Not too much longer to go! We're both pretty sore and exhausted, but highly motivated to continue paddling hard to finish the route.
The weathermen in the south aren't any better than the ones up north. I wasn't expecting to wake up to rain drops on my face with a 0% chance of rain all night. Gabe and I quickly sprung up at 4:30 A.M on Day 62 (July 31) and grabbed a tarp to create a makeshift tent to cover our mosquito nets. It took us probably 15 minutes and then we crawled back into our tents to get a little more sleep. I ate breakfast on the water again. I seriously need to start eating more. I'm not sure how I function all day by cramming a bagel and a few honey buns down my throat before paddling nine hours straight. Lunch consisted of three packs of fruit snacks. The urgency to keep paddling in order to reach our goal supersedes any time spent eating. We enjoyed the cloud covered sky all day but battled a headwind most of the afternoon. Even with the clouds completely covering the sun, I still managed to get sunburn on my arms today. We pulled up on shore of an island at about 7:15 pm after paddling 52 miles and quickly set up our tents in anticipation of a rainstorm that would linger the entire next week. We started in rain so we might as well finish in it!
We woke up to thunder, lightning and rain on Day 63 (August 1). The rain was coming down strong and winds were pulling our stakes out of the sand again. We stayed under the cover of our tents until 10:45. When the rain finally slowed down for a bit we quickly ripped down our camp and pushed off into the water. During the first two hours it rained on us a lot and there was constant barge traffic going up and down stream. This forced us to stay out of the main channel and we averaged a speed of about 4 mph. The visibility was quite low at times so we stuck to the very edge of the channel in case a barge came out of nowhere. We saw our largest barge today at 7 wide by 7 long. I'm curious what is the largest anyone has seen on this river. I was in contact with a woman named Donna Graham who said she would like to help us when we came near Baton Rouge in a small town called St. Francisville. Donna's son, Austin, kayaked from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico last year and is now hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with his friend Brad. After paddling 39 miles, we arrived at the St. Francisville boat launch which was the muddiest exit we've had yet. The water seemed to be going down so much lately that most places we pull out are no longer dry. We met Donna and her friend Wayne, who brought us cold beers! We got the chance to talk for several minutes before the Sheriff's Department showed up with a trailer to haul our gear to a safe place for the evening. Donna had coordinated this for us and it worked out perfectly! We rode into town with Donna and made our final food resupply for this entire trip! We then rode a couple miles across river to Donna and her husband Bart's house. We had our own room with beds, a tv, and an AC unit. We were very lucky to be taken in by Donna and Bart. They prepared a great steak dinner which included macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, garlic bread, and a blackberry dessert with ice cream. It was an awesome meal and probably the most I had eaten in a long time. We stayed up until 1 am just enjoying the conversation with Donna. We talked about our travels and she told us a lot of Austin's stories. She felt she had to help out because of how great everyone treated (and continues to treat) Austin and Brad. We were beyond happy to be in a great home with incredibly great people.
Donna prepared some fresh fruit and biscuits for us on Day 64 (August 2). We packed everything up and drove back down to the boat launch where Tommy (Sheriffs Dept) met up with us to return our kayaks. Tommy is an Army veteran and thanked us for what we were doing. Donna had a friend named Susan who had recently caught up on some of our blog posts after Donna had posted them on Facebook. She came down to the launch to see us off and even brought us each a flower from her garden. It was nice of her to take time out of her Saturday morning to meet up with us! We pushed our kayaks through the ankle-high mud and back out into the water. We gave Donna one final thank you and pushed off towards Baton Rouge. Not long after we left the rain we were expecting all day started coming down. It only lasted about 45 minutes but the clouds remained. The day was filled with seeing wildlife. I FINALLY got to see the alligator I've been searching for. Right on the main channel, Gabe and I were just floating along the edge silently. About 20 yards away on shore I spotted the head of an alligator and it's tail still up on shore. It was probably at least 7 feet long. It quickly slithered into the water in front of us. I was hoping it would pop it's head up again so Gabe could see it but it was long gone. Just a few more miles down the river we kept our silent approach a priority. It was a very flooded muddy area so I knew there had to be some around. Just under a tree that was down on shore I spotted the large body of an alligator that had to be near 9 feet long. It slowly crawled into the water in front of us and was never in sight again. It was a pretty great experience to get to see them. I was worried I wasn't going to get to see any as we were starting to approach the cities. I also spotted what I believe is a Roseate Spoonbill. I saw a huge pink bird fly by but it didn't resemble a flamingo. Maybe I'm wrong but it looked more like that one. The weather had rain in the forecast all day and I think all those prayers for good weather and safety are being answered. It felt like we had a bubble of clear skies around us as we could see the surrounding areas getting stormed and rained on all day. There were a few times we even prepped our rain gear in anticipation of a big dark cloud but it would somehow wait for us to pass and then sneak in behind us to drop inches of rain on surrounding areas. We've got rain in the forecast from here until we finish so keep those prayers coming! It certainly feels like they've been answered. Just two miles from Baton Rouge we had two gentleman pull up in a fishing boat. They asked us a few questions about our trip and even handed us each a beer. At this time the sun was out and beating on us and it was one of the best cold beers I'd ever had. They didn't keep us too long and we pushed into the start of the industrial area of Baton Rouge. There was barge traffic everywhere. We had one cut out in front of us while another was just passing next to us. We really feel like a hassle as these people are just trying to do their jobs. We try and keep an eye out way ahead and anticipate any moving traffic so we can stay out of their way. We rode past a couple of parked ocean vessels that come up river. They are absolutely massive compared to the barges. We're curious to see the waves they produce. We found a small edge that was covered in sand and decided to camp here for the night. We paddled as hard as we could to get up on the beach, completing 37 miles. I hopped out of my kayak and onto the beach. Gabe did the same but he sunk into mud that was about knee deep. He quickly climbed out and we were forced to move down the beach a little further to harder ground. As I was walking on it I could see the sand cracking around each step. If I'd weighed a little more I'm certain I would have fell through as well. Gabe cooked chicken alfredo pasta tonight and it turned out excellent. One of the best field cooked meals we've had yet. We fell asleep to the sound of river traffic all night and the city lights just across river.
