It was almost fitting that the last day of our expedition would be the longest, hardiest and probably the scariest day of my life.
The day began in the dark at just after 4:00 am. We packed up in the dark and ate a huge breakfast. We tried to finish off as much of the breakfast food as we could and dumped as much unused food as we could to save weight.
As soon as there was enough light we hit the water. We quickly found ourselves in a busy shipping area. There were many tows traveling up and down river and many more barges parked along both sides of the river. The many barges parked along the river (tens of thousands) would force us further into the main channel than we would have liked and also screened many of the small tows that were darting around shuffling barges into various places.
At one point in the morning a tow boat captain got on the intercom of his boat to yell at us for being on the river and demanded that we pull off and out of the main channel. "Where to?" we both wondered, as there was no where else to go with all the parked barges.
We made good progress throughout the day but the stress increased with each passing minute. At one point we became sandwiched between an ocean freighter going upstream and a barge that was unloading huge rocks via crane to shore up a wharf. The crane's bucket swooped right over our heads and we both prayed that no loose rocks would fall on us.
Just when we thought things were bad, they got worse. A tow heading downstream pulled up right next to us and then began to slowly turn right into our path. There was debate about whether or not to keep paddling or to try and back up but we decided to paddle as hard as we could and just get past the guy. It ended up working and we avoided getting run over!
By dinner time we were both tired and starving. We had hoped to get to someplace we could buy dinner by this time and were out of all of our snacks and easy to eat and prepare food options. Our two choices were cold baked beans or uncooked oatmeal. Jewell went for the oatmeal and I cracked open and devoured the cold beans right on the water. After recharging some calories we charged on.
A little bit before dark we pulled off on a levy near the NOLA airport. We approached a young couple sitting on a bench by the park and asked them if they were familiar with the river between here and the French Quarter. The man informed us that the port was behind us and that there were plenty of places to pull off if we needed to. He also said that there wasn't much traffic past this point of the river.
Turns out the guy was either a liar, or just had no clue what he was talking about. As we paddled on we quickly reached the main Port of New Orleans and the US Navy shipyards, an intimidatingly large facility.
By this point it was dark and the only light we had were our dying headlamps. Occasionally a tow would pass and it's spotlights would illuminate the area for us to see, but just as often we would be blinded by their beams.
The last hours of our trip were certainly the hardest. Hypoglycemia was making us both irritable and irrational. It seemed as though we would never reach our destination near Jackson Square.
Finally after almost 16 hours on the water our take out point came within sight. As we approached the landing we were greeting by a small crowd of sightseers, gawkers and onlookers who cheered loudly for us. Unfortunately we were so exhausted that I am afraid we appeared rude by not being more sociable with the crowd. Apparently my friend Rachel had informed a local street performer that she was waiting for "my friends who canoed from Minnesota."
The icing on the cake to a long and hard day was getting the canoe from the waterfront to my friend's house. While Jewell helped unload all our gear from the car I carried the canoe with help from Rachel down Esplanade Avenue almost a mile much to the house.
56 days after leaving Minneapolis, we were finally in New Orleans!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
December 28th, 2009. "What are you, a couple of Boy Scouts...?"
Today marked our last full day and night on the river. It was a long hard day of paddling and we saw the first signs of what was in store for us in the Port of New Orleans. Barge traffic and freighter traffic increased dramatically. The river is very much a working river here and small boat traffic was nonexistent. Camp sites are very limited and we were forced to make camp in what looked like a sand pit.
After setting up camp a man in a pickup pulled up to shovel some sand for sandbags. When we popped out from behind a sandpile to say hi he looked downright terrified. I can't say I blamed him. Jewell and I were both pretty dirty by this point and with our scraggly beards and weathered appearance must have looked like a couple of pirates or river rats.
When we told him we were canoeing to New Orleans from Minneapolis he said:
"What are you, a couple of Boy Scouts or something?"
We went to bed with the plan to wake up as early as possible so we could get on the water at the first light. We would need every minute of light to make the final 80 miles to New Orleans tomorrow. It's probably a good thing we didn't know what we were in for or we never would have slept that night...
After setting up camp a man in a pickup pulled up to shovel some sand for sandbags. When we popped out from behind a sandpile to say hi he looked downright terrified. I can't say I blamed him. Jewell and I were both pretty dirty by this point and with our scraggly beards and weathered appearance must have looked like a couple of pirates or river rats.
