Final Stretch

So we made it, by the way! I have been busy since we got back so I've been a slacker about updating this. I'll wrap it up quick and throw the rest of the pictures up. Better late than never!

We left our site above New Orleans on a Sunday. There was a cruise ship docked right on the river walk. The ship was massive and I'm pretty sure all the passengers got a kick out of our ragged, tiny boat cruising by. We crossed the river after looking at the city for awhile, then easily navigated the infamous right hand turn in the river. A lot of people warned us of the turn upstream.

The days after New Orleans were uneventful and full of paddling. We finally started seeing alligators after the city, though. The first one we spotted while we were banked due to heavy rain and winds. He was around seven feet long and we sat and watched him for awhile. We saw three more that day and a few more the following days.

We reached Venice and decided to stop in and see if we could find someone to pick us up at the end with a boat so we didn't have to paddle all the way back, seeing as Venice is the southern most point where roads end. We talked to a bar pilot taxi who told us we should be able to wave any boater down at the end. Those guys taxi the pilots of the ships back and forth. When ships come in from sea they have to get a designated river pilot to take the ship up the river. We left there confident we'd have a ride back from the mouth. We finally hit the head of passes where the river miles reach 0. As we continued down the southwest pass we saw the first BHP (below head of passes) river marker, which read 27. It was disappointing because we were hoping we would reach the end that day. We started pacing ourselves then camped on our official last camp spot.

We found what looked like a great spot with a nice beach to drag the canoe up. The sandy shore should have been a dead giveaway that wakes break high in that area. After we cooked dinner the ship in the picture below went by and made for a good picture. Then, we got its wake which put knee high waves through our entire camp wiping out and drenching everything. We laughed it off, knowing it was our last camp.

The next morning we did a short 10 miles or so and realized we had reached the end. The Bar pilots have a huge station right at the end of the east bank. We went up to the station to see if they'd radio a ride and they were extremely cool to us. They fed us a huge breakfast and called one of their boats to pick us up on its way up river. We had like an hour to spare so we got our stuff up on the dock and walked the beach a bit.

109 days and we'd made it 2,141 miles. Our gear and our boats had taken a serious toll. We hitched a ride back and got to gaze at the river as we traveled at more than 12 times our average speed up river. It was a bluebird day, hardly a cloud in the sky, a great day to end a trip like ours. We were on the oldest boat those guys had, but it had speakers on the deck and Blake, our pilot boat driver, played a playlist of great classic rock songs which became, in my head, the soundtrack to our journey. "The Judge" hit the dock in Venice as Blake steered it into its designated parking spot. We thanked him for the ride and jumped off to meet our moms who were there to meet us. Shawn's dad Bill made a nice rack for our canoes and we packed everything in and hit the road. We stayed a couple nights in New Orleans and had some fun celebrating, then hit the road, northbound. It's been less than a week now and everyone seems to ask me the same question of what I'm going to do now. I'm enjoying my normal life now until I find a way to do something like this again. It's safe to say I'm hooked on traveling and don't see myself stopping now.

Thanks to everyone who donated and helped us out on this trip. I'd try to thank everyone individually, but again, I would hate to leave anyone out. Special thanks to our wonderful mothers who drove all the way down to get us. I'll leave you guys with a great quote from the river man himself! Till the next time!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

-Mark Twain

2,013 Miles

We are camped just above New Orleans right now and can see the city lights from our tents. The plan was to get there tonight but the city is not at the river mile that we thought it was. We should pass through tomorrow morning which is probably better because it will be Sunday and we won't be tempted by the Bourbon Street nightlife. Although, we are told that place never stops. We want to save as much money for our couple nights stay after the Gulf arrival, and for gas to get home. Our moms are coming down to pick us up in Venice and are going to "explore" New Orleans with us on the way back. It should be a blast.

Just as the Army Corps of Engineers told us, the current has completely stopped after passing Baton Rouge. Ship and barge traffic is very heavy now, though, and we were told it is usually worse. The river hasn't rose at all and has even done more falling in the past couple of weeks. We ran into an awesome family of people at mile 149 who waved us to come over. They actually waved Jerry and Jake over first, then Shawn, and I hit shore last. Just before I got there, a few people actually saw a dolphin swimming up river! None of us had ever seen or even heard of dolphins 149 miles up the river. No one was able to get a picture but he/she came up two or three times and they are positive that's what it was. Later on, after a swim, a couple of us noticed the taste of salt water on our lips. The river is so low that the salt water is actually pushing upstream 150 miles. It is contaminating a lot of cities drinking water. The Army Corps is attempting to slow the contamination by building underwater dams to hold it back (the saltwater is denser than fresh water).

Everyone at that Paulina campground was awesome. We saw what southern hospitality is all about. Lots of food, beer, laughs, and more. I actually remember most everyone's names, but I don't wanna leave anyone out so thanks to you all, especially Charlie who called us in and takes care of the place (he's the guy carrying the soda in the pictures). We took a group pic, if someone has it send it to me and I'll throw it on here. They loaded us up on food, bug spray, water, MREs, and a lot more stuff. We let Jerry and Jake take most of it seeing as they're continuing on the Great Loop. We only snagged a couple of MREs and some bug spray, but it is much appreciated. We said our goodbyes to everyone, including Jerry and Jake who stayed to party it up, and went on our way.

In other news, sadly, we left my canoe behind on Charlie's land. I jumped in the front of Shawn's and we both slimmed our gear down a bit. It is much safer and easier for us to maneuver around these ships with two people, plus, we can make better time. We are gonna pick the rest of our gear and my canoe up on the way home.

New Orleans is a big checkpoint for us, and is actually our last big one before the mouth. We will be under 100 miles tomorrow. The countdown begins...

