 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
July 13, 2006
The Mighty Mississippi…
Paddling away from the river front in Paducah was a good feeling. Not because I was leaving Paducah,
but because after paddling nearly two years and 5,081 miles the next 50 miles marked the first time my
canoe glided over familiar water. My first canoe trip for MS (an 1,800 mile jaunt from my hometown in
Ohio to New Orleans) was mainly on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The Ohio River was up high now
and it was nice to be going downstream. It took a full day of paddling to reach Cairo, IL where the Ohio
and Mississippi meet. When I arrived in Cairo and landed at Fort Defiance park it was getting dark. I was
surprised to find out the water at the park was not turned on. There were a couple of people talking and I
inquired if there was any water turned on anywhere near by. There was not any water to be had but one
of the men Mike Patterson when he discovered how I was traveling offered me a ride to town.
Welcome to the Mississippi river upstream version
Paddling out around Fort Defiance and out into the Mississippi river was not what I had expected. In life
all of us have expectations and mental pictures and they never seem to be what we expected or fit the
mental picture we have formed in our minds. For example, say friend just moves to new house and is
giving you directions. “turn right on the first road out of town and go a mile until you see a red barn on
the left, go two drives past the barn and you will see a large wooden mailbox painted white turn right and
follow the drive back a half mile and your there. The directions are easy enough but most likely the red
barn won’t quite look like the red barn in your mind and the same with the mailbox. The mental picture I
had of my first day paddling up the Mississippi river was much different than what was before me. Heck
the mental picture in my mind had it a bright sunny day full of energy and excitement not the darkness
that surrounded me and the fatigue of paddling 50 miles on the Ohio River earlier that day. I nosed out
around the point of Fort Defiance and began paddling upstream looking for place to camp. The current
was much quicker than I expected even close to shore, but I was still making head ways. The first
available spot was a small dirt patch about a half mile upriver, there was not enough room to set up a tent
which was fine with me because I was very tired. I was awake by 4:30a.m and on the river as daylight
broke.
The Mississippi river has a fast current and almost always the slower current is found near shore.
However paddling near shore is not always possible because of the wing dikes. The wing dikes were put
in place to help keep the channel from filling in. Sometimes the dikes stretch almost half way across the
river making the current very strong at the end. Sometimes the dikes are shaped like a box or other
random shapes. From Cairo to St. Louis there are hundreds of dikes and each one presents its own
danger. Whirlpools are common along with boils, undertows and all sorts of random currents. Many
times summered rocks cause problems when paddling around the tip of the dikes. The Mississippi river
proved to be a bigger challenge than anticipated. The river just simply breaks all the rules. Getting water
and supplies turned out to be a problem. A few times I had to walk through fields, over the flood levy
and find a house and ask for water. The heat index was over 100 degrees for several days. It takes a lot
of water to sustain in the hot sun. My record day paddling upstream was 18 miles on Tuesday May 30
which was the first full day paddling on the Mississippi. It was also an education on wing dikes. The
current was so strong coming around this one dike I was not able to get around and began getting pulled
further out into even stronger currents despite my hardest paddling effort I was losing ground very slowly
and would not be able to keep up much longer with the pace. Before my arms became too tired I stopped
paddling and tried to spin my canoe around to face the swift current. The current pushed me back into
some standing waves and it was difficult to get my canoe under control in the waves and current. I was
almost out of the dangerous currents when I spotted a whirlpool! Then it really was a matter of life and
death. When I finally got free and back behind the dike my heart was pounding so hard it hurt my chest.
. I had to portage that dike after spending a few minutes to regain my composure.
Most days consisted of a chance of storms and sometimes I would be in the path. A pleasant surprise I
discovered while walking for water was berries. I ate all my fill of berries and picked a couple of quart
freezer bags full.
