Tennessee River Thru Paddle - Day 14 (4/24/21)

Weather Day - Going Nowhere

Start: River Mile: 386

Finish: River Mile: 386

Day Total: 0 (zero)

Trip Total: 267

When we decided to get lodging off river last night, our intent was to avoid the high wind and lightning that was forecast for the evening through early morning this am. Well, as we kept tabs on the various weather apps we use the storm was arriving later, and stalling over our location in Scottsboro, AL and adding more complications like high wind gusts and even a tornado watch. So, after much careful deliberation we decided to take a zero day today to let this system pass. The weather for Sunday morning and through the next week is clear and warming.

Our Scottsboro river angels Sarah and Dan Stahl came to our rescue once again. Picking us up at the cottage and transporting us and our gear to the Hampton Inn in town and offering to store our boats at their home for safe keeping. Sarah will pick us up at the hotel at 7:30 am tomorrow and take us back to the boat ramp at RM 386 where we will resume our paddle. 

It’s been really nice having a quite day at the hotel. Jon has been able to get quite a bit of work done. We also did laundry and had a really good lunch at Buenavista Mexican Cantina, a quick 5 minute walk from our hotel. 

Warm, dry and safe in Scottsboro Alabama

I found a really nice video from Mississippi River source to sea paddler Ann Ogg, who did the river last year. I recall from the Mississippi River Paddlers page that she reached the Gulf of Mexico a month or so before Jon and I. The link to Ann’s video is https://www.facebook.com/groups/MississippiRiverPaddlers/permalink/3849870918442899/ In watching Ann’s video I was struck by how each paddler’s experiences, although similar in many ways, are personally and profoundly different from one another. We all paddle the same river, but the people we encounter who become such an integrated part of the experience are different. It is these people whom we encounter for minutes or hours that make the trip what it really is. The memory of a lifetime.