Anticipation

• I It’s like a shakedown cruise that sometimes you just anticipate that everything’s going to work out fine even though you have a question in your mind because although you may have new equipment and you practiced it at work are you practiced it at home until you actually get out there you really don’t know how well or how bad somethings will work or not work so I get excited but I also get a little trip or dishes in new gear when I’m testing it out for the first time

Today after so many setbacks and so many delays I’ve had the sun finally came out and I’ve begun to put the kayak together I managed to get the flag up in the light going in a lot of the cargo box of shit but one of the things that I didn’t get a chance to do was to really work on the electronics and so I was nervous until just now I hooked up the two solar batteries that we have that are pretty high grade I mean for what I paid for them and took them up to the hill solar panel that we have that can actually charge a car battery I was a little nervous I wasn’t sure if it would work I am so thrilled to say that sometimes equipment works better than you do ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Super What?

With the schedule being off probably for five days which I haven’t had a chance to look but I plan on re-evaluating today when I make my plans it was typical to what I always assume is going to happen what you approach the Mississippi river you make your plans you chart your course you lay out your ideas and then it soon as you get on the river you throw him overboard because it ain’t going to happen the way you think it will.

Dealing with you manatee trying to get cargo shipped dealing with buses in people and places and things and even some of the criminal element that content to slow you down but once you get on the river you’re back in your own element or least I am and then I’m able to start getting back into shape and getting back into the what I call water since you know because sometimes people don’t make no sense but want to get out in the wilderness or at least in some parts of what you could call common sense than most things work according to the weather cording to the sunshine cording to the flow of the river cording to the wind cording to the cold cording to eating and drinking in putting clothes on and taking them off you could say you getting back to the natural or the nature of things but you could also say that you just simplifying and that’s kind of what I love about being back on The river

It’s a simpler way of life I’m not concerned about who’s going to win the Super Bowl or who the president is a matter fact my priorities boil down to the simple things like taking the tarp or both tarps off of my kayak letting them dry out for the morning sun seeing if there’s a pathway to walk to Walmart or if I have to go down river a little farther to a direct road to Walmart seeing if I can find my arthritis ball that I can roll my back on so they can get rid of some of the pain that I’m feeling those are kind of what I called the simpler things in life because then you’re boiling down to just you are the only person responsible for you you deal with it you got it it’s yours baby and that’s what I mean by turtling slowing down to be able to take a look at things and see them in a different light for instance when I was drinking from my water filter today because I didn’t Have any water already filtered or any water purchased from the store because I’m still trying to get to Walmart I was looking at that blue bag you know the one with the filter on the end of it and I was thinking I was sitting around a campfire with Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone drinking from one of those you know Blatter skins you know and you have to squeeze it in order to get some water out well that’s what you do some of the filter bags you know you could just squeeze it in your mouth and drink some nice cold clean water and that coming from the Mississippi River isn’t that something you could say that we’ve come a long ways from when he used to be a dirty river oh sure it’s got a long ways to go but one of the things I appreciated being able to see it both ways not just as an outdoors adventure but as an adventure with the tow or the towboat captains the pilots.

I see them is a kind of a denture all their own it’s kind of fun to play tag with them and wave Adam and see what they’re doing moving this piece there and move in that car go there and twisting this and twisting that way I don’t think the Mississippi is the way that I’m I wanted to be while I think of it this way I want to be modern it’s fun I see both ends of the river the past the present and the future and that’s the part that I enjoy because I can still have my adventures regardless of whether it’s 100 years ago or 100 years in the future I’ll probably still be kayaking this little turkey that I got right now Moonshadow and had my own way down the river or up the river this time because that’s the way it is lotta things may change but it still boils down to the same you got to eat you got a drake you got to sleep and you got to get out of the weather.

Igloo

No I tell the story line simply because it has a lot of meaning but I also tell the story a lot because it makes a lot of sense.

People don’t realize that lotta times what they call Eskimo or Eskimo in Alaska is it an Eskimo at all but maybe in new pic or in a wet or some other tribes men that happens to be a native of the area that we call the northern hemisphere for instance do you new pic in the Inuit live in Greenland and I live in Canada and I live in Alaska Eskimo is just one of the tribes and one of the smaller tribes the most people identify with.

No I’m not going to say that tourism has ruined any native culture because even need a cultures are smart enough to figure out if there’s some dumb white person come visit they can sell something to so in Alaska we’ll figure that out pretty early on now but most people don’t realize is that Nate is in Alaska particularly those that live in the far north have a wicked sense of humor when they’re talking to someone from the far south.