June 1 my water supply was out. Luckily I ran across Michael Vimson and William Haile fishing along
the river. Michael offered to take me to the store and then invited me to spend the night, to do some
wash and get a hot shower. That turned out to be good because I was actually a day ahead of schedule.
Saturday June 3rd I was going to meet my father in Cape Girardeau, MO. It was nice to see my father
we had a good time hanging out and it was nice to stay in a hotel. Sunday I did an interview for the local
paper before getting back on the water. Not even 15 minutes after paddling off I discovered I had left my
cell phone in my father’s truck. That was a bummer. Luckily my father noticed and was able to follow
the photographer for the newspaper up river and meet me. ¾ of a mile upriver on the rocks.
Thursday June 8th the unthinkable happened. In a span of 10 minutes I broke both my paddles and now
I was on Mississippi without a paddle! My ZRE carbon paddle weighting 9oz separated where the shaft
and blade meet. It had become wore out from countless times of sliding it under the bungee cords on the
deck of my canoe. My Bending Branches viper paddle was not in the best shape after 22 months of hard
treatment. A few days before I cracked the blade hitting a fish. Well the crack got worse and I made
every effort to tape it up and it could be used in an emergency I hoped. I was forced to find a stick and
make a pole. As if the Mississippi river was not hard enough anyway I had a new set of problems! Now
every rock dike either required a portage or lining around the end. Lining around was easier than a
portage but was dangerous. The footing was often difficult and tricky. The worst was the barges moored
along the shore that were shoved up against the bank. That turned into some long rough portages on
uneven footing on steep banks. At best I could hope for 5 miles a day. As soon as my paddles broke I
called my father and he was coming to meet me again with a couple of my back up paddles in Ste.
Genevieve on Monday June 12th. I quickly discovered Ste. Genevieve was too far to make it by June
12th so I suggested Chester, IL which was about 20 miles closer. I arrived in Chester Saturday night and
went looking for some water at the first place I came to, the Lanark Inn which was a restaurant. I got to
talking with Nathan Seyler who is a cook at the restaurant which was getting ready to close. His mother
Effie Yarbrough who was there to pick him up invited me to crash out on the couch. That turned out to
be good because a storm rolled in overnight. I stayed another night and met my father and his girlfriend
Monday June, 12th they decided to spend a night so it was another night with a hot shower.
Chester, IL is known as being the home of Popeye. The creator of Popeye was from Chester. The city
has a couple of statues and a Museum. Debbie Brooks the owner of the Spinach can Museum Gave me a
Popeye t-shirt. Debbie knows a couple of people with Multiple Sclerosis so I gave her a couple of MS
pins. Besides the two paddles my father also brought me a fish gig which replaced the spear I made after
breaking my paddle.
It was nice to be back on the river with a paddle in my hand. Sunday June, 18 my supplies were getting
low, still had macaroni and cheese plus ramon noodles, but that was about it. I ended up paddling up the
Merrimac River to Arnold, MO but only found a gas station open. That turned out to be an 8 mile side
trip. Wednesday June, 21 I paddled into St. Louis. It was not an easy task. First off the current is very
strong and there is lots of barge traffic. It took me 6 hours to paddle three miles from my campsite to the
arch. A couple of times I had to wait for towboats to hook up to barges before I could proceed. St Louis
has a nice down town with lots of fountains. The arch is the main attraction. Under the arch there is a
very large display of days past when Lewis and Clark were looking for a pass to the Pacific. I was not in
St Louis very long because it was late in the day and I wanted to find a safe place to camp. I set up camp
near the canal that leads to the first lock on the Mississippi. The next morning I locked through and was
relieved to find the fast current of the Mississippi river was left below the lock. The afternoon whipped
up a severe storm witch produced some very strong winds; luckily the winds did not last as long as the
rain.