When we told him we were canoeing to New Orleans from Minneapolis he said:
"What are you, a couple of Boy Scouts or something?"
We went to bed with the plan to wake up as early as possible so we could get on the water at the first light. We would need every minute of light to make the final 80 miles to New Orleans tomorrow. It's probably a good thing we didn't know what we were in for or we never would have slept that night...
December 27th, 2009. Baton Rouge, LA.
We made great time today in beautiful weather. It has finally started to feel warm outside, at least for two Minnesota escapees in late December.
We paddled into Baton Rouge today late in the afternoon. While I watched the boat Jewell headed into the city to find water and grab dinner. While I waited a watched a river otter swim by and check me out.
After an hour or so John returned with a full water bag and a delicious pizza. While we ate we chatted with a local woman and her daughter. She offered to bring us some homemade gumbo but we were in a hurry to get back on the water and had to refuse her kind offer.
Finding a campsite was a bit of a challenge but we were able to find a spot just large enough to camp on right across from the LSU stadium, tucked in behind some parked barges. As the twilight turned tonight we saw what we first thought were beavers swimming all around our little island refuge. Turns out they were most likely alligators. I guess in this case ignorance was bliss...
We paddled into Baton Rouge today late in the afternoon. While I watched the boat Jewell headed into the city to find water and grab dinner. While I waited a watched a river otter swim by and check me out.
After an hour or so John returned with a full water bag and a delicious pizza. While we ate we chatted with a local woman and her daughter. She offered to bring us some homemade gumbo but we were in a hurry to get back on the water and had to refuse her kind offer.
Finding a campsite was a bit of a challenge but we were able to find a spot just large enough to camp on right across from the LSU stadium, tucked in behind some parked barges. As the twilight turned tonight we saw what we first thought were beavers swimming all around our little island refuge. Turns out they were most likely alligators. I guess in this case ignorance was bliss...
December 26th, 2009. Looking down the barrel of a .30-06 in Morganza, LA
After a long day of hard paddling, we reached a bend in the river near the town of Morganza, LA. We pulled off river right near an abandoned grain elevator. We walked around a bit to see if the area was posted and after seeing no signage I started to set up the tent while Jewell worked on dinner.
Midway through setting up the tent I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up to see a man in camoflauge pointing what appeared to be a telephoto lens camera at Jewell.
"Smile! You're getting your picture taken!" I said. Just as the words left my lips I realized that it wasn't a camera but a large deer rifle being pointed at John.
The man looked us both up and down through the scope of his rifle. I gave him the biggest, friendliest smile I could muster and yelled a greeting. After a moment he lowered the barrel and put his hands to his lips as a signal for us to be quiet and waved me off. He quickly turned and hustled back to the woods.
Jewell and I discussed this turn of events and decided that however odd it was, if he wanted to do us harm he probably would have already and he never asked us to leave so we decided to stay. Looking for another site this late in the day would have been difficult as it would be dark soon.
After eating dinner and heading to the tent to play cards we noticed a bright spot light coming through the woods in our direction. We decided to come out and greet whoever it was, assuming it was the hunter we'd run into.
The man introduced himself as Kevin, a resident of Morganza and apologized for startling us earlier. He had wanted to make sure we weren't poaching and as soon as he realized we were just passing through he headed back to his deer stand.
The man was a very interesting guy and told us all about growing up in the river. It was hard for me to understand him at times as he spoke with a thick cajun accent. He offered to take us into town for supplies but since we didn't need anything we politely declined.
During our conversation Kevin informed us that there were lots of bears in the area. We had not even considered the prospect of running into bears on this trip, especially this far South. Luckily, they never gave us any problems and we never saw signs of any.
After a nice long chat with Kevin, he headed back home and wished us safe travels to New Orleans. He also warned us not to go into the city without a gun. He claimed he never went into the city without a .45 in his pocket and a .22 in his boot. Seeing as how neither Jewell and I were packing heat I guess we would have to brave the dangers of New Orleans unarmed. Hopefully we would find a way to survive...
Midway through setting up the tent I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up to see a man in camoflauge pointing what appeared to be a telephoto lens camera at Jewell.