I woke up several times last night from how loud all the river traffic was. There were barges coming and going to the port that we setup camp next to. We jumped in the river and dealt with a couple miles of busy industrial traffic on Day 65 (August 3). After that the river went wild again. Our clothes were in pretty bad shape from the combination of sweat and rain. Unfortunately neither of us had anymore contacts down this way. We opted for getting out in the city of Plaquemine, LA to go to a laundromat. We pulled our kayaks up to shore alongside a ferry and grabbed all of our valuables. Gabe immediately sunk in some mud and decided to keep walking through it. I walked a different direction which was a drier route. He hasn't had much luck with mud lately. We washed all of our clothes and charged our battery. After spending nearly two hours in town, we were back on the water. We setup camp on a sand beach that had similar muddy sand. We had to be careful with each step. We both cooked our dinner and initially setup bug net tents. Shortly before going to bed the lightening started. Gabe and I scrambled to set our real tents up before the rain arrived! We paddled 34 miles for the day.
The plan is to make it to New Orleans by Wednesday evening!
The weathermen in the south aren't any better than the ones up north. I wasn't expecting to wake up to rain drops on my face with a 0% chance of rain all night. Gabe and I quickly sprung up at 4:30 A.M on Day 62 (July 31) and grabbed a tarp to create a makeshift tent to cover our mosquito nets. It took us probably 15 minutes and then we crawled back into our tents to get a little more sleep. I ate breakfast on the water again. I seriously need to start eating more. I'm not sure how I function all day by cramming a bagel and a few honey buns down my throat before paddling nine hours straight. Lunch consisted of three packs of fruit snacks. The urgency to keep paddling in order to reach our goal supersedes any time spent eating. We enjoyed the cloud covered sky all day but battled a headwind most of the afternoon. Even with the clouds completely covering the sun, I still managed to get sunburn on my arms today. We pulled up on shore of an island at about 7:15 pm after paddling 52 miles and quickly set up our tents in anticipation of a rainstorm that would linger the entire next week. We started in rain so we might as well finish in it!
We woke up to thunder, lightning and rain on Day 63 (August 1). The rain was coming down strong and winds were pulling our stakes out of the sand again. We stayed under the cover of our tents until 10:45. When the rain finally slowed down for a bit we quickly ripped down our camp and pushed off into the water. During the first two hours it rained on us a lot and there was constant barge traffic going up and down stream. This forced us to stay out of the main channel and we averaged a speed of about 4 mph. The visibility was quite low at times so we stuck to the very edge of the channel in case a barge came out of nowhere. We saw our largest barge today at 7 wide by 7 long. I'm curious what is the largest anyone has seen on this river. I was in contact with a woman named Donna Graham who said she would like to help us when we came near Baton Rouge in a small town called St. Francisville. Donna's son, Austin, kayaked from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico last year and is now hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with his friend Brad. After paddling 39 miles, we arrived at the St. Francisville boat launch which was the muddiest exit we've had yet. The water seemed to be going down so much lately that most places we pull out are no longer dry. We met Donna and her friend Wayne, who brought us cold beers! We got the chance to talk for several minutes before the Sheriff's Department showed up with a trailer to haul our gear to a safe place for the evening. Donna had coordinated this for us and it worked out perfectly! We rode into town with Donna and made our final food resupply for this entire trip! We then rode a couple miles across river to Donna and her husband Bart's house. We had our own room with beds, a tv, and an AC unit. We were very lucky to be taken in by Donna and Bart. They prepared a great steak dinner which included macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, garlic bread, and a blackberry dessert with ice cream. It was an awesome meal and probably the most I had eaten in a long time. We stayed up until 1 am just enjoying the conversation with Donna. We talked about our travels and she told us a lot of Austin's stories. She felt she had to help out because of how great everyone treated (and continues to treat) Austin and Brad. We were beyond happy to be in a great home with incredibly great people.
