Days 89 & 90 - Less sand, more industry.
Day 89: Philadelphia Point aka “Gator Lagoon” → Poché Beach
Date: October 5th, 2022
LRM 181 → LRM 149
Distance today: 32 miles
River Time: 10.5 hours
Countdown to New Orleans, LA: 46 Miles
Local Gauge: 3.4 Donaldsonville Gauge
Today was another long day. With the flow all but gone, I am working hard for every paddle stroke and every mile.
Today was a continuation of the Chemical Corridor, and there were long stretches of industry on both sides of me. They seem to stack up; I’ll round a bend and there will be tons of plants and barges and docks, and then the next bend is more wilderness. Today, though, there were more industry stretches than nature.
The River turned today, as I passed Donaldsonville. I’m now heading east overall. Though each bend of the River carries me a different way.
By the afternoon, the wind was blowing hard out of the east — into my face. It was a long and tiring paddle, but I had my destination, which was motivating me: Poché Beach. This is the location of a family of River Angels that allowed me to camp on their property. Even this simple gesture means a lot to me, as I don’t have to go through the stress and uncertainty of finding a campsite.
The Pochés were nice and extremely Cajun. We talked about our shared love of French. And it even turned into a small bonfire right on the water’s edge. It was so nice to have a great place to pull up right on the River! Thank you to the Pochés.
Day 90: Poché Beach → Belle Chase Marine
Date: October 6th, 2022
LRM 149 → LRM 115
Distance today: 34 miles
River Time: 11 hours
Countdown to New Orleans, LA: 12 Miles
Local Gauge: 3.1 Donaldsonville Gauge
Today was a day of changing plans and changing circumstances. There was a lot of uncertainty during the day. And most of it stemmed from the new reality that most of the shores are blocked off. All of it is crowded with fleeted barges, industry, docks, and moored ships.
I began the day before dawn, with Orion guiding my way. There were the beady eyes of alligators poking out of the water in the blackness, as I paddled out in the crisp morning. I’m finding myself missing the early sunrises of summer, I wish I had more daylight to be out on the water.
The day was long corridors of fleeted barges, and industry docks. There were very few stretches where I could get good glimpses of the shoreline, because something was always on both sides of me.
It’s a high concentration task to captain a canoe through this section. Things are always changing and the best path to take is always fluid. Tows that were stationary a second ago now dart into the middle of the River. That ship that for 20 minutes looked like it was going to pass you on the right, now barrels directly toward you. An ocean-going vessel sneaks up behind you. A harbor tug slaps you with a nasty wake.
All of these situations and more mean that my head is constantly on a swivel, and I try to be in constant communication on the marine radio as well. It’s very wearing, honestly; my mind is tired after a long day of navigating the chaos of the Chemical Corridor.
I passed many things of interest along the way. Many chemical plants spewing off some sort of discharge. All sorts of vessels and crafts. Oil refineries, warehouses, grain silos, chemical pipelines, you name it. It was all lining the bank for 34 miles. (See photos of all of the above at the end of this post.)
I also passed the Bonnet Carré Spillway. To my knowledge, this spillway has only been activated only a few times. It serves as a “pressure-release valve” to divert water in times of flooding, in order to save New Orleans. This one of the ways in which the Army Corps has moved away from its once-firmly-held “levees only policy.”
When it came time to make camp, a wrench was thrown in to my plans. My original spot, which looked promising on the map, turned out to be a bust. I carried on keeping my eyes peeled, as the sun threatened to set. I rounded a long bend and found hundreds of barges and ocean liners and tows all strewn about. While it wasn’t the busiest — they were mostly moored — it didn’t give me high hopes for camp.
I ducked behind a line of fleeted barges stretching three miles long. Behind it was the shore I had been missing, only it was less inviting. Now there was mud instead of sand, weeds and grasses instead of willows, and alligators were thick and suntanning. The alligators spooked as soon as I got close enough, and dashed into the water. But alligators notwithstanding, there were just no good campsites.
I came out after three miles of fleeted tows with no campsite to show for it. My muscles were aching from the extra-credit paddling, and of course daylight was dwindling. There was nothing but rocky shore and industry ahead of me as I emerged.
I paddled on — that is the only thing to do. After about 20 minutes, I saw a nice snippet of a beach, but right near a private dock. I saw someone on the dock and explained my situation, and he said it was cool if I camped there. I honestly don’t know if I’m on public property, or private property with the owner’s permission.
It’s a very subpar campsite, but it’s a campsite! With the sun down now as I write this, I am looking at a sea of thousands of lights. Lights from the docks, from the industry across the way, and from the hundreds of boats moored in the channel. Luckily I have a mask to pull over my eyes for some shut eye.
The Rest of the Day in Photos
As I like to do when I’m exhausted at the end of a long day, I’ll tell the story of the remainder of the day’s activities in photos.
Did you expect this segment of the river would be this challenging?
Thank you for your posts. I look forward to them and am enjoying traveling the river with you!
Bet you are missing Itasca, MN, and WI river. What some people refer to as "god's country" -----the bluff area. This very lower part of the river with all of the industry/oil refinery is something I didn't know about. Got u a donated book from the library re: Life on the Mississippi An Epic American Adventure. Albeit not quite what you are doing, team started out in PA on Ohio River merging into Mississippi at Cairo. Used a flatboat. Will eventually get it to your mom.