Day 70 Mississippi River - Halloween 2017
I woke up this morning to sunny skies after a cold night that saw me wake up in the early morning hours and toss on my Patagonia puffy.
After an internal debate about wether or not to make coffee, I gave in and brewed a warm cup of dark roast in my french press, (I originally planned not to, for the sake of getting on the river quicker) drinking it as I packed up camp.
The weather made for perfect paddling conditions; clear skies, flat glass like water and a slight fall chill (to be fair, true perfect conditions would have been a bit warmer, but begged can't be choosers).
Today was my first full day on the lower Mississippi, as I passed Cairo, IL and the confluence of the Ohio river, which also forms the border of Illinois and Kentucky, yesterday. At this point in the trip, it's truly a massive river. With the addition of the Ohio, the Miss nearly doubled in width. One positive of the additional size is that it is much easier to stay clear of the gargantuan barges that frequent my path. With the end of the lock and dam system in St. Louis the barges ballooned in size as they no longer have to deal with the length and width restrictions of locking through. However, the bigger barges south of St. Louis and the comparatively thinner width of the river from St. Louis to Cairo were a poor match as the booming, rolling waves thrown from the tug boats were hard to escape. Now, south of the confluence of the Ohio the large barges cause little concern once again, as its easy to distance myself near one shore or the other (outside of the main channel) and let the wake dissipate by the time it reaches my canoe.
I spent a good portion of the day fighting thoughts off of wanting to push through and get to the end of the trip. I try to force myself to enjoy each moment and not take my routine for granted, because I know once I've settled back into my "normal" life I will be dreaming of this trip and hitting the water again.
As sunset neared I looked for a spot to camp. With four days of rain in the forecast beginning tonight I was aiming for a spot with trees and flat ground, where I could set up a tarp overhead to keep my tent dry and allow me to cook breakfast under in the morning in the event that it does indeed rain. After passing up a fair spot in order to keep pushing on, and scooting past another, I found a perfect sandbar that butted up to a forests edge. In the dusk of night I set up camp, cooked dinner and retreated to the tent.
Solid day. Rain and Tennessee tomorrow.