We've had a few incidents put a little dent into our timeline, but nothing major. Gabe's kayak broke and a part needed to be replaced, and passing through St. Louis was ill-advised for the past few days. Luckily we had a handful of kind people willing to help!
On Day 41 (July 10), we walked over to the United Methodist Church where we had dinner the night before. The same staff served us a delicious homemade breakfast. We sat with the supervisor of Americorps, Will Burks, and discussed some of the missions he's done over the last four years. We thanked the staff again for all of their generosity and help while in Clarksville. They refilled our water containers and we took off on the river. I called the lock master at lock 25 to ask for portage instructions. Like many of the others in the past she showed a lot of concern for what we were doing. She said, "I completely understand the spirit of adventure but these conditions are really unsafe and you guys should wait until Monday to put back in the water." I laughed and told her that unfortunately that wasn't an option for us. She said there was a chute that we would need to aim for. It would require a portage over a levy wall and then another portage over a bridge, since passing under it wasn't possible. We paddled pretty hard today, knowing that we needed to squeeze in over 50 miles. We did our first portage over the levy wall into some still water. Shortly after I spotted what I thought was maybe an otter crossing in front of us. When Gabe moved in closer it turned back and launched the lower half of its body out of the water and slapped its large tail on the water. It was then that we realized that it was a beaver in front of us! We bypassed the lock on the route we were directed to and made our way closer to the marina that we got permission to camp at. All the surrounding neighborhoods were almost entirely under water. On one section of the river we even spotted a fishing boat pulling a water skier through a neighborhood. We pulled off to the Woodland Marina in St. Charles, MO where we were spending the evening. Gabe and I cooked dinner on our stove and started a fire while trying to figure out how we were going to get through St. Louis. We figured out a potential option for the next day and went to sleep in our one-man tents. We paddled 52 miles total!
I made my oatmeal and started calling around to the locks on the morning of Day 42 (July 11). We were informed that the river was closed downtown in St. Louis due to a barge accident. They also informed us of the danger of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi River. There were reports that there was so much driftwood heading downstream of the Missouri River that you could walk halfway across the river on it. We were also warned of some large whirlpools at that confluence. I then spoke to a gentleman named Perry Whitaker who had been following our journey online and was interested in assisting us through the St. Louis area. He scouted out the areas downtown and confirmed what the lock masters told us. The Coast Guard was patrolling the area to make sure no watercraft attempted to pass through the area. We decided to pull out of the river just north of St. Louis in Alton, IL. Perry arrived with his friend, Mike Leahy, and they loaded our kayaks up and took us to Fast Eddie's Bon Air for dinner. Perry and Mike generously covered our meal as we discussed how our trip was going and asked what to expect from here on south. They are both experienced kayakers and had some stories of other paddlers that passed through. We then took a quick drive downtown to look at the river and it was moving very quick. We certainly shouldn't have any problems moving to the south in a hurry. Perry brought our kayaks to a local outfitter named Alpine Shop where they allowed us to keep our kayaks for the night. He took me back to Teresa and Jay's house where we spent the evening. Teresa is the mother of a Marine that served with Gabe in California. She cooked us a wonderful spaghetti dinner and kindly provided a place to sleep for the evening. Gabe and I crashed pretty early after another exhausting day of paddling and running around the city. We paddled 24 miles.
We were spoiled with a large breakfast made by Teresa on Day 43 (July 12). After eating, we walked to Alpine Shop to gather our gear. Our walk was going to be seven miles but Perry connected us with his friend, Mike, who was going to pick us up from our walk. We decided to stop at Dairy Queen to enjoy the AC while we waited. A gentleman named Bobby was eating there with his young daughter and asked if we were both Marines. He spotted our shirts and was curious about what we were doing. I handed him a business card and explained our mission very briefly. A few minutes later Bobby walked up to our table and handed me $20 to put towards our fundraiser. He explained that he was prior service Air Force and that he appreciated everything Marines have done. We were beyond happy to receive additional donations while just walking around. We've certainly been able to raise awareness about the Semper Fi Fund at every town we've stopped at. Mike met up with us and took us to Alpine Shop where we picked up our kayaks. Gabe offered to pay for a hotel that evening but we didn't have a place to store the kayaks for the evening. Mike called an old family friend named Joan who owned a catering business. She allowed us to keep our kayaks in one of her gated areas of her home. Mike gave us a nice tour of the city and we figured out where we were going to put our kayaks in the next day. We decided that just before the Ead's bridge would be our best place. We checked into our room and walked around the Gateway Arch. It was too busy to take the ride up (fortunately I've already been to the top before) so we decided to walk to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Mike and Perry met up with us and even paid for our meal yet again! We then went to Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and had a few drinks. Mike drove us back to the hotel and I spent some time plotting out our next day on the maps before going to bed.
