Days 45 & 46 - The Longest Pool
My updates for the next week or so will be a bit shorter, as I'm planning to do some big-mile days until St. Louis. My goal is to reach St. Louis in the month of August, while also leaving time to explore Hannibal, Missouri, and other places along the way.
Speaking of St. Louis, some people have asked why I note the countdown to St. Louis each day. What’s so special about St. Louis? Beyond being a big city, the most important reason to me is that it's a big milestone — it marks the changing character of the River. This is where the locks and dams end, and the River becomes free-flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. The second reason is psychological, in that I like to have a long-term goal to work toward, and seeing that number tick down motivates me.
In general, I am a bit ahead of pace for what I had put as my itinerary estimate in the master post. This is a very good thing, because as I get lower on the River I may have to take some days off due to weather. High winds will affect me more down there, not to mention the possibility of hurricanes.
The tentative remainder of my schedule, in broad strokes, is as follows:
Aug. 31st - St. Louis, MO
Sept. 15th - Memphis, TN
Oct. 13th - Gulf of Mexico
Day 45: Edwards Island → Willow Bar
Date: August 22nd, 2022
URM 431 → URM 398
Distance today: 33 miles
River Time: 9.5 hours
Countdown to St. Louis: 218 miles
Today was the second day in a row that began with fog, but this one did not linger. Sadly, it burned off before 8 a.m., and from there onward the day was a scorcher! Heat and humidity were definitely the words of the day. I took swimming breaks wherever possible, and used hat and neck gator dips when this was not possible. I even employed the rarely seen up-to-the-elbow dips to beat the heat.
I had a big-mile day, so I didn’t dawdle too much. I enjoyed the company of my audiobook as I paddled slow and steady. I’ve always thought time and consistency on the water beats paddling for speed.
I arrived at Lock #18 shortly after lunch with not a tow in sight. My last delay due to a craft with higher priority was at Lock #10, so that makes eight locks in a row with zero delays! This is my record so far and I hope the streak continues! This reminds me: I have only 7 locks remaining in my quest, because I will not actually go through Lock #27. Rather, I will portage around the Chain of Rocks in St. Louis (and Lock #23 does not exist).
I locked through without issue, and found some pelicans directly on the other side of the gate:
The day got sweltering after this. The air was still and muggy. I passed through the large city of Burlington, Iowa, which had a beautiful bridge. I decided to visit the welcome center which was right on the water, to have an A/C break and to learn about the area. I’m unable to leave my boat unaccompanied for long on excursions like this, being a solo paddler, but today it was worth it!
I found my home on a nice big dredge pile of sand at Willow Bar, about five miles past Burlington. Tomorrow is a slightly shorter day, with no locks. Pool #19 is one of the longest, so I won’t make it to the end tomorrow. It also has one of the largest descents, when I get to it in two days. Most of the time the locks let me down 5-10 feet, but Lock #19 is more on the order of 35-45 feet!
Day 46: Willow Bar → Nauvoo, IL
Date: August 23rd, 2022
URM 398 → URM 373
Distance today: 25 miles
River Time: 8.5 hours
Countdown to St. Louis: 193 miles
Today I slept in a bit, knowing I’d only have 25 miles to paddle. In retrospect, this was a mistake, as the flow in this pool is next to nothing. Now, I wouldn’t say in past pools the River has been a raging torrent, but ever since about Pool #3, there’s been at least a trickle of flow. But not in Pool #19! This is basically a 46-mile-long lake!
I’m not sure why exactly the flow is lower here. Because it’s the longest pool out of all of them? Because Lock #19 has the largest drop? Or simply because the pool is allowed to be wider and more spread out, leading to lower flow. Could be any of these, a combination, or some reason unknown to me. Oddly enough I checked Lock #18, which I passed through yesterday, and it was releasing ~60,000 CFS. However, I’m not feeling any of that current from the water.
Today was another hot day, but made better for the clouds here and there. Every so often I’d get a break from the heat as they passed over.
I passed the town of Fort Madison, Iowa, and its unique bridge, which serves both cars and trains in the same structure.
By the afternoon, I was rounding the long sweeping bend around Nauvoo, Illinois. This town has Mormon roots and a large Mormon population.
I am here tonight at a River Angel’s house directly on the water — how convenient! It’s my first shower and bed since Guttenberg, Iowa, near Lock #10. After an exhausting and hot day, I am going to leave it there. Tomorrow I will leave Iowa and cross the border into Missouri.
More Photos
River Log Day 45
426 - Willow Bar Island: LBD, big dredge pile beach.
419.5 - Jacoby Island: RBD, good sandbar with trees for shade. Steep landing, however.
414.8 - Long Island: RBD, decent sand with grasses interspersed. Only available in low/medium water. Last spot before Lock #18.
405 - Moore Bar: LBD, nice sandbar with small amount of afternoon shade available.
398 - Willow Bar: LBD, nice big stretch of sand from dredging. Steep access in some parts. Almost no afternoon shade on the sandbar. Can camp in trees as well.
River Log Day 46
Pool #19: Noticeably lower flow. Campsites few and far between.
389 - Pontoosuc Island: LBD, real nice shaded sand on a sliver of an island.
Beautiful photos and love the rarely seen elbow dip. Hope you get some cooler weather soon and no hurricanes.
Good job