Day 58 - Soggy Days and Petroglyphs

A soggy week too

Day 58: Marquette Island → Dogtooth Bar

Date: September 4th, 2022

URM 50 → URM 20

Distance today: 30 miles

River Time: 8 hours

Countdown to Ohio River: 20 miles

It rained most of the night. Most of my gear is soggy. I considered just taking a rest day today, and hunker down in the tent, but I was right near industry and bad smells and loud thunks, so I decided to head out. I slept in and half dozed until I heard a break in the rain. Then I rushed to take down the tent before the next batch hit!

A break in the storm

Most of my gear is damp and moldy and mildewy from the last few days of rain, and humidity before that. I am hoping for some sun and less humid air in my future to give my clothes and tent a proper drying out! I’d love to take my rest day at a nice willow beach and string up a drying line. We shall see.

I made my way leisurely downstream, knowing that I only had a goal of 30 miles today. In this current, that’s an easy day now! I took my time appreciating being in the middle of a massive channel, floating down in the heart of the country. The River is wide here, such that I can no longer make out things on shore without my monocular.

It’s an endeavor and a commitment to paddle to a bank now, and a maneuver that I must begin with a 5-minute warning, otherwise I’ll miss my target. If I look directly 90 degrees to my left or right and see something interesting, I have absolutely no hopes of reaching it without paddling upstream.

Such was my day unravelling, slowly and easily, that I decided to search for hidden treasure. Archaeological treasure that is. There is a rock called Commerce Rock which has ancient petroglyphs on it. It’s estimated that they are from about AD 1200. Now the tricky part is that the grand majority of the time this rock is underwater¹. It is only visible in extremely low water. I know I’m in low water now, but I wasn’t sure if it was quite low enough. I figured I’d give it a shot!

After about 45 minutes of searching — on the last rock I was going to try before giving up no less — I found Commerce Rock!

There were three petroglyphs that I noticed. An eagle, an eye, and (presumably) the Mississippi River (or a snake?). It was special to be in the presence of this carving work of art, and to think of those who came before me.

Eagle. Faint wings on right side.

The eye, and Mississippi River meanders

I looked at my watch and it was already noon! I decided to lunch at this unique spot. Maybe I dined with some spirits.

Now I was a bit behind on mileage, so I hopped back in and put a good 3 hours of work in. By then I was nearing my campsite. It only drizzled once in the afternoon, and finally the sun poked out! Hopefully this means I can dry some stuff out tonight. No more mold for me!

Abandoned tow, with driftwood stacked on it from high water

I made landing for the night at a sandbar with a very shallow slope. So shallow that if the river were to rise one vertical foot, it could come up 20 feet horizontally or more! I set my camp very far away, and tied up my boat to a paddle.

An expansive landscape

Tomorrow I will meet the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois — the largest confluence of waters in North America.

Weekly Review

I almost forgot, but it’s Sunday. Here’s what I did this week:

I woke up last Monday, August 29th, just past Lock #24 on Tinsel Towhead, near the town of Clarksville, MO. Now I find myself at Dogtooth Bar, 20 miles away from the Ohio River.

Start Point: Tinsel Towhead, 10 miles past Lock #24

End Point: Dogtooth Bar

Starting River Mile: URM 263

Ending River Mile: URM 20

Total Mileage: 243

Highlights/Milestones:

• Locking through Mel Price Lock, the last lock of my voyage

• Meeting the Missouri River

• Portaging around the Chain of Rocks

• Paddling through the Port of St. Louis

• Meeting Peter the Pirate and Abram the Adventurer

• Serendipitous supply run in Cape Girardeau

• Commerce Rock Petroglyphs

River Log Day 57

132 - A trickle of a backchannel open in Establishment Chute

10.8 on the Cape Girardeau Gauge saw Commerce Rock half submerged

1. Commerce Rock was not always underwater. When it was created, it was removed from the Mississippi Riverbed. However, over time, as the Mississippi shifted its channel, it came to flow directly where the petroglyph site lays! Now it is submerged ~90% of the time.