Friday June 22 I came to a small town name Portage De Sioux and paddled up a slew and forged into
town and found nothing. Above the lock there were not as many sand bars and places to camp and it was
getting dark when I left the slew in search of a campsite. Back on the river and around the bend
something caught my eye. It looked like a large candle in the river with lights shining on it. Turns out to
be a statue of the lady of the river praying. The statue was put up after a bad flood to protect the town
from future floods. Just beyond the statue I seen lights and heard voices at what appeared to be a marina.
I was surprised this small town would have a marina as it turns out they have four. The lights were from
the Palisades Yacht club. I stopped to check it out and it turns out it is not really a private Yacht club.
The owner Dale Skrabacz was playing a game of shuffle board with some friends. I inquired about
spending the night and the rate was .50 cents a foot but after learning of my story Dale let me stay for
free. It was nice to have access to hot shower along with a washer and dryer.
The next day I spent some time writing this update and met a man Jerry who owns the Liberty harbor
Marina which was down the street. He had a couple of huge wooden boats he was redoing in a
warehouse. He invited me to stay at a private club he was a member of in St Charles. This club was
amazing, it is club for V.I.P’s of V.I.P’s there are only 13 members. The layout of the club was amazing
it was decorated by a member Doug who has won 3 Emmys for set design. There were lots of old things
laid out very nice. One room was decorated just like the boat on pirates of the Caribbean; another was an
exact replica of a room on the ship Titanic. Jerry stopped at a book shelf and asked “do you I like to
read?” “yes” I relied Then he asked “where would you start?” as he reached up and pulled on a book
that made a click noise and the entire wall opened to reveal a room covered in masks with a bed equal to
at least two king size beds running from wall to wall. In all my travels I have never seen a place like the
upstairs club in St. Charles, MO.
Jerry picked me up the next morning armed with breakfast and gave me a drive around tour of historic
St. Charles and took me back to my canoe.
As I was paddling from the palisades a man on a boat started asking me the usual questions. His name
was Gary R. Lucy. Gary had done some travels on the waterways painting. He gave me a business card
but before he handed it to me he drew a bird on the back that he calls an Oscar bird and it is for luck. I
did not realize how great of an artist Gary really was until I got the chance to check out his web site http:
www.garylucy.com Gary told me when I get to Grafton if I need anything stop at the Marina and ask for
Jan and tell her you know me.
Grafton which is located right where the Ohio and Illinois River meet was only about seven miles from
the palisades yacht club. I encountered many islands between the yacht club and the Grafton. I stopped
at the marina to walk into town for some supplies. I talked with Jan and told her I had met Gary and she
let me drive her new Dodge Durango to the store for supplies. The Illinois River is much tamer and
narrower than the Mississippi river. However there are not very many places to camp and my first night
on the Illinois River was spent in a duck blind. The next morning I realized my cell phone was nowhere
to be found. I soon realized I had left it back at the upstairs club in St. Charles. It was not the end of the
world because I had three more back up cell phones for an occasion like this. Little did I know the next
week would be spent outside of sprint service area and I would not be able to activate my phone. For the
most part the towns are far and few between. I stopped at Hardin and walked around in an effort to find
a grocery store with no luck. I was not out of supplies, but it is always nice to stock up when you
can.
Not even a mile out of Hardin on right along the road was the town grocery store. I was able to paddle
over to the bank and hike through some weeds to reach the store. The Illinois River has many islands
which make for a more interesting trip. One evening just after dark I heard a noise coming from one of
the islands and seen a small light. Did not think too much about it especially when I seen the outline of a
boat in the darkness. Ten minutes later I hear a chainsaw coming from the island echoing across the
water.
Next day in the town of Meredosia I meet a family pulling up in a boat and get to talking with them. The
man who name was John Baggett was unloading a couple of red gas tanks to take up to the gas station to
fill up. While he was moving things around I noticed a chainsaw and it turns out that was him camped
back on the island. What makes this story so neat is that I am sitting at his kitchen table writing this
update. I gave him on of my cards and did not think too much more about it. Meredosia, for a town with
a population of 1,041 had a nice fireworks display. I was able to go to the library and send out a quick e-
mail letting my family know I was O.K. this had been one of the longest time frames I had gone without
contacting anyone. It was very demoralizing without a phone.
