Tuesday Afternoon August 24, 2010
I was at Lexington and about an hour behind schedule but overall very pleased with my progress. I had planned a short break at Lexington and then back on the River for the next stop at Waverly. The trip from Lexington to Waverly was uneventful. The boats had spread out a lot but I did catch up with Pat from the safety meeting and he was disappointed with how his kayak was handling, this being only the third time he had it on water and the first time on the River. I arrived at Waverly at 8:03 pm which was about sunset where this photo was taken.
Waverly was a little more crowded than Lexington but still not as crowded as last year. I purchased a hot dog from the boy scouts. A local guy was there selling his home grown peaches and I purchased a few to take along. I visited with him for awhile and discovered he was a real “River Rat” that had a lot of knowledge about the river. I told him of the constant battle with the wind and he gave me a tip to help keep my canoe going with the current in spite of the wind. I didn’t have what I needed but I did make a mental note to be sure to have the needed supplies for next year in the event the wind is an issue again.
I set the lights up for night travel and headed off downstream for the next check point at Miami . The high fast current we had been hearing about was in fact contributing to the progress I was making and I was very thankful to have the extra boost of about 1 and sometimes up to 2 mph. Once it gets dark (it’s not really that dark with the full moon) the river takes on a new personality.
The trip on into Miami was as uneventful as well. Uneventful may sound boring but never fear river travel at night in a canoe is never boring. There will always be something to keep one on their toes particularly when many of the wing dikes are underwater. The best advice is to just keep the canoe in the middle of the river to avoid any unseen dikes lurking just under the surface.
I arrived at Miami at 1:28am 28 minutes behind my schedule, which I was pleased with. Miami was more crowded than Waverly with many spending the night there. After spend the most of the last 15 or so hours in my canoe I needed to get out and walk around a bit. I had scheduled a half hour stop here but needed more time to walk about. It was much cooler now as well, I dug out my jacket and wool sox to ward off the chill of the early morning.
Very few people were up and about at Miami since most were sleeping and this may be the first time I realized I was on my own hook, alone and unsupported, going rogue as some say. With a partner or ground crew one has the opportunity to discuss various options and get feedback but when one is “going rogue” there is no one to bounce ideas off of. I took an extra hour here to reflect on the challenge and drink a couple of cups of coffee before heading back out onto the cool moonlighted river and shoved off downstream for Glasgow at 3am still a little behind schedule.
To be continued…………….
Waverly was a little more crowded than Lexington but still not as crowded as last year. I purchased a hot dog from the boy scouts. A local guy was there selling his home grown peaches and I purchased a few to take along. I visited with him for awhile and discovered he was a real “River Rat” that had a lot of knowledge about the river. I told him of the constant battle with the wind and he gave me a tip to help keep my canoe going with the current in spite of the wind. I didn’t have what I needed but I did make a mental note to be sure to have the needed supplies for next year in the event the wind is an issue again.
I set the lights up for night travel and headed off downstream for the next check point at Miami . The high fast current we had been hearing about was in fact contributing to the progress I was making and I was very thankful to have the extra boost of about 1 and sometimes up to 2 mph. Once it gets dark (it’s not really that dark with the full moon) the river takes on a new personality.
The trip on into Miami was as uneventful as well. Uneventful may sound boring but never fear river travel at night in a canoe is never boring. There will always be something to keep one on their toes particularly when many of the wing dikes are underwater. The best advice is to just keep the canoe in the middle of the river to avoid any unseen dikes lurking just under the surface.
I arrived at Miami at 1:28am 28 minutes behind my schedule, which I was pleased with. Miami was more crowded than Waverly with many spending the night there. After spend the most of the last 15 or so hours in my canoe I needed to get out and walk around a bit. I had scheduled a half hour stop here but needed more time to walk about. It was much cooler now as well, I dug out my jacket and wool sox to ward off the chill of the early morning.
Very few people were up and about at Miami since most were sleeping and this may be the first time I realized I was on my own hook, alone and unsupported, going rogue as some say. With a partner or ground crew one has the opportunity to discuss various options and get feedback but when one is “going rogue” there is no one to bounce ideas off of. I took an extra hour here to reflect on the challenge and drink a couple of cups of coffee before heading back out onto the cool moonlighted river and shoved off downstream for Glasgow at 3am still a little behind schedule.
To be continued…………….
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