It’s Cold & Windy/Shelter at Dustin’s

“Every mile is two in winter.”-George Herbert

Sunday, November 9th

Michael, Wajid and I awoke to a chilly Texas morning.   After one night camping The Red sandbars, I’m sure they couldn’t get away quickly enough….fortunately they drove to town and picked up breakfast for me.  I paddled them both back across to the bridge and they went into Clarksville while I attempted to organize my gear after yesterday’s seizure.  It appears everything was returned for which I am thankful.

Mike and Wajid returned with breakfast and we hung out for a little while before I made my way back up The Red.  The next big “destination” will be the  Arthur City bridge, hopefully only a few days away.  I understand the weather is suppose to turn this week and a “polar vortex” is on the way.  Oh boy, not looking forward to that…shouldn’t I have finished by now?

I set off to a beautiful afternoon, temps rose to about 65-70 and I made good progress.  The water was fairly deep for most of the afternoon which allowed for good progress, I finally settled in to a nice sandbar and called it a day prior to sunset.  Yes, I camped on the Texas side.

Go time!!

Deep Water…Yes!!

Will those pants dry?

still fall…for now

Uh oh, boat drag time

campsite

Monday, November 10th

Wow. What a windy day!!! Southwest winds blew in today and I would say they were about 25-30mph sustained.  In fact, I am sure I have not paddled in such high winds the entire trip.  The only reason I felt reasonably safe is because of how shallow the river is…no way I would be paddling in these conditions on the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers.

It was a very frustrating and difficult day.  Most of my route today was south-one stretch took me four hours to paddle and I suspect with no wind it would have only taken an hour. I felt like I was back on the big lakes in the Great Plains.  At least it was warm…although I understand that will change drastically tomorrow. I was spent by about 2:00 and finally had a nice north stretch and the wind helped push me thru…until I reached another long southward stretch (The Red heads west but goes North and South to achieve it’s westward direction).  I reached a point that I simply couldn’t (or wouldn’t) paddle southward, the winds were so strong creating such a strong current that I cried “uncle.”  I setup camp around 3:30 and called it a day.  Tough day for sure, didn’t nearly paddle as far as I thought I would.  I had hoped to arrive at the Paris bridge later today or tomorrow…now it looks like Wednesday at best. Today was also unique because a saw quite a few tumbleweeds in the river.

I have prepared for the polar vortex by setting out my gloves and hand warmers.  Hopefully, this will help.

Ripples

obstacle

fall

note waves..winds are probably 25mph

saw these all day

Uncle, let’s call it a day here!!

Tuesday, November 11th

Brutal cold and winds.  The winds shifted to the North…and of course I am going on a more northerly track now.  I had a really difficult time on the north stretches today.  I had to wear gloves today which was a challenging adjustment, the paddling was really slow and the river is getting more shallow.  I was constantly in and out of the boat today.

The sky was brilliant today but it was really cold, it’s not so tough when I’m paddling as I stay active…when I stop to take a break, I freeze.  I think I am getting soft, northern paddlers would be laughing. It also appears the cold will stick around for some time.  This is a double negative because it really slows me down, particularly with the accompanying winds.  I figured by now I would be at the Arthur City Bridge but I called it a day a few miles downstream and should be there in the morning.

As soon as I landed my boat, I quickly setup my tent and hoped in for the night.  Thankfully, I have a nice fleece blanket which has been a godsend…I even cooked my dinner inside my tent, this is probably a big no-no but the tent provides a modicum of warmth.

Winds of Thor are blowing cold

at least I have the wind-for now

sun is out, but it’s freezing brothah

The Red

The Red & Keith

Wednesday, November 12th

Another brutally cold day.  I somehow managed to end the day sleeping in a warm bed.  So great.

Paddling in cold and windy conditions is difficult.  Getting prepared to paddle is really tough.  I did not want to depart my sleeping back this morning, the prospect of packing everything up and getting the canoe ready had little appeal.  I fired up the hand warmers, put on my gloves and slowly prepared for today’s journey.  It took about twice as long as usual.

My intentions today were to paddle to the Arthur City Bridge, hike up to town and purchase a few items.  I have had quite a few pleasant surprises on the journey and today I had a totally unexpected clutch surprise.

I am still on a heightened sense of alert after having my items seized on Saturday so I carefully stashed my canoe on river left about 1/2 mile before the bridge.  As I was walking towards the bridge, I saw someone underneath the bridge.  I thought this was curious since it is like 20 degrees out with the windchill.  I was thinking “Man, this guy saw me stash my boat and is waiting for me to leave and take it all!!”  I almost turned around when I heard him yell “Keith??!!!”…ah, friendly fire. Nice.  I immediately realized it was probably Dustin Holt from Arthur City.  Dustin had been attempting to reach me the past couple days…frankly it’s been too cold to spend much time following up on emails and voicemails so I was unaware he would be waiting for me at the bridge.

Dustin followed my tracker and waited for me at the bridge.  I’ve never met the guy but wanted to give him a big hug.  He suggested taking me into town for supplies and lunch.  It was so great to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a Braum’s restaurant.  Dustin is a big outdoors fan and was “wicked” kind to me.  After about an hour staying indoors, I suggested crashing on his couch.  I think he was even happier to have me over.  We had a terrific evening, I discussed my journey with him and we talked about canoeing.  He is also a cartographer and a damn good one..his maps are in Oklahoma museums.

It’s chance encounters like these that have really made the trip special.  He also insisted on keeping my canoe at his place which provided additional peace of mind.  A big thank you to Dustin!!!

It took twice the time to prepare in the cold morning

almost to Arthur City Bridge

good place to stash my boat?

Ladies and Gentlemen….”Dustin Holt!!”

Indoors means warmth