River and Bayou

Had the river to myself most of morning. A couple small downstreamer barges, and two very large upstreamers. One of the upstreamers caught me by surprise. It suddenly appeared from around a small bend, and I barely had time to get out of the way. Passed within a hundred yards of me – which is way too close as far as I’m concerned. I have to stay constantly alert for any signs of barges as it often takes several minutes of hard paddling if I’m in the channel to clear it and give the barges room to pass.

The weather radio said the temperatures were expected above one hundred degrees again today. I won’t argue. It’s very hot. Stopped after three hours of paddling (around 11:30 AM) for about an hour nap under a shade tree and took more than a little bit of self-motivation to leave. Put away the water sandals and broke out the Muck Boots for only the second time this adventure in order to beach the canoe for that rest stop. Those boots are a bit difficult to get off, but they are great! Practically knee-high, they’re designed to keep from sinking into the mud, and to not be hard to extract if they do. Like my Aussie hat, the muck boots are another good investment.

Anyway, after that break, paddled on for three more hours before deciding to call it a day. The wind had picked up from the north, and though it offered some relief from the heat, it also made steering through the near shore eddies more difficult. When I saw three large barges ahead, I decided to duck into a small muddy cove behind a sandbar across from Island 67 and set up camp for the night on the bar. It was near 5 PM and I was dead tired. So, I pitched my tent and fell asleep laying in the sand under the shade of the tent’s vestibule while enjoying the cooling breeze blowing across the bar. By the time I woke, it was almost 6:30 PM. An hour before dusk. Put on my boots, unloaded some more gear, water, and food from the canoe and settled in for the night.