Day 33

Day 33

At about 5 AM the umpteenth dozen train rolled by and I decided I was tired of fighting to sleep and might as well start paddling. It was very peaceful on the early morning water, no wind, no hot sun and still no current to paddle with. I eased my way down river, cutting bends and chopping off corners trying to keep my route straight as possible, I am not normally able to paddle this way because of barge and and recreational boat traffic but i was all alone on the river. About 9:30 the wind began to blow fro the east and i decided to try the back water channels i had mostly avoided because they tend to lead no where. I found a few with nice current but mostly I paddled this way and that way, in and out of flooded open spaces and woods. I don’t know how efficient paddling the back water was but I did see many eagles, beavers and deer. The water in the flooded woods was from 8 inches to 8 feet deep and I was surprised to see many does with young spotted fawns in the more shallow areas. It was a treat to see the fawns because they would normally lay down in tall grass but with nothing but water around they ran and jumped like their mothers. At noon I reached Guttenburg IA the location of Lock and Dam 10. There was a barge just starting to lock through to the north as I arrived so i put to shore to charge electronic and refill my water supply. I worked on my blog for a bit and before I knew it the barge was through and it was my turn in the lock. I locked through and went back into town to find some wi-fi so I could up load my blog posts. While I was walking the streets I was approached by a reporter from the Guttenberg Press who wanted to conduct an interview. She asked me all about my trip and took a few photos before thanking me for my time. I was unable to find any wi-fi and was soon paddling south. It was a repeat of the usual hunt a camp spot and I ended up on a tiny beach and cut a spot for my tent from the thick poison sumac.