Hurricane Isaac

As I'm sure everyone was aware, tropical storm Isaac's winds hit 75 mph, making it a cat one hurricane as it hit the coast. We were hoping to make Vicksburg but the winds forced us to stop 30 miles before. We had to make camp and wait it out. As soon as we found a spot we saw two snakes, one of which we killed to eat, or so we thought. We've been wanting to cook a snake this trip and now was our chance, seeing as our food supplies were low and we'd be stopped a few days. We proceeded to stab him in the head, then go about our camp set up. After we set up our tents, tied them down, dug trenches for rain runoff, etc., we came back to find the snake gone! I still don't understand it. We looked around but it was nowhere to be found. Either something else snuck by us and got him or he slithered off with half of a head. Either way, hopefully someone got a meal out of it because I'm sure he didn't make it long. I'm pretty sure I saw a small gator jump in the water shortly after that, perhaps he was the culprit. One of the Swedish guys we've been traveling with also saw a gator the other day.

As far as the storm goes, we didn't get hit very hard. We were also tucked in some thick forested area. It pretty much rained for two days with 30 mph winds. Being in a tent for two days straight seemed like torture. Even if all of your stuff doesn't get wet directly, the moisture in the air eventually gets it. Having more food would have helped, for sure. Also, a propane camp stove would have been a good idea to bring. My food consisted of one can of beans, two packs of ramen, and around 3 cups of oatmeal. Shawn said he mostly ate peanut butter. Ah, and we had a couple cans of tuna. We obviously weren't starved, but without fire it was less than desirable.

We paddled a brutal day of winds, lightning, and rain storms to get to Vicksburg today. We're camped on the banks and will load up on groceries tomorrow. We are eager to wrap our trip up. It has taken longer than we had planned. Now, there's news of another tropical storm/hurricane in the mid Atlantic. Kirk is already cat 2 with 125 mph winds. We'll keep an eye on him and keep you guys updated. I guess we could be working!... Pictures!