Day 69 - Mississippi on my Left
Day 69: Dismal Point → Pickett Island
Date: September 15th, 2022
LRM 724 → LRM 704
Distance today: 20 miles
River Time: 5 hours
Countdown to Baton Rouge, LA: 475 miles
Local Gauge: -3.3 Memphis Gauge
The camping last night was less than subpar. We were camped past President’s Island— where most of the industry is located for the Memphis area — but still quite close to it. We heard lots of humming barges throughout the night, and sporadic large clangs. You win some and you lose some I guess.
With the hot Tennessee sun rising on our exposed sandbar camp, we didn’t dawdle in the morning. We got out on the water, and one of the first things we saw was a very peculiar barge. It was operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but I don’t know exactly what the equipment was. Anyone have any guesses?
Sliding around Cow Island Bend, we entered into a new state today: Mississippi. Tennessee is in the rear view mirror, and Mississippi will be my neighbor on the left hand side all the way until the River is entirely in Louisiana! I have now been in 9 of 10 states that the River runs through!
We intended to camp at Cat Island, which I’ve heard good things about from many folks, but when we got there, the sandbar was just too expansive. It was a quarter-mile walk to any decent tree coverage from the brutal sun. We carried on, but not too much farther, for we found the perfect spot: Pickett Island.
This area has steep banks, which means they don’t extend as far. And when climbing to the top, we entered into a magical sandy willow forest! This place is protected from the sun on all sides (a rarity these days!) so we have decided to take a zero day here tomorrow. It will be really nice to spend our entire day here tomorrow, watching the rhythms of life unfold here on this remote Mississippi River island. When you stumble across a good site … take it!