"Smile! You're getting your picture taken!" I said. Just as the words left my lips I realized that it wasn't a camera but a large deer rifle being pointed at John.
The man looked us both up and down through the scope of his rifle. I gave him the biggest, friendliest smile I could muster and yelled a greeting. After a moment he lowered the barrel and put his hands to his lips as a signal for us to be quiet and waved me off. He quickly turned and hustled back to the woods.
Jewell and I discussed this turn of events and decided that however odd it was, if he wanted to do us harm he probably would have already and he never asked us to leave so we decided to stay. Looking for another site this late in the day would have been difficult as it would be dark soon.
After eating dinner and heading to the tent to play cards we noticed a bright spot light coming through the woods in our direction. We decided to come out and greet whoever it was, assuming it was the hunter we'd run into.
The man introduced himself as Kevin, a resident of Morganza and apologized for startling us earlier. He had wanted to make sure we weren't poaching and as soon as he realized we were just passing through he headed back to his deer stand.
The man was a very interesting guy and told us all about growing up in the river. It was hard for me to understand him at times as he spoke with a thick cajun accent. He offered to take us into town for supplies but since we didn't need anything we politely declined.
During our conversation Kevin informed us that there were lots of bears in the area. We had not even considered the prospect of running into bears on this trip, especially this far South. Luckily, they never gave us any problems and we never saw signs of any.
After a nice long chat with Kevin, he headed back home and wished us safe travels to New Orleans. He also warned us not to go into the city without a gun. He claimed he never went into the city without a .45 in his pocket and a .22 in his boot. Seeing as how neither Jewell and I were packing heat I guess we would have to brave the dangers of New Orleans unarmed. Hopefully we would find a way to survive...
Friday, November 5, 2010
December 25th, 2009. Canoeing on Christmas Day
Today sure was weird for a Christmas. Despite a late start and some persistent headwinds, we still managed to paddle forty miles. I think we have both started to realize that the end of the trip is rapidly approaching.
While we are both very excited to reach New Orleans for New Year's the end of the trip will be bittersweet. Although it will be great to be back home around family and friends, it's hard to give up the experiences and pace of life we have grown accustomed to.
Tonight's campsite is a cool one. We are on a small island that is prime habitat for waterfowl, especially wood ducks. As the sun set in front of us we were surrounded by the sights and sounds of migrating birds.
Jewell and I both enjoy duck hunting and it while it would have been fun to be hunting we were having enough fun just watching the birds come in. The chance to sit and watch flock after flock of birds flying through is one of the many simple but profound pleasures you get to experience out here.
While we are both very excited to reach New Orleans for New Year's the end of the trip will be bittersweet. Although it will be great to be back home around family and friends, it's hard to give up the experiences and pace of life we have grown accustomed to.
Tonight's campsite is a cool one. We are on a small island that is prime habitat for waterfowl, especially wood ducks. As the sun set in front of us we were surrounded by the sights and sounds of migrating birds.
Jewell and I both enjoy duck hunting and it while it would have been fun to be hunting we were having enough fun just watching the birds come in. The chance to sit and watch flock after flock of birds flying through is one of the many simple but profound pleasures you get to experience out here.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
December 24th, 2009. Christmas Eve tornadoes...
Poor weather kept us off the river today. We had planned on a layover today so we slept in and periodically checked in on the weather, which didn't sound good at all. Late in the morning the radio issued a severe weather alert for Natchez, MS which was about 3 miles upriver. They stated that 70mph straight line winds and a possible tornado were headed for town and would hit in roughly ten minutes. The storm was declared "very dangerous" to people living in trailer homes. We both wondered what that meant for people in tents!
After a minute of thinking the situation over we decided that waiting in the tent to get pummeled by a tornado wasn't how we both wanted to die so we donned our rain gear and headed out to find the most protected spot we could. A large downed log might offer some protection from flying debris and this is where we waited. I put on my life jacket, figuring that it might offer some extra protection or even keep me from drowning if God forbid I ended up in the river.
Dark nasty looking clouds surrounded us and were blowing in quickly. It also began to rain heavily as we sat on the log awaiting our fate. Within a few minutes we were pretty soaked in the deluge of rain. We expected at any minute to see a wall cloud blow in but it never happened. The rain stopped after a few minutes and the winds never reached more than a strong gust.
