Well, today is the first day I didn’t take any pictures. Today was chaos basically. High winds, rough waters, major barge traffic, and storm front after storm front. I still made 30 miles. The river made sure I earned every mile.
Honestly, it was foolish being on the river in those conditions. I nearly paid the price at one point when a squall took me by surprise on a bend in the river. The wind and rain hit me so hard I couldn’t turn my canoe around for the closest shore line. Instead, it literally blew me across the river sideways to the other side. Thank goodness there wasn’t a barge coming through. I couldn’t have done anything to get out of the way. And they can’t stop in time. They would have never seen me anyway. The rain was blinding. Once I reached the other shore, I was still being swept down river pretty quick. Downstream I could see a whirlpool and big waves. I knew I couldn’t go into that sideways so I just paddled straight for the shore and hit the rocks trying to catch the front of the canoe on one. It worked! At that point I was able to get out of the boat and get on shore to safety.
I should have called it a day earlier. The radar indicated multiple storms. I got lucky this time. Getting miles isn’t worth killing yourself. I know this but I pushed anyway. Very foolish.
My Gypsy Road 