Mike drove us to Joan's to pick up our gear on Day 44 (July 13). We set in just before the Ead's bridge and thanked Mike for everything he's helped us with the last two days. We wouldn't have made it around St. Louis without the help of him and Perry. We floated down and said goodbye to the Gateway Arch. We were now in the same old Mississippi River, but one with a completely different personality. From here on out there are no more lock and dams and the river flows freely all the way to the Gulf. For me it has felt like four different phases of the river. The headwaters were obstruction-filled, yet a little swift with the high water. After Bemidji the river seemed to slow down and very gradually widen up. It was also lake-ridden and started to feel more like the Mississippi I pictured rather than some of the smaller rivers I've paddled in the past. After Minneapolis the river was noticeably larger, more turbulent, filled with debris, and channel markers/buoys were now additional obstacles along with the barges that passed through them. Now that we are south of St. Louis the river traffic has increased exponentially. We are constantly keeping our head on a swivel to make sure the silent barges aren't sneaking up on us. It's important that we continue staying aware of our surroundings. We've been blessed, in a way, from this flood. From the headwaters to St. Louis we've spotted less than 10 pleasure crafts on the river. They were considered to be a concern from the beginning of the trip, but a large chunk of the river was closed to all commercial and recreational watercraft until the water receded. Because our kayaks made no wake the coast guard didn't give us a hard time. The personality of the river south of St. Louis has changed in many ways as well. There are now far more wing dams that create turbulent water near the shorelines as well as some whirlpools. The confluence of any other rivers, sloughs, or chutes all create large eddies and whirlpools. All can be avoided by sticking between the channel markers though. We are now paddling anywhere from 1-2 mph faster on this portion of the river. After passing through the very industrial portion in St. Louis, the banks of the river were now very green and wild as far as we could see. Resources will be a little more difficult to find between here and Memphis. We stopped at a marina in Crystal City, MO and spoke with a man named Brian Harmon who was there watching his son and daughter throw rocks into the river. After talking for awhile Brian offered a ride into town when we mentioned we were going to walk there. They dropped us off at Pizza Hut so we could grab dinner for the night and before saying goodbye Brian handed me $40 to put towards our trip. I tried to refuse and let him know that he's done enough but he insisted. Thank you Brian, if you are reading this! We walked an hour back to the marina and met two gentlemen named Matt and Craig. They were enjoying a few beers and talking down by the boat launch. They offered us each a beer and we spoke of our trip. Matt grew up in Brookfield, WI so we had plenty to talk about. They were both members of the boat club and said we were free to stay in the old clubhouse away from the bugs. Another man named Bob Mulkey also came to the river to let his weiner dog run around. He kindly offered to take our water containers home to fill them with fresh drinking water! We all sat there and had another beer before they went home and we went to bed. We paddled 33 miles for the day.
We woke up and prepped all of our gear on Day 45 (July 14). Shortly after, Bob Mulkey, who we met the night before, came down again. He asked if we needed to go to town for anything else before we left. We said that we were pretty well stocked and would be fine. It was then that Gabe noticed the cable to his rudder had frayed down to only 2 strands left. The next time he pushed his left pedal the cable would have likely snapped. Bob kindly took us to town to find repair parts. After struggling to find the right part he took us to a machine shop named TNT Machines Inc. It was there that a man named Dan Hahn constructed the piece we needed out of some scrap part. He generously donated his time and work for free! Bob returned us to our gear where we thanked him for his time and resources and said goodbye. We finally made it on the river but just 3 miles into paddling a large thunderstorm approached us from the north west. We managed to spot a railroad bridge all the way across river and paddled hard to get under it before the storm arrived. We pulled our kayaks onto some thick mud, covered them and crawled under the small bridge until the heavy rain and thunder passed. We pushed 27 more miles to St. Genevieve, MO and hid our kayaks in the woods for the night. We walked to town and found a park to camp at for the evening! We paddled 30 miles total.
