I woke up this morning around 7:30am. I started packing up camp, but took my time. I was ready to get on the river by 9:20am. When I tried to push my canoe into the water I realized it was really stuck. The water dropped last night leaving my canoe beached on the sand. I tried pulling it. It barely moved. I just kept jerking on it and it would move less than a centimeter. The mud around my canoe was building up more each time it moved. I didnt want to unload all 295 pounds of supplies, so I decided I would dig my canoe out. I put together my shovel and started digging around my canoe until the water came up from the sand. I then dug around the sides and back of the canoe to clear the mud out. I slowly made progress. After about 45 minutes of physical labor I finally got my canoe in the water. I got on the river officially by 10:07am. I paddled past a few barges and was determined to try and get as far as possible. I passed a barge being loaded with coal. Its not the first time I passed that, but it is the first time I thought of the process! The coal probably comes from Wyoming or North Dakota. It is shipped by train or semi to all these facilities and then dumped on a belt, which then loads it onto the barges. The barges are then pushed up and down the river by the masses and the coal is distributed around the rest of the country. I may be wrong on the exact process, but thats what I envisioned. If you think about all the coordination and manpower put into that process its pretty incredible. Anyway I continued on and a few more barges passed me. I was almost to my campsite when I see another barge coming downriver. I got out of the way for it. When it arrived it was a United States Coast Guard towboat. It was one that was responsible for making sure the buoys are in the right place for navigation. They slowed down as they passed me almost to where they didnt produce a wake. I thought, Man theres someone who knows how to drive a boat around a canoe, wouldnt it be nice if every boat did that. Once they passed me they resumed their normal speed. I could see the man up in the bridge of the ship watching me to make sure their wake wasnt to big. I then rounded the corner and pulled up to my sandbar I was going to camp at. I made sure my canoe wasnt to far on the beach so I dont have to repeat this morning. I then set up my tent and proceeded to cook my meal. I made a semi spicy macaroni and cheese meal with chicken. It was pretty decent. I didnt finish the whole thing. As soon as I started cleaning up my dishes the mosquitos came out! They were so bad I thought I was back in Minnesota! I ran around finishing everything up and then jumped into my tent! Today was good! I did 40 miles. The weather is hot, but it beats being rained on! I pray that I can continue to have great weather!
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 02:09:30 +0000
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