Day 36

Daily stats
Start: 8:00 AM- Baton Rouge boat ramp
Finish: 5:00 PM - On the river 
Time: 9:00
Daily dist: 72 miles
Total dist: xx miles
Companions: None
Weather: Sunny and cold with a slight NW tail wind
Notes: First day back on the water after five day off.

I came to a realization at about 10:00 last night that I wouldn’t be any more ready by the end of today than I was yesterday. So I made the decision to finally get back on the water this morning before I got any more used to sleeping in a bed. Michael was up by 6:30 AM to help be get the Ikkuma and my gear back to the river where he picked me up last Monday.

Michael at the boat ramp to see me off on a cold morning.

I must admit that I had reservations when I set out from the boat landing this morning. For one, I feared that five days off would have put me out of the paddling groove I’d been in for so many weeks, but as soon as I climbed into my boat I felt right at home and was ready to go. Secondly, everything I had heard of the river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans made it sound like a continuous loading zone for a one hundred mile long oil refinery. Yes, once you float under the bridge on the upper end of Baton Rouge the river takes on a much more industrial feel. At the same time you suddenly find yourself sharing the water not only with more intense barge traffic but giant ocean going ships as well. It’s one thing to hear about full size ships sailing 200 miles up the river, it’s a whole other thing to see them first hand from the water level. However, even with the intensity of boat traffic increasing the river today really didn’t seem that much different than what I’ve dealt with over the last 1000 miles. Water, barges, and bends in the river followed by more of the same.

Super tankers 170 miles up the Mississippi

I had worried incessantly over the last five days about the availability of camp sites on this section of river. With the water up, and reports of so much industry, I feared that I’d end up sleeping on an undesirable mud bank next to a refinery dock. The truth is that there are almost as many camp spots over the last 70 miles as anywhere else on the river. Not all giant golden sand bars, but nice enough camp sites just the same. John Rusky from Quapaw Canoe Company (who knows more about paddling the river than anybody) had suggested a few camp spots which I highlighted on my maps. As I paddled today I looked for the spots he recommended and picked up on where in the river I could find more of the same. That technique led me here to what is probably one of the best spots I’ve had all the way down the river. A beautiful grassy point away from people with a great view of the river and out of the wind. As my last camp on the Mississippi river on this part of the trip I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

My last evening on the river

Last camp on the river

I pushed hard for nine hours today in order to get within easy striking distance of New Orleans tomorrow. If all goes well I should be arriving in the French Quarter by the end of the day. I have a contact arranged to pick me up there and I’ll be staying with him tomorrow night. After a week in Baton Rouge I plan to keep my New Orleans stay very short and expect to be back on the water again Tuesday where I’ll paddle three more miles of the river before turning East into a lock that will put me into the Intracoastal waterway.