The Illinois River if not most know will soon be for the population of Asian carp. Too many people this
story is just a legend or fairy tale, but I am here to tell you it is real. During the massive Mississippi flood
of 1993 the water reached some ponds in Arkansas with Asian carp and introduced the aggressive fish
into the ecosystem. Over the years they traveled and have made the Illinois River their home base. The
fish literally leap out of the water at boats sometimes causing injury. It is believed the sound from the
engine draws the fish to jump. They sometimes jump at me in the shallow water and one fish almost
knocked my deer antlers off my canoe. If the Asian carp actually had a home on the Illinois River it
would be Bath, IL in all actuality I never should have ended up in bath. It sits about five miles on the
back side of an island. After paddling about four miles around the island I began to think it was not an
island, but rather a creek. I stuck with it though and came to a boat ramp and a large barge on stilts. I
went into the barge which was bar. Peggy Lane a local resident told me about the Asian carp problem
and what the town of Bath does to fight the problem. Coming up will be the third annual redneck fishing
tournament. The rules are simple you can only carry a hand net and a garbage can lid or some form of
shield and/or protective clothing. The first tournament had five boats and within two hours had 200 carp.
Of course some carps bypass the net and just jump into the boat. On the wall was picture from outdoor
world showing a boat with fish jumping all around. This years tournament is Saturday August, 26th
2006Registration starts at 11:30 and the redneck tourney starts at 2:30-5:30 there is also a kid’s
tournament in the morning. For more information you can contact Betty DeFord at 309-546-2545 If you
live near by it is something that has to be seen to really be believed.
Bath is a very small town with a population of 310 people. The town has no gas station, no grocery store,
no churches, but it does have four bars. After talking with Peggy about the carp and finding out that this
was indeed an island and I could get back to the main channel I was going to leave. An older man sitting
at the bar who over heard me talking to Peggy about my trip started asking me questions. Turns out the
man who goes by “Pottsy” is the baseball player Mark Clark’s dad! At first I thought he was joking, but
he really was Mark Clark’s dad. In 1993 Mark won 11 games for the Cleveland Indians as a starting
pitcher. He ended up pitching in the majors for ten years. I have not met anyone like this since meeting
Richard Petty’s grandson Austin in South Carolina. After talking with Pottsy for awhile I came to the
conclusion it is not a bad gig playing in the majors considering it pays millions per year.
Monday July 10th at around 11:30 P.M I received a big surprise. I was getting tired and pulled into shore
for a moment, the sound of race cars could be heard off in the distance. I decided to see if I was in sprint
service area and I could not believe it when it came back I was! In short order I had activated my cell
phone and spent the next half hour wading through messages. Jerry from Liberty harbor had called to
inform me they found a cell phone and was wondering if it was mine, that was a relief. There was an e-
mail from John Baggett the guy who was camping on the island. He had checked my web site and
offered to give me some assistance upon reaching Peoria. That could not have worked out better John
picked me up from the city dock Wednesday July 12th. It was so nice to see rain and not get wet. I was
able to get a shower, do laundry, and enjoy air condition and not have to worry about getting wet if it
rains or have spiders crawl across my face when sleeping.
John teaches Graphic arts at Illinois central college and he invited me to sit in on a class he was teaching
on Dreamweaver which is a web design tool. I actually learned a lot. Rebecca John’s wife is in her third
year of medical school and they have twin five year old girls who are adorable. I will be leaving Peoria
tomorrow July 13th in route to Chicago. The next section of the trip will feature paddling through
Wisconsin to reach Minnesota and hop back on the Mississippi river to winter in the south Louisiana and
Texas mainly and the following spring of 2007 head out west.