Thursday, March 31, 2011
Gear
One of the issues I have is how much gear to buy here and how much to buy in Minneapolis. Obviously,I will have to buy my kayak there (although I did look into shipping my Seabear over). I am taking my own paddle and have just bought a second split paddle and sculpted dry bags which mimic the shapes of the front and back hatches by tapering to the shape of the boat.I will also buy a proper kayak PFD here which I am sure will cause some merriment amongst the kayaking fraternity here who are used to seeing me in ill fitting life jackets and ones that are coming apart at the seams. There are some things that I can't take on the plane such as gas canisters,matches and possibly a knife.I have even bought some Back Country dehydrated meals but I am not sure if I take these Then there is a tent. I have been waiting for the Katmandu Easter Sale to buy a good quality,light,three season tent but now that it has arrived I am disappointed on what is on offer. There is a vast range of quality tents available to me in America at reasonable so that is where I will buy it
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Targets
In an endeavour to reduce the enormnity of the venture. I have broken the trip down into 11 short targets. I have already referred to the first four in an earlier post,namely
1/ Get through the wetlands to Bemidji-up to 3 days.My wife thinks that i will be so lonely after this time that I will want to come home once i get to this first town.To prove her wrong i have to last 4 days. Unfortunately this will plac eme in the middle of the lakes,my second target.
2/To get through the 4 lakes The giude book I have recommends against paddling across the largest of these because the wind can get up suddenly producing large waves. This advice is probably directed more towards canoeists rather than kayakers.
3/Pass the 300 mile mark equalling the distance from Takapuna to Cape Reinga,my longest paddle to date.
4Get to Minneapolis,a distance of 500 miles which qualifies as an expedition. Realistically,this is probably my first opportunity to pull out if i find i am not enjoying myself.
The other targets are
5/Pass the 1000 mile mark which is also approximately the comfluence with the Missouri, which is where the Mississippi becomes a seriously big river if it wasn't already
6/Reach St Louis-1180 miles and approximately half way,the end of the locks and dams, and the start of the free flowing river.
7/The confluence with the Ohio River or approx 1300 miles.
8/The 1500 mile mark. I haven't worked out where that is exactly but I am sure I will b/4 I get there.
9/The 2000 mile mark ( or just north of New orleans,probably around Baton Rouge
10/New Orleans
11/Mile 0 or Head of Passes-10 miles past the end of the road at Venice La and another 10 miles to the sea. If I go right out to the Gulf of mexico I would hope to hitch a ride back to Venice with a passing fishing boat rather than battling 20 miles upstream
1/ Get through the wetlands to Bemidji-up to 3 days.My wife thinks that i will be so lonely after this time that I will want to come home once i get to this first town.To prove her wrong i have to last 4 days. Unfortunately this will plac eme in the middle of the lakes,my second target.
2/To get through the 4 lakes The giude book I have recommends against paddling across the largest of these because the wind can get up suddenly producing large waves. This advice is probably directed more towards canoeists rather than kayakers.
3/Pass the 300 mile mark equalling the distance from Takapuna to Cape Reinga,my longest paddle to date.
4Get to Minneapolis,a distance of 500 miles which qualifies as an expedition. Realistically,this is probably my first opportunity to pull out if i find i am not enjoying myself.
The other targets are
5/Pass the 1000 mile mark which is also approximately the comfluence with the Missouri, which is where the Mississippi becomes a seriously big river if it wasn't already
6/Reach St Louis-1180 miles and approximately half way,the end of the locks and dams, and the start of the free flowing river.
7/The confluence with the Ohio River or approx 1300 miles.
8/The 1500 mile mark. I haven't worked out where that is exactly but I am sure I will b/4 I get there.
