River and Bayou

Today was a good day. There was very little barge traffic, and I managed to stay in the channel most of the day, taking advantage of the fastest water flowing in the river. I didn’t take my usual midday break, instead paddling and floating for nearly seven hours. straight. When I finally pulled ashore to a little sandy beach for the night, I had gone a little over 27 miles. My biggest day thus far has been 36.5 miles, but 27.5 is not too bad.

In the nineteen days since I’ve started, I’ve gone 412.4 miles. I figured my total run down to Morgan City will be 644 miles. So I’ve got 232 miles to go – 102 miles on the Mississippi and then 130 down the Atchafalaya. I’m averaging 21.8 miles a day, so I probably have two more weeks until I finish. Which is pretty close to what I was planning.

Looks as if I’ve got a few days of rain heading my way tomorrow through Saturday. I don’t mind paddling in the rain, particularly as the temperatures are suppose to dip down into the mid-80s. The winds are expected to stay light as well (less than 10 mph), and considering how hot it’s been these past couple days, any change in the weather is welcome.

I’ve had my dip in the river to cool down and clean up. Dinner is done and the sun’s about to set. So that means my day’s about to end. Until tomorrow, “Good night, all.”