miles
Weather: Rainy breezy and warm (50s)
Start: 6:30 AM - South of Caruthersville, MO
Finish: 3:40 PM - 35 miles north of Memphis, TN
Time: 9:10:00
Daily dist: 65
Total dist: 488 miles
Weather: Rainy breezy and warm (50s)
I woke to the sound of rain drops splatting against the roof of my tent. As much as I wanted to curl deeper into my sleeping bag I knew it was time to get moving. My goal for the day was to get within striking distance of Memphis where I will be hooking up with Elmore Holmes and his wife Martha for Christmas.
There are storms and big winds predicted for tomorrow so I knew that in order to make it happen I’d have to get as close as possible today to shorten the potential slog tomorrow. People have warned me time and time again about the wind being a huge factor on this river. Today I learned first hand that they weren’t kidding. Because of it’s width there aren’t many places to hide from the wind on this river. If you get caught in a bend where the wind is blowing against the current it doesn’t take long before you encounter 1-2 foot waves stacked up by the opposing forces.
I spent most of the day running from bank to bank trying to stay out of the wind. My normal strategy of cutting corners and drawing the straightest line as possible took a back seat to trying to get out of the constant blow. I had another reason to not cut corners as well. Early this morning I took a side channel made passable by flood waters as a short cut on the inside of a bend. One dike was shown on the map which didn’t concern me as I’ve gone over dozens in the last several days. Even as I neared the dike and could hear the sound of rushing water I was not concerned. Often on the main channel water flowing over a dike makes plenty of noise but is very deep. This one was louder than normal so I even recorded it on my camera.
It wasn’t until I was right on top of it did I realize that this dike was a bit shallower than others and the sound I could hear was a bony (rocky) class two rapid. All I could do was clinch my cheeks and grimace as my loaded boat went over the lip. I thought I’d get lucky until the boat hit up front with a scraping thud. I immediately pulled out to survey the damages and discovered to significant gouges in the boat’s gel coat on both sides about five feet from the bow. I squeezed and poked and it seems as though I got lucky and only did cosmetic damage. Still this one is down to the fiber so it will have to be sealed until a more permanent gel coat repair can be done. I just need a dry day to do it. With that experience in mind I tested the waters on another chute further on then heard the same rushing water sound so I turned on my heals and paddled back up stream to get back in the main river. I think from now on my use of side channels is going to be limited as well as running over dikes. The river has dropped over two feet since Cairo and things are starting to get boney (shallow).
On rainy days the tent becomes a drying rack for my clothes
It only 'looks' like I'm cooking in my tent. That would be wrong
Of course as I started the day in a little bit of rain I finished it in a downpour. Seems how there’d be no chance of drying things outside in the remaining sunshine of the day I paddled a little longer to get a few more miles behind me. Right now I have all my (always wet) clothes hung from lines on the ceiling of the tent. As the water drains to the end of a sleeve or leg I use my camp towel to squeeze it out before it drips on the floor. One should only imagine the (not experience) the smells associated with being nested under the wet clothes one has been sweating in for the last two days. I have a rule written in my list of personal camp rules that states “Rule #4 - Your clothes stink…there is no need to smell them.” In a set up like this I have no choice. Still, any amount of water I can squeeze out of my layers tonight will make that much easier to put back on in the morning. I’m seriously contemplating wearing my camp layers under my paddling clothes tomorrow but, if I don’t make Memphis I wouldn’t want to endure a night without something warm and dry to put on at the end of a long day on the water.
Me in the tent with clothes hung to dry. Watch out that pant leg is about to drip
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