My experiences in living in Alaska kind of prepared me for it simply by meeting an old timer who taught me the native ways the hard way

Now this next part I have to edit it heavily so I’m just going to tell myself that here now so that way I remember to edit this and I was talking to an old Eskimo man he told me to go out and to build an igloo which I thought was kind of weird but I said OK so I went out and start to build an igloo now typically I did what most people would do I cut blocks of ice and I put foursquare walls up and then I asked him well what do I do about the roof and he started laughing and wouldn’t answer me the matter fact a week later he was still laughing  

About a week later when you got done laughing he simply told me you wait maybe earthquake him keep over wall make igloo

Now of course anyone that knows what an igloo looks like it’s round not square that’s just a bit of a sense of humor warning you was coming instead

So this native in Alaska more likely into it or a new pic told me to build igloo I need to go inside and build a fire now of course I thought that was pretty smart because after all being in an igloo pride be pretty cold so you need to build a fire right wrong

 I went inside that igloo that I was so proud of just finish building I got myself some twigs and some branches and some soft stuff and built a tiny little fire which sounded good until I realize that I was beginning to suffocate inside and smoke was coming or something wasn’t working quite the same way that I thought I would even know most of us are practiced a building little tiny fires that shouldn’t consume so much oxygen or are we

When I had built my fire maybe I exaggerated it might’ve been a little bigger than what most people figure that would work inside an eagle so when Smoth Bill DeRego and ran me out of the glue that native started laughing so hard it took them another week to quit laughing

After he got done laughing he went inside then he came back out and he said igloo ready and I said hung he said igloo ready and I said what he said igloo ready so I went inside to see what he meant 

Now there is odd as it may seem set in the igloo a candle now it may not of been your typical candle and I may not of been a candle wax like you used to see in but it seem to be working just fine even though it smelled a little funny but it was a candle nonetheless and as I looked at it I could see that it was kind of heat in the walls of the igloo and filling the gap‘s and actually just be in one candle it’s seem to warm the place u

You see one of the things you learn in the far north if you go far enough north is when you want to build a fire and you start looking around for trees day to be found so guess what you might need a candle instead and being that there’s will love her lots of blubber and lots of fat and not the whale material laying around do you want to figure out for yourself that maybe the NATO’s got a handle on it better than we do in some cases in survival because really the point of the whole story wasn’t so much about having the candles in a tent like I do which I still use little tiny tea candles to kind of light things up and warm things up and do things without burning my tent down but rather it taught me that whatever you have a new used to using use it if you don’t then you’re liable to freeze but for me the whole point of the story was to remind you that hey just because you don’t use a candle in a tent doesn’t mean I don’t I know what I can do with a candle and while I may not put a candle in the window I’ll definitely have a candle in my tent because one thing I learned from the igloo is that one candle can raise the temperature 1°

Bare neccssities

No I’m not one to turn down the fire but most of the times when I get ready to build a fire I have fire starter or charcoal starter simply because I’m not one of those outdoors type people that likes to take that much time to sit around trying to get a fire going I want to get that fire collected or lease the wood put inside the pit and the fire started so if you’re expecting me to talk about some type of environmentally safe or some type of protected way of using renewable resources that’s not me and I want to fire I build a fire and get warm.

Having said all that I knew that I wouldn’t have a fire where I’m located because I was too close to probably being on till company property and not sure how they would react to me building fires so the first few days I knew were going to be cold camps. Paragraph one of the things that I enjoy about being out camping not saying that I’m doing anything typical of what other people might do is the fact that I didn’t have water in order to start I had some water but I do use that up at the Greyhound bus station and not knowing when the gear was going to come in I got cut short so one of the ways that I collect water from the Mississippi River is a use my paddle ahead and take it off slide my camp coffee pot over the paddle head Paul then put the pedal head back on and use the pool itself to reach from the shoreline out into the water or the surf whichever maybe depending upon the activity level of the river.

Now I don’t know that this sounds like much to most people who are kind of out duration they would’ve use their rubber seal like I have my rubbers that word drying overnight but the fact that you think of it in that you do it simply means that you’re prepared for any eventuality that you might come up for instants being at the river might be too cold to stick your feet in or that it might be freezing cold and you don’t want to get wet so it’s not something that is a mandatory but it’s just a mindset that reminds you that you can improvise and that you do it provides when you don’t want to get wet or that you just want to collect some water in order to use it for your water filter or boiling water or however you want to do it without necessarily going out into the water.

I call this Baron assess Ites because last night there was no way anyone would stick their feet inside that water it was so freezing cold outside of the water and just as cold inside the water that it should’ve been nice my opinion.

