Tennessee River Thru Paddle - Day 17 (4/27/21)

Half way home!

Start: River Mile: 345

Finish: River Mile: 321

Day Total: 24

Trip Total: 326

Last night was a no fire, get into the tents by 8:30 so the skeeters don’t eat you kind of night. This morning was chilly and very damp. The tents were soaked. So, packing up a soggy tent is not the most glamorous way to break camp. Once we got all our gear down to the river, the sun had warmed the river bank up nicely and loading the boats was not a problem. 

Launching with Painted Bluff across the river as our backdrop, we put our paddle blades into the water and took off to see what day 17 had in store for us. THe first 6 miles were really nice, a nice tail wind and comfortable conditions with temps in the low 60’s. 

Me and Lil Pug in our happy place

Our mid day goal was 11 miles to Ditto Landing Marina, we had read they had a small convenience store where we could get cold drinks and snacks. We were able to paddle into the marina and tie off our boats right at the snack shop. We were excited to see a wall of coolers with cold drinks ranging form soda, gatorade, water and even beer! Almost immediately, Jon noticed RiverLine 652 posters and brochures. Brandi welcomed us and explained that she was very aware of the RiverLine 652, and had just been on a conference call with Brad Collett last week! Brandi was very pleased to meet us and was very open to suggestions on how to make the marina more paddler friendly.  We ended our visit, with Brandi taking a picture of Jon and I for the marina’s social media.

Tennessee RiverLine Promotional display at Ditto Marina

Leaving the marina, the river made a big arch to the left and we found our selves paddling into a 15 mph headwind for most of the afternoon. The temp today was in the high 80’s so the wind was helpful in keeping us from overheating. Our goal for the day was 21 miles and the Redstone US Army base, which has a public recreation area. 

Redstone has some history that I find interesting. The first US astronaut to enter outer space, did so on top of a Redstone rocket, designed right here on the banks of the Tennessee river. 

As we approached the Redstone landing, we decided that given the time of day (3:00pm) and how we were feeling, we should paddle the additional 3 miles to the boat ramp at RM 321. The ramp is on the quite side (river left) of the river, with nothing but National Wildlife Refuge all around it. We landed at a nice beach area, that was any easy walk to a grassy stop that we set camp up in.

Tomorrow, we paddle to Decatur, AL and a much needed hotel and diner stay. We are hoping to connect with more RiverLine folks, so more to come on that.