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2012-05-28 tl;dr: I found a released a heron tangled in fishing line. Then through the locks to Pickwick Landing State Park. There are a lot of setlines along the river. Most are well hidden. One was not. I knew this blue heron was having issues when I saw it struggling to stay on a log. I approached to find it wrapped in fishing line. Hauling it into my kayak, I managed to get the hook out of its mouth with my vicegrip that I keep handy because the kayak's skeg is the worst-designed feature ever, but I couldn't cut through the line. I left the heron floating in the water as I paddled to the bank and dug a knife from my tool canister. I returned, captured it again, and continued cutting it free. Released, it slowly swam to shore and stumbled up on the rocks and began trying to dry itself out. Herons don't weigh much it seems, so I suspect all those water-logged feathers are a real burden.I locked through the Pickwick Locks late morning. This was far better than portaging, though I felt very insignificant using up the entire massive lock with my single kayak. The lockmaster came out and chatted with me a little. Apparently in the past there have been others doing what I'm doing, but not many. Say one thing about Tennessee, say they take their State Parks seriously. The hotels they set up are incredible. I didn't really want to stop, but there is work to do, and my food needs re-stocking. Hotel choices are limited on the water, so you stop when you can. Of course, after eating lunch at the hotel's buffet, I returned to my room and passed out. Guess I was tired. I stopped before Day 4 of Memorial Day weekend really wound up. Watching Pickwick Lake from my hotel room, I know it would have been another busy, choppy day on the water. Over the course of the weekend I bet I was asked a dozen times what my miles-per-gallon was. How clever. Fortunately, a new measurement exists to accommodate electric cars: MPGe, where e stands for equivalent. I roughly calculated how much money I've spent on food so far, along with how many miles I've traveled. It comes to (very roughly) 10 mpg. That's right, I get ten whole miles per gallon of gas. Not very green. So the next time I hear, "I bet you get great mileage, har har," I can respond with, "not really, I've calculated it out to be only 10 miles-per-gallon equivalent." That should endear me to folks. In case anybody is wondering, my new patch is holding up very well. I went a little crazy with the silicone, so now even the bolts holding the skeg in place no longer leak. |
 stay glassy  mirror  heron having a very bad day  hold still and don't peck me  Pickwick Locks and Dam  entering the lock  pad panorama of the lock  in the lock  Pickwick Landing State Park Inn |