9/The 2000 mile mark ( or just north of New orleans,probably around Baton Rouge
10/New Orleans
11/Mile 0 or Head of Passes-10 miles past the end of the road at Venice La and another 10 miles to the sea. If I go right out to the Gulf of mexico I would hope to hitch a ride back to Venice with a passing fishing boat rather than battling 20 miles upstream
Time To Complete paddle
Once I tell people how long the river is,the next question is how long will it take. My reply is that the absolute maximum time I have in the USA is 90 days, being the time allowed under the visa. Having said that, I hope to keep to a time table of someone who paddled the river in 2001. He did it in 68 days,so, say 70 days. If you divide 70 into the length of the river,namely 3,500 kilometres this gives an average daily distance of 50 kilometres. Obviously, the daily distances will vary dramatically depending on the part of the river I am paddling. I think of the river as having 3 large sections. The first is loosely termed the wilderness and comprises approximately 750 kilometres to "civilisation" in Minneapolis. While there are some parts of this that will be slower going with several lakes and some obstructions to portage around, a lot of it is free flowing river with some current to assist., I would hope to approach the daily average during this section at least The next section is from Minneapolis to St Louis which has 29 locks and dams. It can take several hours waiting to be locked through, as while they will lock through a single kayaker, if there is any commercial traffic this gets priority. Consequently, the equivalent of up to 6 paddling days (assuming 12 hour paddling days) is effectively wasted and it might be difficult to reach the daily average over this section. Some of the locks may be able to be portaged around if there looks like being a delay.And, of course, where there are dams ,there are lakes. The invariable rule of kayaking that the wind is always in your face will no doubt apply to make the paddling even more harder going
Although I am looking forward to the experience of being in a small boat in a vast steel chamber, it could get a little tiresome by lock 29.
The final section of the river is free flowing from St Louis to the sea. This is where I really hope to make up the daily distance. I should be really paddle fit by then,the days will be longer, and with a current of 3-4mph I hope to be able to do the odd 100k day
So,in summary,although I have been working on a 70 day timetable I really hope I can bring it down to 60 days. This will allow me plenty of time at the end to visit with my girls in Georgia and New York. Jane is hoping to come out to St Louis where I should be around July 4. It should be a good place for fireworks and there is a Ansheuer-Busch brewery in town that does tours for Matthew and me to enjoy. They have a famous team of Clydesdales that they use in their TV adverts that should interest grand daughter Lauren
Although I am looking forward to the experience of being in a small boat in a vast steel chamber, it could get a little tiresome by lock 29.
The final section of the river is free flowing from St Louis to the sea. This is where I really hope to make up the daily distance. I should be really paddle fit by then,the days will be longer, and with a current of 3-4mph I hope to be able to do the odd 100k day
So,in summary,although I have been working on a 70 day timetable I really hope I can bring it down to 60 days. This will allow me plenty of time at the end to visit with my girls in Georgia and New York. Jane is hoping to come out to St Louis where I should be around July 4. It should be a good place for fireworks and there is a Ansheuer-Busch brewery in town that does tours for Matthew and me to enjoy. They have a famous team of Clydesdales that they use in their TV adverts that should interest grand daughter Lauren
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Flooding!!!
One of the concerns I have is being forced off the river because of flooding. If this happens there are two options
1/Wait until the flooding subsides and proceed;or
2/Get a rde further down the river to where the flooding is not as bad and continue from there
As I will be operating with a limited time frame,option one doesn't appeal
Option 2 would mean bypassing a portion of the river frustrating the rationale for the trip which is to paddle all the river from source to sea.
Concern is already increasing that the Spring thaw will bring record flooding caused by ice jams of broken ice and the heavy runoff. Already it is being about in terms of the 1965 flood which is unrivalled in Mississippi flood lore.Winter precipitation has averaged 150-200 percent of the mean in the river catchment above MinneapolisStream flow is at or above the 90th percentile for this time of the year.