Now today with the humidity coming up and I can feel the warmth it’s actually colder inside the tent then it is outside the tent and the breeze is coming up feels pretty much warm but you can’t trust your feelings when it comes to weather because a lot of times you’re giving up your core body heat without realizing that it may seem warm but it could in fact be deriving you of necessaryheat.

 Not a big deal when you have all your camping gear or you spent some money on camping gear you got it all collected in one spot but as this I said I am not typical but someone who improvises at times and often times is missing some piece of gear that I’m looking for and so being able to adapt is one of the most necessary things I would say to be on the river in earlier today imagine that some of the aches and pains that I thought might be a cracked rib or a bruised rib or something might be gone well as it turns out I have a feeling it is still there.

Not a big deal when you consider that I survive so many things of worsening nature but it’s just an inconvenience for you have to treat it with respect and any type of injury that you have when you have a long distance to go you have to respect it and try to heal it as much as possible without spending too much time on it and then MoveOn same thing with my back I could tell that my back is pretty much stressed in one spot painful but not necessarily going out if I just take the time to roll around on the tennis ball that I brought hopefully that does it for the old timer in the camp on the Mississippi river. 

Super Bowl Sunday

Last night went pretty good mostly a lot of hard wind followed by a great calm then some heavy dense fog which was followed by hours of pouring soaking rain.

Fortunately I recognize the fog as dewpoint and knew that things inside the tent would probably get soaked if it stayed that way so I threw some covers over just to demo my five protocol or my mom do. And protocol and sure enough anything that’s under a cover still get somewhat wet so everything has to go back into vacuum bags.

Relatively speaking it has warmed up considerably it was very very cold it said in the 40s but with that type of wind I believe it was a lot colder than that not freezing but you could blow some pretty heavy frost even with that I was still for the most part warm maybe not real warm but warm enough then last night went to started to warm up the soup they did phenomenal with the blanket cover over it but I do need a ground cover obviously because Jail came up through could tell the ground.

Lots of aches and pains throughout the night lots of cramping but that was to be expected with no sleep previously and with really not eating the previous few days so early I’m finding things and using them last night I found some Percogesic in that help me not only to sleep but to relax some of the muscles that I’ve been pretty much abused but I don’t think that I’m hurting too bad some of the chest pains that I thought might be a cracked rib or strained muscle or pulled muscle seem to be better today legs are definitely some weight loss and strained and stretched to the max boy they’re sore but that’s what happens when you’re out of shape and you begin to push it too hard today I am mainly trying to take it easy and will not be able to watch the Super Bowl there’s no Wi-Fi and there’s no reception for that and then . 

Then trying to get to Walmart and possibly find the pan I wasn’t planning on dictating this morning but I couldn’t find a pen easily so it’s easier just to dictate this one and then get back to maybe some writing which would be easier to keep track of also DM year is all out of bag so now I can get it organized into the right bags and then get it loaded onto the kayak hopefully today things look good for a camp move but I think I have to wait till Monday in order to do that any little wind and any little rain will definitely be too hard for this tent to be pitched.

Until I can figure out if it’s going to be warm enough I’m going to have to pitch the little tent inside the big 10 which that might help with dewpoint I doubt it but I’m hoping that a double vapor barrier of some type work and that this will alleviate any dewpoint or rain issues that I might have with electronics so I’m planning on putting as I said the little kayak 10 that’s what one man backpack tent inside of the large oh 12 layered 16 x 14 tent to them also produce some better heat retention and warmth for the sleeping bag today is 4 AM approximate wake up I think 430 didn’t set the alarm but I just woke up headache sin sinuses are definitely issues I need to buy some sinus medicine and some Motrin so hopefully today will get a handle on getting started I think Monday