*This was supposed to be up a week ago. My phone didn't finish uploading it at that time, I guess.

Day 100

Well, it's day 100 and it has been just like any other beautiful day on the river; other than the fact that we're now sharing the river with full sized ships! We are around 60 miles south of Baton Rouge, camped across from what looks like an old plantation on top of the opposing levee wall.

Roughly four days after leaving Vicksburg we arrived in Natchez; our last stop in MS. This was a really neat town with awesome architecture. Spanish and French inspired buildings were everywhere- much like New Orleans. The town is located on top of a huge bluff. Down below, near the river is another smaller bluff where all the partying happened. We stopped in at the Under The Hill bar, which we were told is the oldest bar on the Mississippi. With a brothel upstairs and all the riverboat men stopping in constantly, "they used to make whiskey in bath tubs, they drank so much."

We met Stevie and Camden here. We also ran into Jerry and Jake again. We met them on the bank in Vicksburg. All six of us camped In Natchez and drank and talked into the night.

Jerry and Jake are the real deal. They're both from Indiana but they met in Memphis where Jake asked Jerry to come along for a paddle. They're doing the Great Loop and are moving at whatever pace they feel like- day by day. This isn't Jerry's first rodeo, though. This dude has been ON the river for the last 12 years. The two guys in the homemade canoe (Stevie and Camden) pushed on ahead of us. However, we have been traveling with Jerry and Jake up until yesterday. We were in Baton Rouge and they stayed a little longer.

We did a mini tourist tour in Baton Rouge. The main attraction was the observation deck on the 34-story Capitol building which gave a great view of the river. We began to see ships on Baton Rouge's docks as we approached. We were told that ships would be able to go further up river if it weren't for the Huey P. Long bridge. Huey was a former Louisiana governor. Supposedly, he purposefully had the bridge built that low so all the ship traffic stopped in the city.

If you were to talk to me two weeks before we left, you may have heard me mention a 2.5 month trip. My calculations were based on consistent river conditions- there is no such thing. As of right now, I could do another 100 days though. It is, however, a beautiful night which makes that easy to say. The nights make the rough days worth every paddle.

More to come soon.

Check out Jerry's award winning documentary at www.nobodythefilm.com

Fellow River Travelers

We ran into a couple of guys in Natchez who are paddling the entire Mississippi. We shared a good meal at Magnolia's Grill in town and shared our river encounters. Camden and Stevie started at the headwaters at Lake Itasca. They're traveling in a handbuilt canoe and are doing it for a good cause. Check them out at www.facebook.com/canoeforacause or at their blog: www.canoeforacause.blogspot.com

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!

Greenville

Greetings from Mississippi! Im writing/ typing from a sand island in the middle of the river, just big enough to dock our boats and set up four tents. We are just past Greenville, Mississippi. I'm typing this with one hand, slapping the mosquitos off my back with the other. The bugs are officially in full effect down here and have been feasting on us. The inside of my tent Is splattered with my blood from me killing them when they're too full to get away. Even if you get them all before you fall asleep, you have to watch to not leave a foot on, or roll a shoulder into the side of the tent or they will session your exposed skin until it wakes you. Before falling asleep, you can hear a subtle, yet persistent buzz from them blanketing our tents desperate to get in. We have spray with DEET in it. Originally developed by the U.S. Army, DEET is said to cause odd effects after prolonged use, such as insomnia and/or weird dreams. We have only noticed the insomnia effect.

After Memphis we hit a nearby river casino because we have come to find out that almost every casino has a cheap, all you can eat buffet. We gorged ourselves then miserably paddled on and found another camp spot. We heard a lot of coyotes that night and woke up around midnight to two cast away dogs that somehow found us out on the middle of a huge sand bar. Shawn was still awake when I heard him get spooked by one of the dogs sticking its nose against his tent. They were skinny and very wary of us. Shawn threw them some spare Debbie cakes and went to bed. We woke up in the morning to the dogs lying in our tent shadows, out of the morning sun. We briefly named them Ark and Sas, you could guess why, and fed them what little we could. The little one wouldn't come close but the other (Ark), he warmed up to us. We packed up our stuff as they curiously watched us, then, we hit the river. Sure enough, they began to walk along the bank and follow us for some miles until they lost interest and shot into the woods. They better learn to hunt if they're planning on staying alive out here.

We also ran into a couple of Swedish fellas who are paddling to New Orleans from Minneapolis. Both named Andreas, they are planning on reaching New Orleans around the same time as us. It is awesome to see other people who can relate to the long distance paddle, and it's entertaining to hear there perception of America and the interesting people they've ran into. They are paddling kayaks, and are much faster than us. Kayaks are the way to go. I would gladly sacrifice extra gear for miles at the end of the day, and will do so my next water trip.

We saw them again at the Warfield Park in Greenville. They had just gotten back from the store when we met a fella by the name of Randy who said he would gladly run us into town to catch a bite to eat. We accepted his offer and hopped in the truck with his son and his friend. While we were eating, Randy "set us up." We went to leave and the local news was outside. We laughed and figured we'd better give them something. We said what we could, which only came out as a mess of tangled words, and hid our nervous eyes behind our sunglasses. One could easily tell we're not public speakers. Randy gave us a ride back to the park and we thanked him and went on our way. We gave the Swedes a taste of the Wendy's dollar menu and ordered them, as they requested,"a dozen cheeseburgers." All four of us paddled some more miles and found this tiny island to make camp.

It was seven years ago this week when hurricane Katrina hit, and now it looks like tropical storm Isaac is taking the same path and gaining strength. We should only get winds and rain being this far up. We will keep an eye on the radar, though. Next stop, Vicksburg!