So while the present flooding will undoubttedly have abated by the time I start out at the end of May it does reinforce that the river can flood in summer,generated in the old fashioned way by heavy rainfall in any of the catchment areas (remembering that the river drains 41% of the lower USA). Let s hope that doesn't happen this summer
1/Wait until the flooding subsides and proceed;or
2/Get a rde further down the river to where the flooding is not as bad and continue from there
As I will be operating with a limited time frame,option one doesn't appeal
Option 2 would mean bypassing a portion of the river frustrating the rationale for the trip which is to paddle all the river from source to sea.
Concern is already increasing that the Spring thaw will bring record flooding caused by ice jams of broken ice and the heavy runoff. Already it is being about in terms of the 1965 flood which is unrivalled in Mississippi flood lore.Winter precipitation has averaged 150-200 percent of the mean in the river catchment above MinneapolisStream flow is at or above the 90th percentile for this time of the year.
So while the present flooding will undoubttedly have abated by the time I start out at the end of May it does reinforce that the river can flood in summer,generated in the old fashioned way by heavy rainfall in any of the catchment areas (remembering that the river drains 41% of the lower USA). Let s hope that doesn't happen this summer
Monday, February 28, 2011
Plastic v Fibreglass
Among the many issues occupying my mind over the last year or so is what type of kayak to use ,fibreglass or plastic. The advantage of fibreglass is size. The biggest fibreglass boats are bigger than the plastic ones and as a largish size paddler I appreciate the extra load carrying capacity and stability. On the other hand, the upper river does have a few Class 1 and Class 2 rapids and plastic boats might be better, although I am told one can walk a boat through the rapids to minimise the risk of damage The other issue is cost with the fibreglass boat costing twice as much as a plastic one.
I have thought of trying a 2 boat solution-i.e.buying a plastic boat for the upper river to Minneapolis and then trading it in on a fibreglasss boat when I get there. I regularly check the website of the store where I intend to buy the boat.and other gear. As far as plastic boats go, they sell Current Design Storms, which was the first boat I owned and which I used on the Hudson River a few years back. Cuurent Design also produce a wonderful looking fibreglass boat which looks as if it would be perfect for me and is the same size as my Paddling Perfection Seabear. I wish I could just take the Seabear with me
I have thought of trying a 2 boat solution-i.e.buying a plastic boat for the upper river to Minneapolis and then trading it in on a fibreglasss boat when I get there. I regularly check the website of the store where I intend to buy the boat.and other gear. As far as plastic boats go, they sell Current Design Storms, which was the first boat I owned and which I used on the Hudson River a few years back. Cuurent Design also produce a wonderful looking fibreglass boat which looks as if it would be perfect for me and is the same size as my Paddling Perfection Seabear. I wish I could just take the Seabear with me
Monday, February 14, 2011
Mississippi Facts
The river is about 2,350 miles or 3500 kilometres in length
The narrowest point is about 20 feet just below Lake Itasca
The widest point is about 4 miles (6 kilometres) at Lake Onalaska near La Crosse,Wisconsin
The shallowest point is just below Lake Itasca where it is less than 3 feet deep (although it can drop to less than 6 inches) There are stories of paddlers starting with great fanfare only to have get out and walk within a few metres of the start point. In fact one year a father and son team started at Bemidji, a town 3 days travel down the river because of the lack of water. They made it to New Orleans and it rankled that they had missed the first 80 miles. Next year they returned to Lake Itasca to do the skipped portion!!!
The deepest point is about 200 feet at New Orleans
Elevation above sea level at Lake Itasca is 1475 feet
More than half the total drop of the river occurs in Minnesota
The river drains 41% of continental USA
The river passes through/or forms the boundary of 10 States Minnesota,Wisconsin,Iowa,Illinois.Kentucky,Tennessee,Missouri,Arkansas.Louisiana and Mississippi (Missouri is the only state I haven't previously visited)
The narrowest point is about 20 feet just below Lake Itasca
The widest point is about 4 miles (6 kilometres) at Lake Onalaska near La Crosse,Wisconsin
The shallowest point is just below Lake Itasca where it is less than 3 feet deep (although it can drop to less than 6 inches) There are stories of paddlers starting with great fanfare only to have get out and walk within a few metres of the start point. In fact one year a father and son team started at Bemidji, a town 3 days travel down the river because of the lack of water. They made it to New Orleans and it rankled that they had missed the first 80 miles. Next year they returned to Lake Itasca to do the skipped portion!!!