We are on schedule to make it to Tennessee by the weekend!
On Day 41 (July 10), we walked over to the United Methodist Church where we had dinner the night before. The same staff served us a delicious homemade breakfast. We sat with the supervisor of Americorps, Will Burks, and discussed some of the missions he's done over the last four years. We thanked the staff again for all of their generosity and help while in Clarksville. They refilled our water containers and we took off on the river. I called the lock master at lock 25 to ask for portage instructions. Like many of the others in the past she showed a lot of concern for what we were doing. She said, "I completely understand the spirit of adventure but these conditions are really unsafe and you guys should wait until Monday to put back in the water." I laughed and told her that unfortunately that wasn't an option for us. She said there was a chute that we would need to aim for. It would require a portage over a levy wall and then another portage over a bridge, since passing under it wasn't possible. We paddled pretty hard today, knowing that we needed to squeeze in over 50 miles. We did our first portage over the levy wall into some still water. Shortly after I spotted what I thought was maybe an otter crossing in front of us. When Gabe moved in closer it turned back and launched the lower half of its body out of the water and slapped its large tail on the water. It was then that we realized that it was a beaver in front of us! We bypassed the lock on the route we were directed to and made our way closer to the marina that we got permission to camp at. All the surrounding neighborhoods were almost entirely under water. On one section of the river we even spotted a fishing boat pulling a water skier through a neighborhood. We pulled off to the Woodland Marina in St. Charles, MO where we were spending the evening. Gabe and I cooked dinner on our stove and started a fire while trying to figure out how we were going to get through St. Louis. We figured out a potential option for the next day and went to sleep in our one-man tents. We paddled 52 miles total!
I made my oatmeal and started calling around to the locks on the morning of Day 42 (July 11). We were informed that the river was closed downtown in St. Louis due to a barge accident. They also informed us of the danger of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi River. There were reports that there was so much driftwood heading downstream of the Missouri River that you could walk halfway across the river on it. We were also warned of some large whirlpools at that confluence. I then spoke to a gentleman named Perry Whitaker who had been following our journey online and was interested in assisting us through the St. Louis area. He scouted out the areas downtown and confirmed what the lock masters told us. The Coast Guard was patrolling the area to make sure no watercraft attempted to pass through the area. We decided to pull out of the river just north of St. Louis in Alton, IL. Perry arrived with his friend, Mike Leahy, and they loaded our kayaks up and took us to Fast Eddie's Bon Air for dinner. Perry and Mike generously covered our meal as we discussed how our trip was going and asked what to expect from here on south. They are both experienced kayakers and had some stories of other paddlers that passed through. We then took a quick drive downtown to look at the river and it was moving very quick. We certainly shouldn't have any problems moving to the south in a hurry. Perry brought our kayaks to a local outfitter named Alpine Shop where they allowed us to keep our kayaks for the night. He took me back to Teresa and Jay's house where we spent the evening. Teresa is the mother of a Marine that served with Gabe in California. She cooked us a wonderful spaghetti dinner and kindly provided a place to sleep for the evening. Gabe and I crashed pretty early after another exhausting day of paddling and running around the city. We paddled 24 miles.
We were spoiled with a large breakfast made by Teresa on Day 43 (July 12). After eating, we walked to Alpine Shop to gather our gear. Our walk was going to be seven miles but Perry connected us with his friend, Mike, who was going to pick us up from our walk. We decided to stop at Dairy Queen to enjoy the AC while we waited. A gentleman named Bobby was eating there with his young daughter and asked if we were both Marines. He spotted our shirts and was curious about what we were doing. I handed him a business card and explained our mission very briefly. A few minutes later Bobby walked up to our table and handed me $20 to put towards our fundraiser. He explained that he was prior service Air Force and that he appreciated everything Marines have done. We were beyond happy to receive additional donations while just walking around. We've certainly been able to raise awareness about the Semper Fi Fund at every town we've stopped at. Mike met up with us and took us to Alpine Shop where we picked up our kayaks. Gabe offered to pay for a hotel that evening but we didn't have a place to store the kayaks for the evening. Mike called an old family friend named Joan who owned a catering business. She allowed us to keep our kayaks in one of her gated areas of her home. Mike gave us a nice tour of the city and we figured out where we were going to put our kayaks in the next day. We decided that just before the Ead's bridge would be our best place. We checked into our room and walked around the Gateway Arch. It was too busy to take the ride up (fortunately I've already been to the top before) so we decided to walk to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Mike and Perry met up with us and even paid for our meal yet again! We then went to Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and had a few drinks. Mike drove us back to the hotel and I spent some time plotting out our next day on the maps before going to bed.
