Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Tennessee River Thru Paddle - Day 31 (5/11/21)

Head wind, Head Wind, HEAD WIND

Start: River Mile: 100
Finish: River Mile: 86
Day Total: 14
Trip Total: 569

We knew last night that the rest of this week will have wind from the North and NNE, which is the direction we paddle until Kentucky Lock and Dam and RM 21. Our goal today was 23 miles, but we also knew that we would simply have to take what the river would give us. 

Launching at 8:00 am we had a light breeze and clear sky’s. It was really nice to have the sun warming us. As we expected the calm didn’t last long. We knew there was nothing to be done but paddle so that’s what we did. It was really nice to not be wet and cold. The work was still hard, it could have been a lot worse. 

Man made wind break

I love these clouds, Lenticular I believe

Sometimes you just have to accept what the river gives you and that’s what we did today. What the river gave us was 14 river miles in almost 8 solid hours of paddling. We actually paddled over 16 miles to get that distance, ducking in and our of protected areas to avoid the wind when we could. At 3:30 we saw a nice beach camp and knowing that we were at the edge of our limit, elected to take it. We felt bad ending the day that early, but the shore downriver didn’t look very camp friendly for quite some distance. So, rather than live to regret passing up a good camp, we took it.

Tonight’s campsite

We landed on a sandy beach that was bordered by a nice grassy area, perfect for our tents. I was able to get the inside of my boat dried out, which always makes me happy. The wind did a nice job of drying out my paddling socks and is still working on my paddling shoes. It’s the little things that bring me joy!

There is a ton of dry drift wood in the area so we are having a nice warm fire to help our daily ration of Bourbon go down even smoother. It’s Kentucky Bourbon in honor of our nemesis Kentucky Lake. It keeps throwing punches at us, and we just keep on paddling. Tomorrow’s wind looks to be coming from the same direction as today, only a bit stronger. But, that is a problem for tomorrow. We are dry, warm and well fed. That’s all you really need. 

With that, I’m signing off. Hoping for a magic mileage day tomorrow. 

1 comment:

Ron Woody said...

You guys are making me tried and cold as I read your journey.