Day 57

Day 57
Around 3 Am I was awakened by feeling of mist hitting my face. It took me a few minutes of listening to make out the smallest of rain droplets falling on the tent. I had chosen not to place the rain fly over the tent before going to bed. Leaving it off provides for a ceiling full of stars and improved air flow. It only took a couple of minutes to secure the rain fly and I was back in the sleeping bag. I tossed and turned a few times before the sound of rain drops on the tent put me to sleep. I woke early to a cool, foggy morning, packed the boat and pushed off into the current. With no wind I was able to read the current on the waters surface and made smooth steady progress riding the main channel current. By mid morning the barge traffic had caught up to me and progress slowed. I try to be patient when dealing with the barges, paddle slowly, eat a snack and wait for the water to settle revealing the main flow. Late afternoon I stopped in Chester IL at the boat ramp on the river. I tied the canoe to a large boulder and ran a coated steel cable through all my bags and locked them to the canoe. I walked a short distance up the road to the Chester Welcome Center and Popeye the sailor man statue. I filled my water jug and took pictures of the bronze Popeye statue. When I returned to the canoe I noticed some rocks had fallen down over my rope, odd but not a problem. Before getting on the water I looked at the radar, it showed a rain shower moving my way. I hit the water hoping it stayed small and without lightening. After a few miles I could look back and see a line of light rain marching down the river ever closer to me. I put on my rain jacket, placed the waterproof cover over the backpack and settled in for some wet paddling. The rain was light and warm when it caught me, but after about 30 minutes the rain tapered off and the sun came out. I was starting to feel the full day of paddling when I rounded a curve and a stiff 15 mph wind pushed me from behind. I quickly positioned the canoe to ride the wind and current down river at a respectable speed with almost no paddling. For the next several hours I sailed along enjoying the long sand beaches along the islands, two eagles sitting high in a cottonwood, and lots of blue barrels, and plastic buckets of every size and color. Blue barrels peak out from log jams, willow marsh, sand bars and muddy flats. The is mud is dark black, smells like rotten eggs and will not support weight, making recovery difficult. I ride the till the last of the strong breeze fades away before tucking in just in front of wing dam. I made a quick dinner of lime shrimp Ramen noodles with a can of sardines in hot sauce thrown in, it tasted wonderful so I knew I was tired and hungry. I took a quick river bath before crawling in the tent.