Day 31: Wabasha, MN → Island 63 near Fountain City, WI
Date: August 8th, 2022
URM 761 → URM 731
Distance today: 30 Miles
River Time: 10 hrs
Countdown to St. Louis: 551 miles
I awoke to an overcast sky and my camp soggy from last night’s rainstorms. Rain makes camping tougher in some ways, of course, but it also means more flow going down the River, so I’ll take it!
I passed Wabasha in the gray morning, and soon found myself in chains of wild islands between the city and Lock #4. As usual, the channel widens, flattens, and slackens as I approach the dam.
Lock #4
Today when I arrived at the lock, there was a tow using it to refuel, so I waited 15 minutes for it to finish. No big deal. I chatted with one of the Lock Technicians who said that the dam was releasing about 13,400 CFS this morning. A trickle compared to the 90,000+ that was being released in the spring and early summer from the same spot. CFS stands for cubic feet per second, and is a measure of volume over time. So increasing the amount of water or the speed of the water increases this number.
I locked through after the other tow departed and headed upstream.
I also noticed the repair car that drives on a tram on top of the dam to repair the gates of the dam when necessary.
I was researching the lock & dam system of the Upper Mississippi River, and came across this interesting information about Lock & Dam #4:
The lock was put in operation in May 1935. At the time it was built, the dam’s combination of roller and Tainter gates was believed to have been the first of its type to be constructed. Cold weather created several problems during construction of the complex. Approximately 120 timber pillings split and had to be pulled and replaced. Engineers speculated that sap freezing in the green pilings may have caused the splitting. Ten major injuries, 296 minor injuries, and three deaths were reported during the construction of the dam.
The pool created by Lock and Dam 4 is the longest in river miles (44.1 miles) with the largest water area of all the Mississippi River pools in the St. Paul District. It encompasses Lake Pepin, which was formed in geologic time by sediment deposited in the Mississippi River at the mouth of Wisconsin’s Chippewa River. The lake is 23 miles long and up to 2.5 miles wide.1
After Lock #4, I floated past what looked to be the very quaint town of Alma, WI. I wish I could stop and explore every town along my route, but there’s simply not the time to do so.
Immediately following the dam and for the next 5-6 miles there were really nice sandbars that would have made great campsites. Some if not all were in a national wildlife refuge that provided picnic tables at a few spots as well. I stopped at one of these for my lunch, then headed on down to Lock and Dam #5.
Lock and Dam #5
Well, my luck was bound to run out sometime. As I approached Pool #5, I noticed a tow trailing me by about 1-2 miles. I decided to see if I could beat him to Lock #5. I was 6 miles out, he was 7-8. I was slower, but was able to cut more corners by going over shallow waters. And thus the Great Towboat Race of Lock #5 2022 commenced.
The race lasted about 1-1.5 hours. Everything on the River is like in slow motion. I ducked around a small island, only to find the tow right on my tail as I passed Island 49. I crossed the channel right in front of him, then took my direct route straight toward the lock. He had to follow the historic channel (the only place 9-feet deep in the pool), which took him on a roundabout path, ranging out and then back in again. He was gaining on me, but slowly.
In the end, I beat him by the slimmest of margins. Actually, his bow beat my bow, but my stern beat his stern. He was about 600 feet long, so call it a tie I guess. Although he did go through the lock first on a technicality: unfortunately for me, commercial tows have the right of way over pleasure craft like myself, so the tow locked trough first. Which meant a 1 hour delay for me. I spent the time snacking and refilling water bottles in a small cove that had calm waters.
One cool thing about this experience is seeing how tows navigate the locks. This tow was a 3x2, which meant the barge containers were 200 x 3 = 600 feet long. The lock is also exactly 600 feet long, so the barges had to be loaded in, positioned and secured first. Then the tow had to detach itself and slide in alongside the cargo, in order for the doors to be able to close. This took a good deal longer than what I need in order to lock though, hence the 1 hour delay.
After this delay, the sun was getting lower and it was time to start looking for a site. I wanted to get a few more miles behind me, so I paddled about 5 more, then began the hunt. During this stretch I also passed the largest tow I’d come across so far on this trip, 12 total barges in a 4x3 configuration. Of course, these numbers will increase mightily as the River widens and serves areas like St. Louis and New Orleans.
This area has some really cool sandbar sites that mostly have nice inclines, flat tops, and great views. I found a great site just like that. Here is my home for the night:
On tap for tomorrow is Lock #5A, Winona, MN, and Lock #6!
My Longest Trip Yet
Well it’s official, somewhere in the last few days this ticked over into being the longest trip I’ve ever done. Previous to this, I had done a bicycle tour of Arizona that included a hike of the Grand Canyon. That trip was somewhere around 25-28 days long. It’s crazy to think, as my mentality currently is that of the beginning of a trip: I’m only about 25% of the way done with the mileage.
It feels like a big task, but every paddle stroke brings me closer to the Gulf of Mexico. I’m not trying to break any speed records, I simply chug away at it and put a few more miles behind me every day.
A few more photos from the day
River Log Day 31
761-760 - Wabasha: Best access into town is more northern. Beach Park and the marina have shops and restaurants within walking distance. Some restaurants have docks to just pull up to as well.
752: RBD good sandbar site.
752 - Alma: LBD. Public dock with quick access to general store.
747-745: Numerous campsites within National Wildlife Area. Some with picnic tables and fire rings.
735: LBD good sandbar camp.
734 - Island 58: Good sandbar spots.
731 - Island 63: Good sandbar spots.
Fact Sheet: Lock & Dam #4. Updated Aug. 2018. Locks and Dams - Upper Mississippi River; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District.