Day 38 - A Linear River

Day 38: Island 241 aka Bellevue Beach → Breezy Beach

Date: August 15th, 2022

URM 562 → URM 532

Distance today: 30 miles

River Time: 10 hours

Countdown to St. Louis: 352 miles

A Linear River

For all its twists and turns, meanders and bends, cutoffs and chutes, the Mississippi River, to a long distance paddler, is a linear river. There is upstream and downstream, forward and backward.

So much so that it pains me deeply sometimes when I must backtrack and go upriver. Such was the case today, when I reached my endpoint at Santa Fe Beach. Except I didn’t reach it, I missed it. By a little bit. I looked over and there it was, a mere 200 yards away, but 200 yards upstream. Immediately the thought of landing there turned wholly unappealing.

It’s odd, and somewhat illogical. On a trip where I spend 8-12 hours per day on the water, paddling upstream 200 yards would add 30 seconds or a minute. Yet my brain rebels against the notion, and against my better judgement. It feels wrong.

On this occasion, it served me well, as I paddled 8 miles downstream to the next good sandbar, which the locals call “Breezy Beach”. I met a few of the locals here, and they told me this beach was much better than Santa Fe Beach.

Overall, I had a nice, mellow day on the River. The wind wasn’t too bad, and it wasn’t in the worst direction, so things were alright. The weirdest moment came when I passed a former military area, see photos below:

Scenes from the Day

There were probably about 30-40 of these signs, spanning ~2 miles. Needless to say, once I read the first one, I stuck to the navigation channel and well away from shore!

Best towboat name ever! Seen at Lock #12.

It’s been a long few days and I’m beat! I’m going to sleep well tonight! I will sleep in a bit, as tomorrow is a “short” 19 mile day. Tomorrow I am also meeting up with some good friends who are paddling with me for a few days! I’m really looking forward to that!

What I’m Reading

I just finished reading The Monkey Wrench Gang, by Edward Abbey. I thought it was brilliant. It’s high-action, sarcastic, vulgar, and clever, all rolled together in a perfect mix. I loved how — almost breaking the fourth wall — Abbey continually walks the line between the book being totally innocuous and being a rabble-rousing call to action.

Next up is either The Way of the Peaceful Warrior (thanks, Thomas!), or The Great Gatsby (thanks, Fitzgerald!), which astonishingly I’ve not yet read.

River Log Day 38

554.5 RBD: Medium sandbar spot.

547.2 LBD: Really nice shady spot. Tucked away right near a line of rip-rap.

539.5 - Santa Fe Beach: LBD. Seems to be a good site, flat on top, but steep landing.

532 - Breezy Beach: LBD. Best sandbar spot in the area. Last good one before Lock and Dam #13.