Mike drove us to Joan's to pick up our gear on Day 44 (July 13). We set in just before the Ead's bridge and thanked Mike for everything he's helped us with the last two days. We wouldn't have made it around St. Louis without the help of him and Perry. We floated down and said goodbye to the Gateway Arch. We were now in the same old Mississippi River, but one with a completely different personality. From here on out there are no more lock and dams and the river flows freely all the way to the Gulf. For me it has felt like four different phases of the river. The headwaters were obstruction-filled, yet a little swift with the high water. After Bemidji the river seemed to slow down and very gradually widen up. It was also lake-ridden and started to feel more like the Mississippi I pictured rather than some of the smaller rivers I've paddled in the past. After Minneapolis the river was noticeably larger, more turbulent, filled with debris, and channel markers/buoys were now additional obstacles along with the barges that passed through them. Now that we are south of St. Louis the river traffic has increased exponentially. We are constantly keeping our head on a swivel to make sure the silent barges aren't sneaking up on us. It's important that we continue staying aware of our surroundings. We've been blessed, in a way, from this flood. From the headwaters to St. Louis we've spotted less than 10 pleasure crafts on the river. They were considered to be a concern from the beginning of the trip, but a large chunk of the river was closed to all commercial and recreational watercraft until the water receded. Because our kayaks made no wake the coast guard didn't give us a hard time. The personality of the river south of St. Louis has changed in many ways as well. There are now far more wing dams that create turbulent water near the shorelines as well as some whirlpools. The confluence of any other rivers, sloughs, or chutes all create large eddies and whirlpools. All can be avoided by sticking between the channel markers though. We are now paddling anywhere from 1-2 mph faster on this portion of the river. After passing through the very industrial portion in St. Louis, the banks of the river were now very green and wild as far as we could see. Resources will be a little more difficult to find between here and Memphis. We stopped at a marina in Crystal City, MO and spoke with a man named Brian Harmon who was there watching his son and daughter throw rocks into the river. After talking for awhile Brian offered a ride into town when we mentioned we were going to walk there. They dropped us off at Pizza Hut so we could grab dinner for the night and before saying goodbye Brian handed me $40 to put towards our trip. I tried to refuse and let him know that he's done enough but he insisted. Thank you Brian, if you are reading this! We walked an hour back to the marina and met two gentlemen named Matt and Craig. They were enjoying a few beers and talking down by the boat launch. They offered us each a beer and we spoke of our trip. Matt grew up in Brookfield, WI so we had plenty to talk about. They were both members of the boat club and said we were free to stay in the old clubhouse away from the bugs. Another man named Bob Mulkey also came to the river to let his weiner dog run around. He kindly offered to take our water containers home to fill them with fresh drinking water! We all sat there and had another beer before they went home and we went to bed. We paddled 33 miles for the day.
We woke up and prepped all of our gear on Day 45 (July 14). Shortly after, Bob Mulkey, who we met the night before, came down again. He asked if we needed to go to town for anything else before we left. We said that we were pretty well stocked and would be fine. It was then that Gabe noticed the cable to his rudder had frayed down to only 2 strands left. The next time he pushed his left pedal the cable would have likely snapped. Bob kindly took us to town to find repair parts. After struggling to find the right part he took us to a machine shop named TNT Machines Inc. It was there that a man named Dan Hahn constructed the piece we needed out of some scrap part. He generously donated his time and work for free! Bob returned us to our gear where we thanked him for his time and resources and said goodbye. We finally made it on the river but just 3 miles into paddling a large thunderstorm approached us from the north west. We managed to spot a railroad bridge all the way across river and paddled hard to get under it before the storm arrived. We pulled our kayaks onto some thick mud, covered them and crawled under the small bridge until the heavy rain and thunder passed. We pushed 27 more miles to St. Genevieve, MO and hid our kayaks in the woods for the night. We walked to town and found a park to camp at for the evening! We paddled 30 miles total.
We are on schedule to make it to Tennessee by the weekend!