Friday, April 2, 2010
2010 Test Run
Kyle and I took a quick test run on a local lake last night. All went very well. We were experiencing some strong winds here in northwest Missouri which added an additional element to our test run. We paddled out about a mile and then back. On the way back into the wind I broke my paddle. It was one of my bent shaft paddles so I hated to break it but it was better here than on the river. I had a spare so we were able to proceed on. We hope to get in a test run from St Joseph to Atchison, Ks in a few days to get in our first river run of this year.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Final Day
My hands showing 17 blisters and the GPS showing 339.8 miles.
Photo taken by Betty at the finish line, Chad, Russ and Jeff
If you are just beginning to read this blog it might make more sense if you began at the bottom or the older post.
The Final Day!
Just like the previous mornings we are up after about a 4 hour nap. Except, this morning there is a sense of urgency to get the canoe back on the water. We can smell the finish line and can anticipate the feeling of accomplishment that will overtake us as we make our final landing in about 60 miles. It’s hard to imagine that we have already traveled 280 miles on the Mighty Missouri River. Thanks to the excellent support of Jeff we were able to leave our tent and supplies behind knowing he would load them up and meet us in St. Charles.
I don’t remember the time when we launched from Washington but it was shortly after daybreak. We carried the canoe down to the rivers edge and slipped back into our routine of paddling always trying to stay in the best current to maximize our efforts. For breakfast we feasted on left over pizza. It was almost as good cold as it was when Terry delivered it to us at Mokane about 12 hours ago.
This is a scenic section of the river as well and we were able to take in the beauty of Mother Natures despite the Corps of Engineers handiwork. At this point I have become less alert and I don’t remember a lot of the details until we rounded the big bend in the River as we approached Washington, MO.
As soon as we cleared the bend we could see the bridge over the river and the marina and big landing area at Washington which was still about 3 or4 miles away which should take us about 50 minutes to reach. We didn’t anticipate the big wind that would be blowing upstream. The current was moving at about 4 mph here and the wind must have been blowing nearly 20mph. Had I known about this section of the river and how difficult it would have been to fight the wind these 3 or 4 miles I think I would have insisted that we proceed on instead of taking our nap in Herman last night.
Each time we took a break from paddling the breeze would catch our canoe turn it broadside to the wind and start sending us back towards Kansas City. We attempted to get as close to the bank as possible thinking there would be some protection from the wind there but we found that was not the case. We thought about getting out to tow the canoe but the bank was too steep and once we came along the rock levies the footing was too uncertain. So we just paddled and paddled and paddled. This was no doubt the most difficult 3 miles of the entire trip.
We could plainly see the bridge and boat ramp and it seemed to almost never change position. I can’t say for sure how long it took us to paddle that stretch of the river but once we arrived at the Washington boat ramp we took an unscheduled break. After landing the canoe we walked up to the visitors center and around the area just to get away from the water and wind for a few minutes. It’s just a few miles from Washington to Klondike, which is the last checkpoint before St. Charles, so we head back out on the river to check in at Klondike. As a rule there are food vendors at the check points but we were far enough behind that they were about sold out. We purchased warm Gatorade, peaches and a candy bar and put back in the current at 4pm for the final 28 mile dash for the Lewis and Clark boathouse.
This was the fastest segment of the river as well as the most populated area. We were beginning to see a lot of recreational boaters. We had seen a few along the way but far more were active here. We had one boater who must have thought it would be fun to play chicken with our canoe. He bore down on us in his 100 something horsepower speed boat turning away just ahead of our bow to be sure we got the entire benefit of his wake. Most boaters were courteous of our canoe but this guy needed to make up for something he was lacking with his big boat. I wish we would have had a bow piece (canon) like was on the Keelboat.
Despite the arrogance of the boater we managed the wake very well. Most of the time my GPS was recording speeds of 8 to 10 mph thru this area of the river. We had the extra current from all of the other rivers and streams plus the adrenaline rush one experiences when a difficult challenge is about to be mastered.
Soon the I-70 Bridge over the Missouri River is in sight. About 82 hours ago we began this adventure 1 ½ hours behind schedule. Since we started 1 ½ hours behind schedule I figured the banquet at the finish line would be delayed by 1 ½ hours as well which meant we would arrive at the finish line in time for the banquet. I knew many of my DESC friends were cooking the meal and had great expectations for some exceedingly good food.
Once we were past the bridge and the casino the boat house was in full view and be began our approach for our final landing just as the sun was setting which seemed very appropriate. In anticipation of this moment I had put on my “round hat” which was part of my official 1804 dress blue uniform while doing the Lewis and Clark reenactment. Not only is the hat round but it has a bear fur strip about 3” wide that runs over the top of the hat from front to back and a deer tail mounted on the left side. So it is quite fancy and I thought it good to wear it as we landed at the Lewis and Clark boathouse.
As we approached the landing Chad asks “Pop what do you think”? I had quit thinking several hours ago so it was difficult for me to respond but I did manage to get out something like we are a great team and we work well together. We guided the canoe up on the beach there at the finish line to a modest round of applause from the few folks watching the best of the worst make their final landing.