The deepest point is about 200 feet at New Orleans
Elevation above sea level at Lake Itasca is 1475 feet
More than half the total drop of the river occurs in Minnesota
The river drains 41% of continental USA
The river passes through/or forms the boundary of 10 States Minnesota,Wisconsin,Iowa,Illinois.Kentucky,Tennessee,Missouri,Arkansas.Louisiana and Mississippi (Missouri is the only state I haven't previously visited)
Risk Management
With kayaking anywhere in the world there are certain common risks to be identified and dealt with by eliminating or minimising e.g.sunburn,dehydration,hypothermia. In addition every location has its own separate risks,none more so than the Mississippi for a kiwi paddler coming from the relatively benign location that is NZ.I have tried to identify as many of the risks as I can and what action I can take to reduce or eliminate them. It is said that there are old kayakers,and there are bold kayakers,but there are no old, bold kayakers. Two words that I am going to try to keep in mind all the time are "pay attention". For that reason I am not taking an ipod or MP3 player. Not only do I not want to detract from the moment but I don't want something that might make me loose concentration.
So, in no particular order,these are the risks I have identified
1/Deer Ticks. These can give you Lyme disease which I understand is a particularly debilitating illness similar to malaria in that once you get it ,you never entirely loose it. This is where a travelling companion would come in handy to give each other an inspection of those parts of your body that don't readily lend themselves to self examination, similar to the mutual grooming that one sees monkeys in the zoo performing. While with the right companion I am sure this would provide a welcome end to a day's paddling it immediately disqualifies paddling mates such as Charlie and Guy who have volunteered to come along (especially Guy who failed in my hour of need when bitten on a sensitive part by an amorous mussel or crab some years ago). The best way to minimise this risk is to stay out of long grass as much as possible and to make sure to wear full length trousers and socks
2/Barge tows.The river is a major transport artery and north of Baton Rouge to Minneapolis goods are transported by barge. This does not mean one barge. Between St Louis and Minneapolis where the locks operate it means 18 barges tied together (3 wide and 6 deep) pushed by a tug To get throgh the locks the barge tow has to be broken in two of 3x3. Below the locks the barge tows are even bigger (6x7). The issue for kayakers is two fold. Not are you very had to see but the barges have very little manoeuvreability or stopping ability. They can also throw up a decent sized wake The solution is to stay out of the shipping channel as much as possible and to stay on the inside of bends on the river as the channel usually follows the outside of the bend. This gives rise to the next risk
3Wing Dams. These are man made structures that extend from one river bank part way across the river to make the water in the shipping channel move faster and keep it from silting up.There are hundreds of them.. The issue for a kayaker is that depending on the height of the water these dams are either above or possibly just under the surface.If they are out of the water they creates turbulent water and whirlpools of varying size and strength that need to be avoided. If they are just below the surface then there is the danger of plowing into them at a reasonable speed and destroying your boat.
5/Poison Ivy I don't even know what the stuff looks like. I understand there are even poison trees
6/ Snakes. The ones that freak me out the most are the ones that can just drop out of a tree as you pass underneath and the ones that swim in the water.
