Posts in Mississippi
Day 91 Mississippi River
Day 91 Mississippi River

After a chilly night in the low 30s I woke up to condensation drowning the inside of my tent. Packing it up wet, I quickly made oatmeal and coffee and did my best to get an early start to the day.

The sun shone through a group of clouds for an hour or two in the morning. Once it disappeared, however, it was gone for the rest of the day. With little wind I was able to make good distance through the sunless afternoon.

At 11am I made a call to one of my Illinois classrooms, which was ended early due to poor service. At 2:45pm I chatted with one of my South Dakota classrooms.

As I was talking to the kids in South Dakota, I floated past the final state border of the trip- the Mississippi/ Louisiana line. From southern Minnesota to this point, there has always been two states to choose from, one state on the eastern bank of the river, and one on the west. After crossing the last state line of the trip, however, its one State until the Gulf- Louisiana.

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Louisiana, Mississippi, StormsWill CollinsComment
Day 87 Mississippi River
Day 87 Mississippi River

The alarm on my phone rang at 4:30am. The plan was to wake up early, pack up and hit the water while still dark in hopes of enjoying a sunrise paddle. I begrudgingly poked my head outside and took note of two things. One, the sky was covered in clouds, two, a barge was cruising by on the far shore, almost invisible other than a small red light on the first container and the back of the towboat lit up.

With the cloud cover I decided a sunrise paddle would be better severed another day. I laid my head back into the winter jacket that serves as my pillow and happily fell asleep.

Once up, around 7am I made breakfast and packed quickly, wanting to give myself as much time as possible to reach my goal for the day, Natchez Mississippi.

The first part of the morning was spent looking for mile markers, hoping to gauge wether or not Natchez was possible to reach by dusk. Around 10am I spotted a marker on the Louisiana shore and broke out the binoculars to hone in on the numbers. 399. With Natchez at mile 364, I knew the goal was reachable with some effort.

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Mississippi, LouisianaWill CollinsNatchezComment
Day 86 Mississippi River
Day 86 Mississippi River

I  lifted my head up from the hammock to take note of the orange hue engulfing the eastern sky. A few moments later, still comfortably hanging between two trees, the top of the sun shown through the forest.

After watching the sunrise from the confines of my hammock I got up, did a bit of writing and made breakfast. Two or so hours later I was packed up and ready to hit the water. I began my paddling day by tuning into to what has become one of my favorite ways to pass time on the water, listening to the Joe Rogan podcast. I find his show to be entertaining, enlightening and on par with the way I see the world, yet open enough to challenge preconceived notions. I dig it. Plus, at around three hours a show, it's a great way to eat up some time.

A warm day in the upper 60s, the sun ducked in and out of cover, hiding behind clouds before shining through a gap in the atmospheric moisture, then repeating the process. In the early afternoon I passed Vicksburg, MS.

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Mississippi, LouisianaWill CollinsVicksburg, Delta, NatchezComment
Day 84 Mississippi River
Day 84 Mississippi River

The alarm rang at 6 AM. Still dark outside, I gathered my things, tidied up the place and walked over to the main house. Park, dressed in a light blue button-down shirt, opened the door.

"Help yourself to whatever you need for breakfast. We got cereal, Pop tarts, toast."

After a cup of coffee and a small bowl of cereal park and I hopped in his pick up and we worked our way over toward the river. On the way we stopped at a convenience store to grab a bit more to eat. In a small heating container by the register a buffet style breakfast was on show. Park grabbed a sausage biscuit. I went with the works: biscuit and gravy, links and bacon.

Once at the water where Park had originally picked me up, we snapped a photo and said our goodbyes. Park was off to an early morning dentist appointment in Greenville, MS and I was heading south via the Might Miss.

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Mississippi, Good People, Arkansas, LouisianaWill CollinsGreenville, Lake ProvidenceComment
Day 83 Mississippi River
Day 83 Mississippi River

After a peaceful night perched on a small sandy bluff overlooking the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers I rose early with plans of making Greenville, Mississippi, a 45 mile paddle, by night fall. At sunrise I poked my head out of the tent to find a wind out of the west and clear skies. Following a quick breakfast and pack up I was on the water at 8:15am, one of the best start times yet for this morning sloth.

Thinking I would have to contend with wind all day, I was pleasantly surprised to find it relatively calm on the big river. I pushed through for much of the day, not allowing myself the usual pauses in action to sponge out the boat, scratch an itch or fidget with my gear. I was on a mission towards Greenville.

In the afternoon I noticed thousands of Canadian geese flying overhead, shifting and forging various V formations, flock after flock.

Around 2pm I closed in on Greenville, happy with the time I had made. An hour or so later I reached Lake Ferguson, a back channel body of water that Greenville sits on

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Mississippi, Good PeopleWill CollinsGreensvilleComment