Daily Stats
Start: 6:00 AM - MM 409 Burlington, IA
Finish 5:00 PM - MM 361 IA/MO border mouth of Des Moines River
Time: 11:00 hours
Daily dist: 48 miles
Lock 19: 3:40-4:20
Total dist: 5400+
Companions: None
Weather: Storms in AM then clear, 70’s, S wind 20+ (headwind)
Notes: A long hard day paddling into the wind.
Start: 6:00 AM - MM 409 Burlington, IA
Finish 5:00 PM - MM 361 IA/MO border mouth of Des Moines River
Time: 11:00 hours
Daily dist: 48 miles
Lock 19: 3:40-4:20
Total dist: 5400+
Companions: None
Weather: Storms in AM then clear, 70’s, S wind 20+ (headwind)
Notes: A long hard day paddling into the wind.
Sloppy wet and slow going with headwinds pushing against the current.
The wind was blowing out of the south at well over 20mph… South being, of course, the very direction I was headed… That’s all I’m going to say about that.
The day was a bit of a slog but not without highlights. Shortly after getting on the water this morning I passed through Burlington, IA. At one of the loading docks was the Living Lands and Waters barge. Living Lands and Waters is the organization started by Chad Pregracke, the parents of whom I stayed with last week. The organization has done a lot to clean up the Mississippi River, as well as others. The barge is their base of operations where they store the trash they’ve collected until they can off load it to the landfill.
The Living Lands and Waters barge near Burlington
A bit further on form Burlington I had to take a forced break to wait out a storm. The front actually slowed the wind for a while, and as much as I wanted to stay on the water and take advantage of the lull, there was a lot of lighting associated with the storm so I thought it wise to wait it out. While watching the storm pass I was treated to some amazing cloud formations.
You should have seen these clouds rolling and spinning in the sky
What was my destination for most of the day ended up being one of the most remarkable things I saw. Lock 19 I was told is a behemoth but nothing could have prepared me for the true enormity of the lock. Designed to allow tows consisting of three barges wide and five long with a tow boat behind to lock through in one pass. To accommodate that size tow the chamber is well over 1200 feet long and 120 feet wide. To add to the experience of being alone in a lock chamber that it took me ten minutes to paddle end to end, was the fact that it also lowered me over 40 feet. By the time the huge gates swung open to the lower river level the lock chamber looked like an empty blimp hanger. It was HUGE!
Lock 19 the Grand Daddy of the Mississippi locks
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