May 13: For the first time, I feel truly exhausted, both physically and
psychologically. A strong current and another day of 25
mph+ headwinds meant that I only made 17 1/2 miles in
7 1/2 hours of paddling. I didn't see much wildlife today,
but after the first half hour conditions were so difficult I
wasn't even looking. The only positive thing about today is
that I finally made it out of Missouri.
May 14: Thank God for days like today: no wind, lots of wildlife, and I
got to meet some truly decent people. At breakfast this
morning a beaver paddled right by me, and later, four deer
ambled down for a drink no more than 20 yards from me.
The river has been teeming with catfish (another leapt
across my bow), and I saw several more water mocassins
sunning themselves along the bank. In Nebraska City,
where I pulled in to get water, I met Earl Chamberlain, who
not only drove me to a convenience store, but also gave me
a guided tour of the city. Further upstream, I met Tom Duey
and his son, Chris. We got talking, and when Tom discovered
I needed a river map he motored back down the river to his
house and sent Chris back with a map which accurately gives
the river mileage and launch sites all the way up to
Pickstown, S.D. It turns out Omaha is only 38 miles from my
campsite, and Sioux City and Yankton are much closer than I
had thought.
Made 21 miles in 7 1/4 hours of paddling.
May 15: My first 25-mile day! A southern breeze helped me
throughout the day, my wrist felt OK (though not 100%) and
I saw a bald eagle this afternoon. This evening, as I was
setting up camp, an odd-looking boat crossed the river to my
side. I thought it might be someone telling me I couldn't camp
here, but it turned out to be a fellow adventurer named Doug
Leaply. Doug is about midway through a coast-to-coast trek
in a motorized catamaran/canoe vessel he put together
himself. He had heard about me when he stopped at Fort
Osage, and had been hoping to catch up with me. He's headed
for the Pacific via the Missouri-Yellowstone-Snake-Columbia
river route, and I am most impressed with his ingenuity and
self-sufficiency. He's also an experienced competitive
white-water kayaker, and when he discovered that this trip is
essentially my first time in a kayak he couldn't help but laugh.
I have to admit I felt he was a far more canny and worthy
outdoorsman than I'll ever be, but he was tremendously
impressed with and supportive of my project.
Only 13 miles to Omaha!
Doug and his home away from home.
May 16: Doug and I set out together, after taking pictures of one
another in our boats. I kept him in sight for an hour, but when
I stopped to ice down my hands, I lost him. Later, about a mile
below the Omaha marina, I saw him coming up behind me. It
turned out he had stopped to make some phone calls. We
pulled into the marina together, which was much to my liking.
Before he pushed on he gave me some useful kayaking advice,
and he promised to leave me a message at the Yellowstone-
Missouri fork, a la Lewis and Clark. I'll look forward to finding
it, and I wish him well on his journey. After getting my
Enterprise rental car and checking into a motel to clean up, I
had dinner. To give you an idea of what a week on the river
does to my appetite, here's what I ate: on the way to the
restaurant I saw a Dairy Queen and stopped for a banana split.
Then I had dinner, which consisted of a bowl of seafood
gumbo, salad, 4 biscuits, a salmon steak, shrimp, baked
potato with butter and sour cream, broccoli and carrots, all
washed down with a pint of Guinness, followed by a desert of
key lime pie. Then on the way home, I stopped at the D.Q. for
a large strawberry sundae.
May 17-18: Stayed in Omaha, where my parents joined me for a visit. It
was great to see them, and their encouragement was a real
boost. I had my first radio interview on a talk show hosted by
Deacon Jones (no, not the football player) of KFAB. He was
something of a history buff, knowledgeable on the subject of
Lewis and Clark, and the hour passed all too quickly. I also
stopped in at The Corps of Engineers to get maps of the lakes
I'll encounter further upstream.
May 19: Back on the river after an enjoyable stay in Omaha. I had a
frustrating time today. First, the current was much stronger
than I had expected. For some reason I assumed that above
Omaha it would diminish, but if anything it's stronger. Second,
the Omaha newspaper had predicted south winds, but instead
they were from the north-west, in my face. Finally, I capsized
for the first time in my life. I'm still not sure what happened,
but as I was going under a tree, my paddle got caught in a
branch and the next thing I knew I was upside down.
Everything in the kayak stayed dry, but some of the gear
topside was ruined. My radio and binoculars were destroyed,
as was my copy of the abridged Lewis and Clark journals, but
I managed to dry out my maps, my wallet, and my emergency
traveller's checks.
22 miles.
Click here for days 43-49 of Richard's journal