7/Bears.I don't think they are a problem to the extent they are in Alaska but I gather one should take sensible precautions around food cooking and storage
8/Alligators. I am extremely unlikely to encounter one in the main river despite the feeling I have of it being my destiny to meet with one. I have joked with friends that if my GPS tracking device shows no sign of me having moved for several days it will either mean I am waiting out a storm or it is inside an alligator
10/ Storms. Kayakers I have paddled with in the States seem almost paranoid about getting off the river during a storm because of the possibility of a lightning strike
11/Raccoons I am told they are like Keas in NZ in their cunning and ability to steal food if left unattended. for a moment. having dealt with Greg the Takahe I think I have this one covered
12/Locks. Locking through will be a new experience. There are 29 locks on the river. I am sure that once I have done one or two that I will be confident about the procedure. The main problem is the delay they can create.I understand that while the lock masters are happy to lock through a single kayaker, you are the lowest priority if there is commercial traffic wanting to go through and it is not uncommon to have to wait 2-3 hours for your turn
13/Wolves. I understand wolves are making a come back in several mid western states including Minnesota but they shouldn't really be a problem along the river.
14/Chain of Rocks. This is a man made barrier that stretches right across the river at St Louis. Depending on the water level it is possible to shoot the rapids it creates or to walk a kayak through from the river bank using a length of rope. The alternative is a longish canal with a lot of barges and possible strong head winds that other paddlers have spoken of disparagely
15/Shipping From Baton Rouge south I will encounter large ocean going freighters which can snaek up on an unsuspecting paddler very quietly and quickly.
16/Asian carp-These are an ecological disaster already with the distinct possiblity of getting worse. Originally farmed in Louisiana and Mississppi on the lower river ,they escaped during a flood some years ago. Over the years as they have acclimatised to colder water they have moved northward and have finally reached the Illinois River which connects to the Great Lakes. There is only one dam now between them and the lakes and it is only a matter of time b'4 they get past this with huge consequences for fishing and water quality.The issue for kayakers is that these fish have a proclivity for launching themselves several feet into the air and as they can weigh up to 100 pounds(not that I have seen any pictured of this size).and have been known to cause serious injury to people in small craft. Google "Asian Carp" and look at the videos to see what I mean. i am not sure what precautions one takes to minimise this risk
17/Humans. Finally while I expect an overwhelmingly friendly reception from the people I encounter and this is the one thing I am looking froward to the most,it is an unfortunate fact of life that there are a few bad people out there (cue banjo music). Initially as I pass through Minnesota and Iowa I will be camping in Department of Conservation type campsites. On the lower river it is preferable to camp on the many spoil islands as opposed to the river banks to be less accessible. Wherever I camp I will try to be as inconspicuous as possible. I might try the old campervan trick of sussing out a campsite at the end of the day,going elsewhere to eat my dinner and returning to the campsite at dark to put up my tent
So there it is,my list of unique risks. Neil would be proud of me. If anyone can think of any risks I have missed please let me know (and provide ways of mitigating or eliminating them)
So, in no particular order,these are the risks I have identified
1/Deer Ticks. These can give you Lyme disease which I understand is a particularly debilitating illness similar to malaria in that once you get it ,you never entirely loose it. This is where a travelling companion would come in handy to give each other an inspection of those parts of your body that don't readily lend themselves to self examination, similar to the mutual grooming that one sees monkeys in the zoo performing. While with the right companion I am sure this would provide a welcome end to a day's paddling it immediately disqualifies paddling mates such as Charlie and Guy who have volunteered to come along (especially Guy who failed in my hour of need when bitten on a sensitive part by an amorous mussel or crab some years ago). The best way to minimise this risk is to stay out of long grass as much as possible and to make sure to wear full length trousers and socks
2/Barge tows.The river is a major transport artery and north of Baton Rouge to Minneapolis goods are transported by barge. This does not mean one barge. Between St Louis and Minneapolis where the locks operate it means 18 barges tied together (3 wide and 6 deep) pushed by a tug To get throgh the locks the barge tow has to be broken in two of 3x3. Below the locks the barge tows are even bigger (6x7). The issue for kayakers is two fold. Not are you very had to see but the barges have very little manoeuvreability or stopping ability. They can also throw up a decent sized wake The solution is to stay out of the shipping channel as much as possible and to stay on the inside of bends on the river as the channel usually follows the outside of the bend. This gives rise to the next risk
3Wing Dams. These are man made structures that extend from one river bank part way across the river to make the water in the shipping channel move faster and keep it from silting up.There are hundreds of them.. The issue for a kayaker is that depending on the height of the water these dams are either above or possibly just under the surface.If they are out of the water they creates turbulent water and whirlpools of varying size and strength that need to be avoided. If they are just below the surface then there is the danger of plowing into them at a reasonable speed and destroying your boat.
