Yesterday we posted that we were done with the Mississippi but still paddling. How can that be, you might ask. Here is what is happening.
The Miss enters the Gulf as a classic bird's foot delta: the big river splits into multiple distributaries as it flows out into the sedimentary delta it has built for itself upon reaching the Gulf. One of the current largest of these distributaries is the Atchafalaya, which has already captured the Red River and its flow. The Atch hydraulically "wants" to be the main drain for the Miss into the Gulf. And it would be if humans, starting in the 19th century, hadn't prevented nature from taking its course.
The problem with letting the river do what physics says it should is all the human infrastructure and commerce dependent on the Miss flowing to the Gulf as a navigable river. Let the Atch capture the Miss and Baton Rouge and New Orleans would be landlocked. Can't let that happen, so the Army Corps of Engineers has spent vast amounts of public dollars keeping the Atch from becoming the main course of the the Miss. All that prevents river capture from happening are a bunch of concrete "control structures" and a lock with a 15 foot drop from the Miss to the Atch. It seems inevitable that in the long (or not so long) run, the Atch will get its way and become the exit for the Miss whether we like it or not. (For a more detailed and much more literate explanation, read John McPhee's superb The Control of Nature.)
This a long winded explanation for our decision to finish our paddle to the Gulf down the Atch, the "real" exit distributary. We also chose this route because the heavy industrial areas from Baton Rouge south just aren't appealing, dealing with tows is challenging but dealing with ocean-going tankers is not our preferred option,
New Orleans isn't easily accessible to paddlers anyway, and the wild lower reaches of the Atch are supposed to be a fantastic place to visit. Many other paddlers have made the same choice and every one who did recommends the Atch as the exit of choice.
So the question remains, if we do reach the Gulf, have we paddled the Mississippi? You decide.
Amy adds: camped at Perry's Campground, river mile 46. Bobby Perry (photos below) is a true gentleman and welcomed us with open arms. Only two little dinky two-barge tows today. This river is about the size of the Mississippi River in Saint Louis, a modest big river, not a giant. Sun and mild temps today, but annoying headwind. Fabulous lunch special from the grocery/hardware/deli in Melville!
We are healthy and happy.
Good night papa, I love you.
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