Greetings from Lewis and Clark friends.
As I was looking for a spot to land to get out of the way of that big barge coming at me at a snail’s pace I noticed a gap in one of those wing dikes that run parallel with the river. From my view point it was like a huge upside-down uppercase L. To paddle all the way to the opening at the end would put me pretty close to the barge so I decided to take a shot at that opening in the dike.Because of the high water I couldn’t really see the wing dike but I could see the water going over it except for the gap where the water was smooth. As I closed in on the opening the current became swifter than I had anticipated and I missed that gap by about 4 feet which put me into that rushing water that was going over the top. In the few seconds I had to prepare for the “white water” I pull all the effort I could muster in the paddle strokes and when the canoe cleared the rough water the canoe actually fell a couple of feet into the trough that had formed behind the dike. The landing was rough but I managed to keep it upright and coasted into the calm water and was able to land uneventfully on the shore.
As I watched the big barge go by I ate a bagel and some spam. I was amazed by how well those bagels held up and how good they were with that spam. I couldn’t remember spam tasting that good. I finished my lunch off with the last of the peaches I had purchased from the real “river rat” on that first evening out.
Once the beast passed by I headed back out to the river thru the opening at the end of the wing dike. Back out into the current I could feel the wind building like it did last year. It seems to be much more difficult for one person to paddle into the wind than two and it takes a lot of effort and concentration to keep the canoe moving in the right direction to obtain the maximum benefit of the current.
In a few minutes one of the safety boats staffed by a couple of “river angels” pulled alongside me and said “we saw how you jumped that wing dike” and then asks if I would like to drop in behind them so they could break the wind for me for a while. I don’t think it’s legal to draft on a motorized boat but since I wasn’t a contender for one of the top spots I figured (correctly) no one would care. I thought they might let me follow them for a mile or so but they stayed out in front of me for about 10 miles which was a great relief other than the smoke from their cigarettes which seemed to hang around my canoe when they would light up. Despite the smoke it was a good tradeoff.
When we went under the Washington, MO Bridge they had to peel off and go back upstream to cover their section of the river. I think the wind may have been just as bad as last year for this stretch of the river so I really benefited from the break afforded by paddling in the draft created by the second “River Angel(s)” I encountered on this trip.
The final checkpoint is Klondike and it’s just a couple of miles below the Washington Bridge so I pulled in refreshed but about 10 hours behind schedule. I didn’t get out of me canoe. After a brief discussion I headed downstream for the final 27 mile dash to the finish line.
This final 27 miles it the best part of the route. There is more current here because of all the tributaries have entered the Missouri River by this point. With the added current and the extra adrenalin this last few miles go quickly. I arrived at the finish line at about exactly the same time Chad and I did last year. Of course I had the benefit of the extra current because of the high water and we started an hour and half behind schedule in 2009 because of a storm in Kansas City.
To paraphrase Captain William Clark of the original expedition: “Boathouse in view! O! The Joy” I had been in contact with one of my re-enactor friends earlier in the day by cell phone so several of my buddies with the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles (Lewis and Clark re-enactors) were there to meet me at the river below the Lewis and Clark Boat House. They helped me out of my canoe and some carried it over to the staging area while I was getting hugs and congratulations from the rest.
One of the re-enactors Colonel Ed Scholl, USAR, Retired gave me a copy of his book, Lewis and Clark in the Twenty-First Century, which he had published about his experiences on the 8,000 mile 4 year journey with the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles as we re-enacted the journey on its 200th anniversary. In it he inscribed “To Russ: A fellow crew member and now a friend for life. You traveled & paddled 340 miles for my book. Ed Scholl as Pvt. Hugh Hall.”
Casey and one of his sons was there to haul me and the canoe back to Callaway County where I met Dianna the next day for the ride back home after the annual Wright/Potts reunion.
I consider the solo MR340 one of my greatest achievements and I thank God for the ability to do it. However I have traveled a trail much more important, it’s called the Romans Road. It’s a group of verses from the Bibles New Testament book of Romans which tells us:
All of us are sinners and all of us fall short of His Glory
I deserve death for my sins
I can be saved from my sins, I can’t earn salvation but I can simply ask for it
Jesus paid the price when he took on my sins and died for me—no matter what I have done nothing is so bad that he has to get back up on that cross and die again. He died for me while I was still a sinner. His love saves me not religion or a church
Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."-
Anyone could get in a boat and paddle down the river but it takes a real man or woman to admit they are in need of forgiveness and to pray the sinner’s prayer. If you are not sure where the trail you are on is going to take you I would be happy to give you directions to the ultimate checkpoint.