Again fortune was in our favor. We had dodged blizzards, floods and now a tornado. Was it divine intervention or just plain good luck? Either way, we appreciated it!
After the weather blew over we hung our gear to dry out and made an unpleasant discovery. Ants had found their way into our food box and were crawling all over our food supply in the thousands. Our packaged food was just fine but we ended up losing half a jar of grape jelly.
As we went to bed that night we both thought of our respective families getting together for Christmas and how much we missed their company.
After a minute of thinking the situation over we decided that waiting in the tent to get pummeled by a tornado wasn't how we both wanted to die so we donned our rain gear and headed out to find the most protected spot we could. A large downed log might offer some protection from flying debris and this is where we waited. I put on my life jacket, figuring that it might offer some extra protection or even keep me from drowning if God forbid I ended up in the river.
Dark nasty looking clouds surrounded us and were blowing in quickly. It also began to rain heavily as we sat on the log awaiting our fate. Within a few minutes we were pretty soaked in the deluge of rain. We expected at any minute to see a wall cloud blow in but it never happened. The rain stopped after a few minutes and the winds never reached more than a strong gust.
Again fortune was in our favor. We had dodged blizzards, floods and now a tornado. Was it divine intervention or just plain good luck? Either way, we appreciated it!
After the weather blew over we hung our gear to dry out and made an unpleasant discovery. Ants had found their way into our food box and were crawling all over our food supply in the thousands. Our packaged food was just fine but we ended up losing half a jar of grape jelly.
As we went to bed that night we both thought of our respective families getting together for Christmas and how much we missed their company.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
December 23rd, 2009. Natchez, MS.
Today was a fun afternoon. We reached the historic city of Natchez, MS and made the obligatory stop. We pulled off near the Casino at the waterfront, which apparently had once been a very rough and tumble sort of place but was very touristy now. We walked into the main part of town passing historic plantation sites and many historical markers.
We were searching for a grocery store and a stop to pick up libations to celebrate Christmas. We decided that tomorrow (Christmas Eve) would be a layover day as bad weather had been predicted and storm watches were going to be in affect. We walked all over town, passing at least a dozen antique shops but no grocery store. Finally some Natchez locals directed us to a local mart, and informed us that the nearest full on grocery store was miles down the road.
After stocking up on a couple essentials and a six pack we headed back towards the canoe. On the way we made one stop at the Malt Shop, a delicious road side stand that sold great poorboys and milk shakes. This ended up being what we considered to be our Christmas dinner.
We left town early in the evening and paddled hard to get out of town enough to find a campsite. We set up a snug camp and hoped our proximity to some nearby ATV trails wouldn't cause any problems.
After camp was set up we built a bonfire and celebrated Christmas early with Miller High Lifes and some candy, probably not the best combination. I ended up feeling a little green by the end of the night and called it early.
We were searching for a grocery store and a stop to pick up libations to celebrate Christmas. We decided that tomorrow (Christmas Eve) would be a layover day as bad weather had been predicted and storm watches were going to be in affect. We walked all over town, passing at least a dozen antique shops but no grocery store. Finally some Natchez locals directed us to a local mart, and informed us that the nearest full on grocery store was miles down the road.
After stocking up on a couple essentials and a six pack we headed back towards the canoe. On the way we made one stop at the Malt Shop, a delicious road side stand that sold great poorboys and milk shakes. This ended up being what we considered to be our Christmas dinner.
We left town early in the evening and paddled hard to get out of town enough to find a campsite. We set up a snug camp and hoped our proximity to some nearby ATV trails wouldn't cause any problems.
After camp was set up we built a bonfire and celebrated Christmas early with Miller High Lifes and some candy, probably not the best combination. I ended up feeling a little green by the end of the night and called it early.
December 22nd, 2009. Not much to mention.
My journal entry for the day:
"Paddled hard. Made miles. Ate Ramen and beans. Nothing interesting."
December 21st, 2009. Vicksburg, MS.
We paddled into Vicksburg today. We had decided that there was no way we were going to paddle past Vicksburg without taking a chance to walk around a bit and it turned out to be a very good decision to do so. We pulled off near the old riverboat landing and next to the Casino. We found a little ma and pa hamburger place on the main strip that had some delicious fried food.