The crew of “Itswoot” had been there for a day but they came down to the riverfront to congratulate us. We headed to the boathouse to chow down on some of that famous DESC bar-b-que but to our disappointment it was all gone. They didn’t delay the banquet 1 ½ hours like I had anticipated. So with empty stomachs we took a shower there at the boathouse, loaded our gear on my truck and went to the Trailhead and ate fish with the “Itswoot” crew and Jeff who had helped support both boats. It was a fitting end for the adventure.
Just like the previous mornings we are up after about a 4 hour nap. Except, this morning there is a sense of urgency to get the canoe back on the water. We can smell the finish line and can anticipate the feeling of accomplishment that will overtake us as we make our final landing in about 60 miles. It’s hard to imagine that we have already traveled 280 miles on the Mighty Missouri River. Thanks to the excellent support of Jeff we were able to leave our tent and supplies behind knowing he would load them up and meet us in St. Charles.
I don’t remember the time when we launched from Washington but it was shortly after daybreak. We carried the canoe down to the rivers edge and slipped back into our routine of paddling always trying to stay in the best current to maximize our efforts. For breakfast we feasted on left over pizza. It was almost as good cold as it was when Terry delivered it to us at Mokane about 12 hours ago.
This is a scenic section of the river as well and we were able to take in the beauty of Mother Natures despite the Corps of Engineers handiwork. At this point I have become less alert and I don’t remember a lot of the details until we rounded the big bend in the River as we approached Washington, MO.
As soon as we cleared the bend we could see the bridge over the river and the marina and big landing area at Washington which was still about 3 or4 miles away which should take us about 50 minutes to reach. We didn’t anticipate the big wind that would be blowing upstream. The current was moving at about 4 mph here and the wind must have been blowing nearly 20mph. Had I known about this section of the river and how difficult it would have been to fight the wind these 3 or 4 miles I think I would have insisted that we proceed on instead of taking our nap in Herman last night.
Each time we took a break from paddling the breeze would catch our canoe turn it broadside to the wind and start sending us back towards Kansas City. We attempted to get as close to the bank as possible thinking there would be some protection from the wind there but we found that was not the case. We thought about getting out to tow the canoe but the bank was too steep and once we came along the rock levies the footing was too uncertain. So we just paddled and paddled and paddled. This was no doubt the most difficult 3 miles of the entire trip.
We could plainly see the bridge and boat ramp and it seemed to almost never change position. I can’t say for sure how long it took us to paddle that stretch of the river but once we arrived at the Washington boat ramp we took an unscheduled break. After landing the canoe we walked up to the visitors center and around the area just to get away from the water and wind for a few minutes. It’s just a few miles from Washington to Klondike, which is the last checkpoint before St. Charles, so we head back out on the river to check in at Klondike. As a rule there are food vendors at the check points but we were far enough behind that they were about sold out. We purchased warm Gatorade, peaches and a candy bar and put back in the current at 4pm for the final 28 mile dash for the Lewis and Clark boathouse.
This was the fastest segment of the river as well as the most populated area. We were beginning to see a lot of recreational boaters. We had seen a few along the way but far more were active here. We had one boater who must have thought it would be fun to play chicken with our canoe. He bore down on us in his 100 something horsepower speed boat turning away just ahead of our bow to be sure we got the entire benefit of his wake. Most boaters were courteous of our canoe but this guy needed to make up for something he was lacking with his big boat. I wish we would have had a bow piece (canon) like was on the Keelboat.
Despite the arrogance of the boater we managed the wake very well. Most of the time my GPS was recording speeds of 8 to 10 mph thru this area of the river. We had the extra current from all of the other rivers and streams plus the adrenaline rush one experiences when a difficult challenge is about to be mastered.
Soon the I-70 Bridge over the Missouri River is in sight. About 82 hours ago we began this adventure 1 ½ hours behind schedule. Since we started 1 ½ hours behind schedule I figured the banquet at the finish line would be delayed by 1 ½ hours as well which meant we would arrive at the finish line in time for the banquet. I knew many of my DESC friends were cooking the meal and had great expectations for some exceedingly good food.
Once we were past the bridge and the casino the boat house was in full view and be began our approach for our final landing just as the sun was setting which seemed very appropriate. In anticipation of this moment I had put on my “round hat” which was part of my official 1804 dress blue uniform while doing the Lewis and Clark reenactment. Not only is the hat round but it has a bear fur strip about 3” wide that runs over the top of the hat from front to back and a deer tail mounted on the left side. So it is quite fancy and I thought it good to wear it as we landed at the Lewis and Clark boathouse.
As we approached the landing Chad asks “Pop what do you think”? I had quit thinking several hours ago so it was difficult for me to respond but I did manage to get out something like we are a great team and we work well together. We guided the canoe up on the beach there at the finish line to a modest round of applause from the few folks watching the best of the worst make their final landing.
The crew of “Itswoot” had been there for a day but they came down to the riverfront to congratulate us. We headed to the boathouse to chow down on some of that famous DESC bar-b-que but to our disappointment it was all gone. They didn’t delay the banquet 1 ½ hours like I had anticipated. So with empty stomachs we took a shower there at the boathouse, loaded our gear on my truck and went to the Trailhead and ate fish with the “Itswoot” crew and Jeff who had helped support both boats. It was a fitting end for the adventure.
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