Days 63 & 64 - Throttling Back
I have an odd problem: I’m going too fast. If you’d have said that to me in the pools I would have scoffed, but it’s true. I budgeted until Sep. 15 to get to Memphis, but it turns out I’d get there on Sep. 10 if I kept up my modest pace.
Now normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but I made plans a couple weeks ago for Solange to join me in Memphis for a spell. When we made the plans, her flying in on the 14th seemed like an ambitious plan. Would I even be to Memphis then? This is one example of how it’s so hard to coordinate dates on a long-distance paddle trip! Trips like these just don’t lend themselves well for advance and exact date planning.
Long story short, I’m going to slow my roll considerably, throttle back, and arrive in Memphis on the 13th, stay with a very nice River Angel couple for a few days, then leave very early in the morning on Sep. 15 with Solange!
It’s not my ideal plan, I know I will be antsy and restless just waiting on an island, and wanting to go farther! However this is my current situation and I’m making the best of it. It will hopefully be good to step back and go at a slower pace and just enjoy some downtime on some Mississippi River islands.
My first rest day since Hannibal, MO, will be at Ashport Golddust Island. There are some slight storms predicted tomorrow so I figured it may as well be then that I take a day off!
Day 63: Island No. 20 → Ashport Golddust Island
Date: September 9th, 2022
LRM 829 → LRM 790
Distance today: 39 miles
River Time: 7 hours
Countdown to Memphis: 57 miles
Arrival in Arkansas
Today at 5:45 a.m. I departed Missouri, and entered Arkansas on my right hand side. Missouri was a state of great change on this voyage. When I entered Missouri, I was descending through Lock #20. I still had a lot of flat water in front of me, in the form of 7 pools and 6 locks and dams. Now as I depart Missouri, I find myself in a wild, open, and wide expanse of a river. Sandbars stretch wide and dwarf the River even in comparison. Every second, more than 1 million gallons of water gush past me. Goodbye Missouri, hello Arkansas!
Bends in the River
As I checked the maps heading out, I could tell I had a meander-y day ahead of me. While in the headwater section, that could mean 100+ bends in the River, here it means 3 to 5. When each bend is 5-15 miles long, this adds up quickly. And yet, I was on a bend most of the day, the straightaways between bends today were quite short by comparison, maybe 1 to 2 miles.
Because each bend in the Lower Mississippi River is so large, each carries significance. Every bend from Cairo to the Gulf is named.
By my count, when I woke up today I had 104 bends remaining before I reach the Gulf of Mexico. Simple, right? After paddling almost 40 miles today I had accomplished 4 bends in the River! 101 more to go! Maybe I should start tracking that in the daily stats…
I made my way around Bend of Island 21, Tamm Bend, Nebraska Point Bend, and finally Bend of Island 15, and finally got my first glimpse of a straightaway. ~16 miles looking toward Osceola, AR, and Plum Point Bend.
This stretch, like any straightaway, can cause problems. Even strong winds can gust strongly, with more room to spread out. However today when I paddled it, it was like glass! I was very thankful for this fact.
I made it toward the end of this straightaway then found shelter in Ashport Golddust Island. This will be my home for two nights!
Day 64: Ashport Golddust Island → Ashport Golddust Island
Date: September 10th, 2022
LRM 790 → LRM 790
Distance today: 0 miles
River Time: 0 hours
Countdown to Memphis: 57 miles
Today was a rest day, so I won’t write too much. Below is a short list of what I did, and some photos from the day.
Things I accomplished today:
Slept in.
Brewed and drank a leisurely cup of coffee.
Sewed a ripped pair of pants.
Sewed a patch on a hole torn in my tent’s bugnet.
Read from a book.
Sketched out mileage for Memphis to the Gulf.
Planned some logistics for the remainder of the trip.
Talked with family and friends on the phone.
Explored, and found a turtle shell.
River Log Day 62
0.0 @ Osceola Gauge (OG)
790 - Ashport Golddust Islands: RBD, series of islands. Most are across a long sandbar in low water. Behind and around the first 90° wingdam, there is one with good access in low water.
This is Dave from the bike shop in St. Paul. I just heard about your journey from your Dad and he sent me a link to follow along. This is really well done and I look forward to reading more.