Kayak Trip 2012 ‐ Between Green and Red

2012-05-13

tl;dr: I have found that the channel down the middle of the Mississippi is the place to paddle.

When I first arrived on the Mississippi River I was very nervous about crossing it. I would hug one bank for a while. Then, after a great deal of consideration, I'd paddle on over to the other side. After a day of this I became more cavalier in my crossings and would spend more time farther from the shore. Today, I realized the place to be is between those channel markers! Not only is the current significantly faster, but it is much smoother. Outside the channel you have to deal with wing dikes. They are supposed to funnel water toward the channel, but they are all submerged right now, so you can float right over them...into a maelstrom of switching currents that compete to flip you over.

Floating down the channel is smooth for the most part. I don't actually stay in the middle but follow the buoys so I'm right on the edge of the channel. Green buoys are on the right; red on the left. This works out okay until a towboat comes chugging upriver. Those boats don't move very fast, so it's easy to get out of their way. However, about five minutes after one passes the turbulence hits. It's not really a wake. I can only wish that it were so. But the entire river becomes agitated and choppy behind those boats. (See pictures.) This lasts for at least twenty minutes, which is about when you meet yet another towboat.

The current is very strong. Often I will see something (like a boat landing or beach) that I decide I should land at, and will start paddling for it. And completely miss because I am now downriver.

I came across an abandoned campsite. After a good once-over, I determined the only thing useful would be several cans of Vienna sausages. I opened one can, and ate one sausage. You know what, these things aren't good under normal circumstances. I moved on.