Donna prepared some fresh fruit and biscuits for us on Day 64 (August 2). We packed everything up and drove back down to the boat launch where Tommy (Sheriffs Dept) met up with us to return our kayaks. Tommy is an Army veteran and thanked us for what we were doing. Donna had a friend named Susan who had recently caught up on some of our blog posts after Donna had posted them on Facebook. She came down to the launch to see us off and even brought us each a flower from her garden. It was nice of her to take time out of her Saturday morning to meet up with us! We pushed our kayaks through the ankle-high mud and back out into the water. We gave Donna one final thank you and pushed off towards Baton Rouge. Not long after we left the rain we were expecting all day started coming down. It only lasted about 45 minutes but the clouds remained. The day was filled with seeing wildlife. I FINALLY got to see the alligator I've been searching for. Right on the main channel, Gabe and I were just floating along the edge silently. About 20 yards away on shore I spotted the head of an alligator and it's tail still up on shore. It was probably at least 7 feet long. It quickly slithered into the water in front of us. I was hoping it would pop it's head up again so Gabe could see it but it was long gone. Just a few more miles down the river we kept our silent approach a priority. It was a very flooded muddy area so I knew there had to be some around. Just under a tree that was down on shore I spotted the large body of an alligator that had to be near 9 feet long. It slowly crawled into the water in front of us and was never in sight again. It was a pretty great experience to get to see them. I was worried I wasn't going to get to see any as we were starting to approach the cities. I also spotted what I believe is a Roseate Spoonbill. I saw a huge pink bird fly by but it didn't resemble a flamingo. Maybe I'm wrong but it looked more like that one. The weather had rain in the forecast all day and I think all those prayers for good weather and safety are being answered. It felt like we had a bubble of clear skies around us as we could see the surrounding areas getting stormed and rained on all day. There were a few times we even prepped our rain gear in anticipation of a big dark cloud but it would somehow wait for us to pass and then sneak in behind us to drop inches of rain on surrounding areas. We've got rain in the forecast from here until we finish so keep those prayers coming! It certainly feels like they've been answered. Just two miles from Baton Rouge we had two gentleman pull up in a fishing boat. They asked us a few questions about our trip and even handed us each a beer. At this time the sun was out and beating on us and it was one of the best cold beers I'd ever had. They didn't keep us too long and we pushed into the start of the industrial area of Baton Rouge. There was barge traffic everywhere. We had one cut out in front of us while another was just passing next to us. We really feel like a hassle as these people are just trying to do their jobs. We try and keep an eye out way ahead and anticipate any moving traffic so we can stay out of their way. We rode past a couple of parked ocean vessels that come up river. They are absolutely massive compared to the barges. We're curious to see the waves they produce. We found a small edge that was covered in sand and decided to camp here for the night. We paddled as hard as we could to get up on the beach, completing 37 miles. I hopped out of my kayak and onto the beach. Gabe did the same but he sunk into mud that was about knee deep. He quickly climbed out and we were forced to move down the beach a little further to harder ground. As I was walking on it I could see the sand cracking around each step. If I'd weighed a little more I'm certain I would have fell through as well. Gabe cooked chicken alfredo pasta tonight and it turned out excellent. One of the best field cooked meals we've had yet. We fell asleep to the sound of river traffic all night and the city lights just across river.
I woke up several times last night from how loud all the river traffic was. There were barges coming and going to the port that we setup camp next to. We jumped in the river and dealt with a couple miles of busy industrial traffic on Day 65 (August 3). After that the river went wild again. Our clothes were in pretty bad shape from the combination of sweat and rain. Unfortunately neither of us had anymore contacts down this way. We opted for getting out in the city of Plaquemine, LA to go to a laundromat. We pulled our kayaks up to shore alongside a ferry and grabbed all of our valuables. Gabe immediately sunk in some mud and decided to keep walking through it. I walked a different direction which was a drier route. He hasn't had much luck with mud lately. We washed all of our clothes and charged our battery. After spending nearly two hours in town, we were back on the water. We setup camp on a sand beach that had similar muddy sand. We had to be careful with each step. We both cooked our dinner and initially setup bug net tents. Shortly before going to bed the lightening started. Gabe and I scrambled to set our real tents up before the rain arrived! We paddled 34 miles for the day.
The plan is to make it to New Orleans by Wednesday evening!