5/Poison Ivy I don't even know what the stuff looks like. I understand there are even poison trees
6/ Snakes. The ones that freak me out the most are the ones that can just drop out of a tree as you pass underneath and the ones that swim in the water.
7/Bears.I don't think they are a problem to the extent they are in Alaska but I gather one should take sensible precautions around food cooking and storage
8/Alligators. I am extremely unlikely to encounter one in the main river despite the feeling I have of it being my destiny to meet with one. I have joked with friends that if my GPS tracking device shows no sign of me having moved for several days it will either mean I am waiting out a storm or it is inside an alligator
10/ Storms. Kayakers I have paddled with in the States seem almost paranoid about getting off the river during a storm because of the possibility of a lightning strike
11/Raccoons I am told they are like Keas in NZ in their cunning and ability to steal food if left unattended. for a moment. having dealt with Greg the Takahe I think I have this one covered
12/Locks. Locking through will be a new experience. There are 29 locks on the river. I am sure that once I have done one or two that I will be confident about the procedure. The main problem is the delay they can create.I understand that while the lock masters are happy to lock through a single kayaker, you are the lowest priority if there is commercial traffic wanting to go through and it is not uncommon to have to wait 2-3 hours for your turn
13/Wolves. I understand wolves are making a come back in several mid western states including Minnesota but they shouldn't really be a problem along the river.
14/Chain of Rocks. This is a man made barrier that stretches right across the river at St Louis. Depending on the water level it is possible to shoot the rapids it creates or to walk a kayak through from the river bank using a length of rope. The alternative is a longish canal with a lot of barges and possible strong head winds that other paddlers have spoken of disparagely
15/Shipping From Baton Rouge south I will encounter large ocean going freighters which can snaek up on an unsuspecting paddler very quietly and quickly.
16/Asian carp-These are an ecological disaster already with the distinct possiblity of getting worse. Originally farmed in Louisiana and Mississppi on the lower river ,they escaped during a flood some years ago. Over the years as they have acclimatised to colder water they have moved northward and have finally reached the Illinois River which connects to the Great Lakes. There is only one dam now between them and the lakes and it is only a matter of time b'4 they get past this with huge consequences for fishing and water quality.The issue for kayakers is that these fish have a proclivity for launching themselves several feet into the air and as they can weigh up to 100 pounds(not that I have seen any pictured of this size).and have been known to cause serious injury to people in small craft. Google "Asian Carp" and look at the videos to see what I mean. i am not sure what precautions one takes to minimise this risk
17/Humans. Finally while I expect an overwhelmingly friendly reception from the people I encounter and this is the one thing I am looking froward to the most,it is an unfortunate fact of life that there are a few bad people out there (cue banjo music). Initially as I pass through Minnesota and Iowa I will be camping in Department of Conservation type campsites. On the lower river it is preferable to camp on the many spoil islands as opposed to the river banks to be less accessible. Wherever I camp I will try to be as inconspicuous as possible. I might try the old campervan trick of sussing out a campsite at the end of the day,going elsewhere to eat my dinner and returning to the campsite at dark to put up my tent
So there it is,my list of unique risks. Neil would be proud of me. If anyone can think of any risks I have missed please let me know (and provide ways of mitigating or eliminating them)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)