Day 41: A rude awakening

At 6:20 AM, Richard awoke to some sudden sounds in the area near his tent. At first he thought that the sounds might be from a train passing through.

After all, he was camping near railroad tracks. Later he discovered that the noise was coming from logging trucks driving into the area. Not wanting to be a disruption, he decided to pack up camp immediately and get onto the river. He didn’t take time to have his usual cup of coffee or to eat a quick breakfast. The sky was cloudy - full of dark clouds. It was another cold “Patagonia” morning.

By 7:10 AM, Richard was on the river. There was a steady breeze blowing and it was so cold that morning that he paddled for the first time in his life with tennis shoes and socks on. He put his black Patagonia long sleeve sweatshirt on to stay warm. His hands froze. Not only were the temperatures cold, but the wind was also blowing, which made the cold temperature even less bearable.

He scooted down river and arrived at Haines Island/Davis Ferry. There is a small ferry there to carry cars across the river. The ferry only holds a few cars at a time, but it saves drivers from having to drive 50+ miles out of their way around the river. The route without taking the ferry would be 56 miles; the same destination using the ferry can be reached in 5 miles.

During his visit to Davis Ferry, Richard met the men who operate and maintain on the ferryboat. JC Stabler is one of the ferry operators and he works for Monroe County, AL. He works at the ferry landing from 7:00 AM until 3:20 PM each day. He stays in his automobile when there are no cars to ferry across the river and there is not any maintenance to perform on the boat. There is no county facility or building out there near the ferry landing where he can sit during the day while he is waiting for cars to ferry across the river. JC estimates that he ferries about 12-15 cars across the river each day. The ferry is operated by Monroe County, AL.

Richard’s day on the river ended at Isaac Creek campground - about 1/4 mile from Claiborne Lock & Dam. He arrived at the campground at 5:30 that evening after paddling a total of 33 miles for the day. After such a long day of paddling, he commented that he is impressed with his endurance - he can paddle 4 or 5 hours non-stop.

The campground is also owned and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The main office had informed the campground that Richard would be stopping in to visit on his way to Mobile. After arriving at the campground, Richard met the two campground host couples - “KK” (Kenneth) and Pat Kirchharr and Lawrence and Barbara Brantley. Pat and Barbara are also sisters. The hosts gave Richard the best site in the park - he is 50 or 60 feet from his kayak and he shares a boat dock with the site next to his.

While setting up camp, Richard noticed a man and his grandson down at the dock fishing - Clarence Sanders and his grandson Colton Jones were fishing down near the river. Richard had met Clarence up at Miller’s ferry a few days before and they recognized each other. Richard visited with Clarence, his wife, Marie and Colton at their camper for a while that evening.

Colton built a campfire while the three adults visited over a pot of coffee. Colton commented that the fire was going so well, that it should last all night long.

Richard stayed to visit with Clarence and his wife until well after dark and then retired for his tent for the night. He ate a packet of dehydrated Chili-Mac for dinner that was given to him by his brother-in-law, Paul. The portion was so large that Richard could not finish it in one night. He’s saving his leftovers and hopes to eat it on Friday for lunch or dinner.

Richard is planning to paddle down to Claiborne Lock & Dam early tomorrow to get a tour of the Lock and then paddle through the lock. When he arrived in camp, KK informed him that Claiborne Lock & Dam operates only during even hours of the day.