Polar Vortex in Full Blast/John Durst & Mayfield

“I really can’t stay, but baby it’s cold outside. I’ve got to go away, but baby it’s cold outside.”-Dean Martin

Thursday, November 13th

It was so nice to sleep in a nice warm environment last night.  I stepped onto Dustin’s front porch this morning and thought “today is not really ideal canoeing conditions.”  No, it was raw, windy, cold and downright nasty.  Sleet fell last night (briefly) and it may snow on Sunday.  I soldiered on.

Dustin and I went to Hugo, OK for a little breakfast before departing.  He drove me down to the Arthur City bridge and I prepared for my launch.  Quite frankly, I wanted to go back to his house and stay warm but the show must go on.  Dustin helped with organizing my gear and I packed up the boat and headed up The Red.

Canoeing started out well, I had a nice stretch of deeper water for about 2 hours.  The rest of the day was quite difficult.  I was constantly dragging my boat, hoping in and out of it seeking the strongest, deepest current.  Today I really questioned the wisdom of paddling upstream on the Red, it’s one thing to deal with a strong current but add in shallow water and it’s really tough-especially in these conditions, it was probably 20 with the windchill.  My next major destination is the Bonham Bridge…that now seems like a lifetime away given my slow progress.

In times like these, I simply give myself a pep talk and reinforce the motto “Shut up, stop crying, and paddle.”  I did and I strangely found the day enjoyable.  I eventually found a nice sandbar and quickly established camp. As I was going to bed, Andy Bugh called me.  Andy paddled from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico in 2011, he was very encouraging and I felt inspired after our conversation.  Of course, he also let me know that I am in the middle of a braided section and that I should expect to drag my boat all day tomorrow..oh and yes, it will snow on Sunday.  Thank you Andy!!!

Leaving Dustin’s. “Do I have to go to school today?”

The drive to the launch point

School Time

It’s cold…but cool

…and pretty

Friday, November 14th

Andy was right.  I drug my boat all day today.  My pep talks with myself weren’t as successful, it was definitely a drain today. I simply couldn’t get into any sort of paddling rhythm…I would maybe paddle 200 yards, then hop out and drag the boat.  I repeated this process all day.

Bonham might as well be a million miles away…by the end of the day I wouldn’t even look at my GPS.  I simply told myself “You just do what you can, and what the river allows”….somewhere Sakakawea is enjoying my struggles.

I will say there is a peaceful quiet on The Red.  Of course, I saw no one today, this river is essentially a civilization barrier.  Not many homes, no boats, just me, sandbars, and nature.  At times, I will simply stop and take it all in…until the frostbite kicks in.  I ended my day after I hit a sandbar around 4:00, I said “No mas, I am setting up camp.”  I was done dragging The Helinda up the Red.

This has been my life the past two days.

Hey, but I’m smiling. A big thanks to Howard for the shades.

It may look deep…but it’s not.

I wonder if the tree is cold.

That’s it, I’m camping.

tough to paddle in this

Saturday, November 15

Good news.  I was able to pretty much paddle all day.  Bad news. The current was stronger and it was colder.

Today the water was significantly better than the previous two days, I was able to paddle pretty much all day…although the wind and the current proved challenging.  I actually saw two individuals on river left around noon today.  I saw them in the distance and thought they may have hot chocolate, a warm adult beverage or a nice meal for me.  This was not the case.  I was about 100-150 yards from them when they noticed me, one of the individuals looked at me through his binoculars then gave the binocs to his buddy.  They both scurried up the banks.  They were gone by the time I reached where they were.  I’m sure they must of thought I was a Game Warden (who are typically  found on the coldest day of the year in a pink canoe paddling upstream).

I also observed that most of the sandbars now have weeds growing on them.  This fact dawned on me as dusk approached….I pretty much had not even thought of there being any difficulty finding a camping spot…I played it safe and found a patch of sand on a weed infested island right before dark.  I setup camp, boiled enough water for hot chocolate, oatmeal and was thrilled to change into dry socks.  The cold is wearing on me.  Hey, I am getting closer though…Texoma is almost within sight…perhaps next week.

the river

I’ve seen better days

break time

gloomy,cold day

weed island…i.e. home

Sunday, November 16th

Today will stand out when I reflect on my journey.  It was another windy, bitterly cold afternoon.  I spent all day fighting a strong northerly wind.  At one point, I wasn’t sure if I could make it around a particular bend…the current and winds were as difficult as I’ve experienced to date.

I really fought it today, I hoped to reach Bonham but there was no chance given the conditions.  After about 6 hours fighting it, dealing with the cold, and a particularly difficult stretch, I finally reached a southerly stretch of The Red.  As I was paddling I saw a few homes on river left (Texas).  They were set back about 200 yards from the river, one was a quaint cabin with neatly stacked firewood and another was a really nice home under construction.  I knew snow was coming in the evening, I was tired, cold and hungry.  I decided to ask for help.

I pulled my boat into the weeds in front of the homes, walked to the cabin and knocked on the door.  I wasn’t sure how to ask “Hey, I’m a paddler and I desperately want warmth and a hot meal, can you hook me up?”.  Given my appearance and scent I would be skeptical of me.  Anyway, I knocked on the door, no answer.  Dang.  I walked to the home under construction and simply hung out for a minute to shelter my worn out body from the wind.  No one appeared to be around…I actually considered setting up my tent behind the house although just as I was contemplating my next move (i.e. getting back in my boat and paddling on) a car drove up.  Enter John Durst.  John works with the owner of all the properties and was checking on the house.  He initially thought I was one of the workers but quickly realized I was probably a homeless dude.

I explained my situation to John and he read between the lines and suggested I stay at his house down the road.  I quickly agreed.  The owner of the property, Mayfield, was out of town and wouldn’t return until later in the evening.  I enjoyed the evening with John, we went back to his house and I was able to watch the Patriots game.  Given the weather and the past couple of days, this was simply heaven.  Oh, and the Pats dominated the Colts.  A big thank you to Mayfield and John.

another cold day!!

would you want me at your doorstep asking for help?

islands are less sandy

Old Bridge, around the corner was a very difficult northerly stretch

John and I at Mayfield’s