The day started out super pleasant as I left camp with the Paddlers I met the day before. I headed out on a quicker pace and let them know that I would send coordinates to decent camping spots along the way. I wanted to make sure they didn’t have to stress or work quite as much for a solid spot to rest at the end of the day. The Severe thunderstorms started rolling in just after noon and I found a boat ramp with a canopy so I decided to seek shelter. Just as I arrived at the boat ramp, a large group of kids came up and started asking me questions about my adventures. They were a group of summer school kids in sixth, seventh and eighth grade. We had a fun time watching the rain, answering questions and I suggested a mean game of duck,
duck, goose which is definitely made for young people who can get up quickly! It passed the time quickly and I think they actually enjoyed doing something from their childhood that none of them would’ve ever brought up if it wasn’t for a random stranger on boat . As the storm started to end, my two paddle companions, met us at the boat ramp for a quick lunch to chat with the kids and then back on the water to put on more miles while watching the weather for the upcoming rain and storms. As I paddled out ahead again the first camp that I sent them was a very large island with long sand bars, small trees, very little debris, but they probably would have had to stop earlier in the day to enjoy it. The second site was 5 or 10 miles further along, was a little bit smaller island, but with the same amenities and simplicity of island camping. Both ladies are solid campers and paddlers and shouldn’t have any problems with the upcoming storms. I let them know not to go past the second location unless I sent them another message because the water was definitely coming up and the towns were getting further apart with less places to find shelter and the storms are becoming incredibly large large with heavy rain and thunder. I had contacted Sam about finding a boat ramp that I could possibly stop at and after paddling in torrential rain, I got to the boat ramp and realizing that it was in a complete armpit, bug infested swamp that was flooding due to the river rising. I had to continue down river even though it was getting close to 7 PM and my self imposed cutoff time I wanted be off the water every night. I headed out towards the next possible town, which is was 20 miles down river hoping to find something between. 5 miles down river I found a large sandbar that I was able to use for the night. Sand bars can be a risky location in flood conditions and can disappear in the middle of the night. This bar was about 10 feet tall so I felt comfortable calling it home for the night. I used a bush and my kayak to set up my hammock which turned out to be a mosquito free and comfortable site with the sounds of the river and flashed of lightning putting me to sleep quickly. This site might actually be the best night sleep I’ve had on the trip so far.
