Daily stats
Start: 6:00 AM- On the river mile marker 324
Finish:5:15 PM - Baton Rouge
Time: 11:15
Daily dist: 95 miles
Total dist: ? miles
Companions: None
Weather: Mostly cloudy with strong cold north wind - one of the coldest days so far
Notes: Rather than taking time and energy to set up and tear down camp one more night I opted to push through and get to Baton Rogue in one long day. I've been wanting to see how far the wind and curent could take me anyway.
Start: 6:00 AM- On the river mile marker 324
Finish:5:15 PM - Baton Rouge
Time: 11:15
Daily dist: 95 miles
Total dist: ? miles
Companions: None
Weather: Mostly cloudy with strong cold north wind - one of the coldest days so far
Notes: Rather than taking time and energy to set up and tear down camp one more night I opted to push through and get to Baton Rogue in one long day. I've been wanting to see how far the wind and curent could take me anyway.
This bridge was at mile 90 (hour 10:30) only five miles to the take out downtown
With all my complaining of all the bad people of the world I had lost sight of the many people that have gone out of their way to help me out with this trip. Even after all the sponsor support, donated money, free meals, hot showers, places to stay, rides for new gear, and logistical support, I already have a growing list of people who have stood at a boat landing in nasty foul weather waiting for me to arrive so they could take me home and warm me up. First it was my parents shin deep in show in Boscabel Wisconsin, then it was Elmore Holmes on Christmas Eve in the driving rain in Memphis, and today it was Michael Beck in the bitter cold wind at sunset at a boat ramp in Baton Rogue.
Thank you everyone for all your help, I couldn’t do it without you.
To top things off Michael didn’t even know I was going to arrive until about 3:00 PM this afternoon. I’ve been out of cell and internet contact for the last three days so I had no way of telling him when I was due to arrive until I finally got a signal this afternoon. We had been corresponding off and on for a few months but all he knew was that I was due sometime this week. Michael was one of the first people to respond to my initial announcement of this trip and shameless request for places to stay along the way. With his spare bedroom and location just six blocks from the river, Michael has made a hobby of taking in wayward river paddlers giving them a chance to dust themselves off before they push on to the end of the river just a few days away. After such a long day on the water I was grateful to have a place to stay tonight. Ironically here in Louisiana (with the wind chill) we are experiencing the coldest temperatures I’ve seen since we high tailed it out of Wisconsin after the big winter storm caught us last month. The weather is supposed to remain bad (with rain added to the mix) for the next several days so I’m glad to have a place to stay off the river.
The plan right now is to plan. With the transition into the Gulf of Mexico only two or three days down stream I need to get the details of the next phase of this trip sorted out. I’ll be sorting through my kit, repairing a few things and purging out a few that I haven’t used in the last thousand miles. In addition I need to round up charts and info for the route from here to the Florida Everglades and gear up (or down) for somewhat warmer weather. I figure I’ll be taking advantage of Michael’s hospitality for at least a few days then moving on by next weekend. Along with preparing the next leg of the trip I’ll be updating a few things on my website and exploring Baton Rogue itself. Michael already walked me around his (very safe) neighborhood and showed me some of the many things there are to see within walking distance. There certainly is a lot to explore in this town. He said I could stay as long as I like but if I’m still here in February he’d start charging me rent.
Thank you everyone for all your help, I couldn’t do it without you.
To top things off Michael didn’t even know I was going to arrive until about 3:00 PM this afternoon. I’ve been out of cell and internet contact for the last three days so I had no way of telling him when I was due to arrive until I finally got a signal this afternoon. We had been corresponding off and on for a few months but all he knew was that I was due sometime this week. Michael was one of the first people to respond to my initial announcement of this trip and shameless request for places to stay along the way. With his spare bedroom and location just six blocks from the river, Michael has made a hobby of taking in wayward river paddlers giving them a chance to dust themselves off before they push on to the end of the river just a few days away. After such a long day on the water I was grateful to have a place to stay tonight. Ironically here in Louisiana (with the wind chill) we are experiencing the coldest temperatures I’ve seen since we high tailed it out of Wisconsin after the big winter storm caught us last month. The weather is supposed to remain bad (with rain added to the mix) for the next several days so I’m glad to have a place to stay off the river.
The plan right now is to plan. With the transition into the Gulf of Mexico only two or three days down stream I need to get the details of the next phase of this trip sorted out. I’ll be sorting through my kit, repairing a few things and purging out a few that I haven’t used in the last thousand miles. In addition I need to round up charts and info for the route from here to the Florida Everglades and gear up (or down) for somewhat warmer weather. I figure I’ll be taking advantage of Michael’s hospitality for at least a few days then moving on by next weekend. Along with preparing the next leg of the trip I’ll be updating a few things on my website and exploring Baton Rogue itself. Michael already walked me around his (very safe) neighborhood and showed me some of the many things there are to see within walking distance. There certainly is a lot to explore in this town. He said I could stay as long as I like but if I’m still here in February he’d start charging me rent.
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