Don’t miss the day 39 post below. I thought it had posted last night but with the sketchy internet connection I had apparently it didn’t.
Yesterday’s run down the Intracoastal was a sort of kayaking purgatory for me. Not the river and still not quite the ocean. Today was different. A half hour after I left camp I turned a corner and was greeted by one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps not the best sunrise ever, but after a month on the water it was a sight I will never ever forget.
Yesterday’s run down the Intracoastal was a sort of kayaking purgatory for me. Not the river and still not quite the ocean. Today was different. A half hour after I left camp I turned a corner and was greeted by one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps not the best sunrise ever, but after a month on the water it was a sight I will never ever forget.
Sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico
This first full day of open water paddling proved to be a day of adjustment for me. Without shore close to me on either side the passage of distance takes on a whole new relevance. The headland I’m aiming toward may take hours to get to and with the nearest shore over a mile away it sometimes doesn’t seem like I’m moving at all. I’ve adapted a version of my friend Duane Strosaker’s method for long channel crossings. Rather than paddle to a location… I paddle to the clock. What I mean is that my destination is the next break 45 minutes away not the point of land two and a half hours away. To keep my sanity I need the mini goals to chase even if it’s another swallow of water and mouthful of GORP. The regular breaks also mean that I do stay fed, hydrated, and stretched out. I find that if you just grind out until you get tired or thirsty you’ve started to dig yourself into a hole that’s hard to get out of. I believe on an endeavor like this you need to drink and eat before you get hungry or thirsty.
Another thing I’m adjusting to is human shore development. On yesterday’s blog I mentioned how people were a new thing that I hadn’t seen much of on the river. While it’s a delight to see folks on the water, their houses and condos lining every inch of shore line made finding a camp spot a bit challenging. Melissa from South Coast Paddling Company in Ocean Springsi called around an recommended a spot just outside of Bay of St. Louis. I arrived here very early but because the next possible camp site is a full day of paddling further down the coast I had to pull off the water a bit earlier than normal. I could have opted to take the off shore route from island to island but I want to visit Melissa and her shop tomorrow, as well as other people in the area, so I opted for the mainland route. I’m not complaining though, this spot is nice. It’s situated on a bit of land that had been occupied by a home until hurricane Katrina swept it bare. Tomorrow I’ll be heading on into Biloxi to check in with Melissa.
Another thing I’m adjusting to is human shore development. On yesterday’s blog I mentioned how people were a new thing that I hadn’t seen much of on the river. While it’s a delight to see folks on the water, their houses and condos lining every inch of shore line made finding a camp spot a bit challenging. Melissa from South Coast Paddling Company in Ocean Springsi called around an recommended a spot just outside of Bay of St. Louis. I arrived here very early but because the next possible camp site is a full day of paddling further down the coast I had to pull off the water a bit earlier than normal. I could have opted to take the off shore route from island to island but I want to visit Melissa and her shop tomorrow, as well as other people in the area, so I opted for the mainland route. I’m not complaining though, this spot is nice. It’s situated on a bit of land that had been occupied by a home until hurricane Katrina swept it bare. Tomorrow I’ll be heading on into Biloxi to check in with Melissa.
A nice beach side camp
Ruins where a house once stood
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