Cold start

This is a mess but it’s not the only messed that there is but it’s the mess that’s inside my tent that’s currently sitting just across from the Baton Rouge Riverside just down a little bit across the bridge south right side river and basically right next to the I can’t remember the canal or which one what it’s called but also this is my chance to just go ahead and dictate freely without thinking about her looking at how it’s being edited because I don’t have time and it’s freezing cold and the kids I’m gonna have to just bundle up and survive the night but basically it started with three days stuck in a Greyhound bus station in those three days were miserable in someways for the most part it was just because of constantly looking to see if the packages will arrive but then the very last night that I was to stay there I wellI wound up typed out on the street due to a miscommunication between a supervisor and the security guard so I wound up being introduced to Baton Rouge in the street life now not many people are used to that and they might’ve done something different but I didn’t have enough finances in order to get a motel room so I spent the night as a street person and basically I walked down to the Mississippi River I looked at the Baton Rouge sign said a prayer turned around and started walking back oh did I forget to mention it on my way down to the Mississippi River I had a couple people tell me they were going to F me up you know no they’re just looking for someone to F up and they were walking down head my way so I just turned a couple streets over wide or different way and I also spent part of the nights in porches in doorways in hiding out in parking lots in choosing to try to find someplace to get out of the rain to getBecause one of the things that happened was I was not allowed to get in my gear and I didn’t have all my gear so I had just the clothes on my back like mostly people and it makes you appreciate a lot more some of the things that people go through now I’ve pretty much understood what it’s like because I’ve been poor advertise my life not exactly homeless but about as close as you can get a lift in my car is a hippie so part of me from those days is transferred to kayaking now now unfortunately finally on the third day a guy that I was talking to try to hustle man we almost got into an altercation because he tried to rip me off for cab fare and then rip me off for supposedly helping me so it was a tough day the day I finally got my kayak last bag and that I hadn’t slept that night because I had been out in walking around the city trying to survive then I spent most of the day trying to wait to seeTo see if my gear would come in then I had to try to get everything loaded fast because of the only sunshine I was going to be for the next three days then I had to get across the river and I found out quickly that after three days in a Greyhound bus station and not being in shape I was a ready to paddle across the river oh I stood up and paddle but it about white me out then I said down and try to paddle in it about white me out that effect I would just flat out wiped out which is why the tent like the way you did it took me three hours to try to lift the Ted up and put it together a large cat in the wind before I finally just started tying it off and doing things that you would normally do to attend and I finally got it up such as it is then it took me over an hour and a half to get the rain tarp on it because this chat doesn’t handle it doesn’t have a roof so it needs it rain tarp then we’reThen a barge where I’m located parked right next to me which I think he did it to be helpful because it blocked any water coming in or Waze coming in from Mississippi River now I was already pretty far up the shoreline and I pretty much beach did and then I had tied it off and was OK but then today I finally started going back to it after sleeping at night no actually I didn’t sleep a night that was today they I’m getting ready to sleep tonight oh well that’s interesting no that was yesterday OK so I did sleep at night here and woke up cold because even though my 40° bag was warmer than walking around the street to Baton Rouge it was cold because the wind was blowing and it seem to blow through just about everywhere you can imagine for the summer tan today when I woke up I started loading the kayak and reloadingReloading things out of the shipment containers of putting them in their proper place on the boat they want to get the boat pretty much salt and situated I would ahead and covered it with tarps we could is pouring down rain and had it ready to go so that I can make it to maybe Walmart tomorrow which is not too far walk but I have to hike Overhill Overdale to get there so it’s been interesting it’s been challenging it’s been frustrating on a little minor things like a shoe here missing or of oddball thing they’re missing but for the most part everything is been adapting very well my frog togs work to very well the poncho and my windbreaker was there such a deal but other things were unbelievably well you know that we’re water ready or were designed and I bought them specifically to be used for rain and unfortunately it’s just so cold that right now I’m blowing frost in the 10 and I think what I’ll do is The next campsite I’ll go ahead and put the little pup tent I have this just a long narrow one and small inside the big tent and then I’ll sleep inside their word hopefully it’ll keep me warmer than this which is blowing wind everywhere cause a little tent is airtight so that’ll be better already know that one will work you don’t and if I had to if I was out in beach or somewhere someplace I didn’t sit at the big tent the little one covered with a tarp also and it’s fine it can be used on top of the kayak so that’s coming next me while it’s messy in here but hopefully tonight I’ll get some good sleep I finally found my potassium pills and my vitamins and I don’t really have much food but I had brought just a little survival food just in case and Shernoff I’m starving starving and scarfing it you know to get by until hopefully tomorrow if not tomorrow then Monday to make it to Walmart Monday they say they’re supposed to be sunshine I have no wifeMy biggest concerns and recording this was just to make sure that I get down to pelican State we’re here the channel that was here the sandbar some people visiting in middle the night I think you don’t wanna four wheeler the birds that were so loud that we’re just chirping unbelievably thousands of them sitting in this empty tree on the E2 eagles I saw when I first landed they were ball but they were going to probably females see what else so that I keep track of everything oh and a little ranch that I found before I launched over Baton Rouge there are also two fishermen three fishermen that left when I was launching I got a chance to weigh that some people at the Baton Rouge sign and then I cut across and I dodged two barges on my way across and I think that about covers everything the kayak is looking good and everything seems to be organized very and the journal entry should get better after this and the journal entry should get better after this one 

Louisiana Loop.... on pause

It isn’t as if the trip hasn’t begun, it’s just on pause before the water portion begins....,

There is a whole subculture to observing flora and fauna in Grehound Bus Station that given the amount of time spent, reveals a lot about the human condition as a species.

If you have been there between 12 and 24 hours more than once then you know what I mean.