Daily Stats
Start: 10:30 AM - MM 327 Quincy, IL
Finish 3:00 PM - MM 301 - 8 miles south of Hannibal, MO
Time: 4:30 hours
Daily dist: 26 miles
Lock 21: 10:45-11:00 Portaged lock and dam
Lock 22: 2:30-2:45 Portaged lock and dam
Total dist: 5400+
Companions: None
Weather: Clear blue skies, 70’s, calm winds
Notes: Luck allowed me to avoid long waits by portaging two dams
Start: 10:30 AM - MM 327 Quincy, IL
Finish 3:00 PM - MM 301 - 8 miles south of Hannibal, MO
Time: 4:30 hours
Daily dist: 26 miles
Lock 21: 10:45-11:00 Portaged lock and dam
Lock 22: 2:30-2:45 Portaged lock and dam
Total dist: 5400+
Companions: None
Weather: Clear blue skies, 70’s, calm winds
Notes: Luck allowed me to avoid long waits by portaging two dams
Today was one of those wonderful late summer days where the weather was warm, clear, and dry. I’m enjoying it for all it’s worth as I carefully watch a weather system move in from the south, a remnant of the hurricane that spun into the Gulf of Mexico last week. The weather man says it’s going to be a wet end to the week, but for now I’m loving life.
With a great breakfast with the Strosakers to start the day I was on the water by 10:30 and right from the put-in I could see that there was a lot of traffic at Lock 21 just down stream. With one barge in the lock, another waiting upstream, and a third waiting downstream it could take all day to wait a turn to lock through. Thankfully this lock is a bit different than all the rest I’d seen upstream. On the far side of the dam, opposite the lock chamber, is a concrete spillway. Right now it’s lying about six inches above the water holding back the river above, but at flood stage it would allow water to flow freely over the top. This structure is flat topped and smooth much like a road and about as wide. It was easy business to slide the Ikkuma out onto the dam then across and down a short slope to the other side. Instead of hours of waiting it took mere minutes and I was on my way. The only thing I missed was the opportunity to have my picture taken in a lock by David and Esther who had driven down to see me lock through. I did paddle back across to thank them once again for their hospitality, I guess we’ll have to get a picture next time.
A few hours of paddling brought me to and past Hannibal Missouri which we drove down to visit yesterday. Only eight miles further I came to Lock 22 which was just as busy as the one above. Thank heavens this dam was constructed much like the one above and I, once again, was able to jump across in fifteen minutes. Just a few hundred yards below the lock I found a great camp spot high above the water with cool shade trees and a great view of the river and hills on the far shore. I timed how long it took the barge that was in line in front of me to get through the lock and was very grateful to have been able to portage saving myself three hours of waiting above.
All of this barge traffic is a bit of a surprise after a week of seeing very few. With only 83 miles and two locks to go and three days to reach Grafton I can handle some waiting. But if the locks continue to be of the same design I’ll be happy to keep sliding over the spillways and continuing on my way.
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