While we were eating we were approached by two women, one of whom was from Vicksburg and the other New York City. The Vicksburg resident turned out to be local artist H.C. Porter. She was playing host to her friend Eve Beglarian, a composer who had just completed a trip down the Mississippi herself for inspiration for a piece she was working on. They offered to put us up on the floor of Porter's art studio and use of her shower. We jumped at the chance to get cleaned off and enjoy the company of some fellow paddlers.
Porter was also kind enough to let us jump online on her laptop for a full blog update. View it here.
While we were eating we were approached by two women, one of whom was from Vicksburg and the other New York City. The Vicksburg resident turned out to be local artist H.C. Porter. She was playing host to her friend Eve Beglarian, a composer who had just completed a trip down the Mississippi herself for inspiration for a piece she was working on. They offered to put us up on the floor of Porter's art studio and use of her shower. We jumped at the chance to get cleaned off and enjoy the company of some fellow paddlers.
Porter was also kind enough to let us jump online on her laptop for a full blog update. View it here.
December 19th, 2009. Hiking expedition to Greenville, MS.
Today was our first day hiking on this trip. We had decided to make a quick stop in Greenville, MS if it looked like we could make it a quick stop. We passed a harbor looking area but it didn't look like there were good canoe landings so we stopped at a campground further downriver that appeared to be closed. We tied the canoe in a spot that looked relatively secluded and started walking towards town. We didn't realize at the time it was a 4-5 mile walk.
The realization came quickly as we hiked a mile out of the wooded area near the river and hit the farmland behind the town's power plant. At this point we felt committed so we trudged on. At one point we passed a farm house with roughly ten dogs of assorted sizes and apparent temperaments. They came running off the porch, barking furiously. I briefly wondered what it would be like to be ripped apart by a pack of dogs but they stopped about 5 feet from us and continued to bark. After a minute the owner called them inside and we weren't bothered again.
After stopping at Texaco, the first place we could buy bread and eggs, we repeated the hike back to the boat and paddled on.
We were both a little frustrated at the fact that what was supposed to be a quick stop had resulted in a waste of 4 hours and a lot of walking but at the same time it felt good to give the legs a good workout and rest our arms. We still ended up paddling about 15 miles so the day wasn't a complete wash.
Dinner was one of our standby meals, Ramen Noodles covered in Busch's Baked Beans. It sounds weird but we both came to love it for it's ease of preparation and for the huge amount of carbs and protein it gave us. It was also a cheap meal. We generally cooked 5 packets of Ramen and one family sized can of means for this meal which gave us each almost 1,500 calories just in dinner. We generally cooked the noodles in one packet of seasoning and drained the water to cut back on the sodium.
After dinner we listened to the Christmas edition of A Prairie Home Companion under a sky full of stars. I have never been a huge fan of that show but it reminded me of being back home in Minnesota and I enjoyed it quite a bit that night.
The realization came quickly as we hiked a mile out of the wooded area near the river and hit the farmland behind the town's power plant. At this point we felt committed so we trudged on. At one point we passed a farm house with roughly ten dogs of assorted sizes and apparent temperaments. They came running off the porch, barking furiously. I briefly wondered what it would be like to be ripped apart by a pack of dogs but they stopped about 5 feet from us and continued to bark. After a minute the owner called them inside and we weren't bothered again.
After stopping at Texaco, the first place we could buy bread and eggs, we repeated the hike back to the boat and paddled on.
We were both a little frustrated at the fact that what was supposed to be a quick stop had resulted in a waste of 4 hours and a lot of walking but at the same time it felt good to give the legs a good workout and rest our arms. We still ended up paddling about 15 miles so the day wasn't a complete wash.
Dinner was one of our standby meals, Ramen Noodles covered in Busch's Baked Beans. It sounds weird but we both came to love it for it's ease of preparation and for the huge amount of carbs and protein it gave us. It was also a cheap meal. We generally cooked 5 packets of Ramen and one family sized can of means for this meal which gave us each almost 1,500 calories just in dinner. We generally cooked the noodles in one packet of seasoning and drained the water to cut back on the sodium.
After dinner we listened to the Christmas edition of A Prairie Home Companion under a sky full of stars. I have never been a huge fan of that show but it reminded me of being back home in Minnesota and I enjoyed it quite a bit that night.
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