I’m sitting next to Kentucky Lock waiting for a slot to get down. Busy spot
The trip down from Pickwick was pleasant and uneventful. Lots of current on my tail. I burned 24 gallons of fuel going 160 miles.
It’s now pouring rain, and the area is due for 2-3 inches over the next 24 hours or so.
From this lock it’ll be a quick trip down the 20 miles remaining on the Tennessee, then onto the Ohio River and through one lock on the Ohio to get to Cairo, where I turn right to go up the Mississippi. Water levels are high on the Ohio but low on the Mississippi, but the rain will bring the water up as I’m traveling. It looks manageable. It’s 200 miles against the current from Cairo to Alton, without any fuel stops. I’m planning on five days from here to Alton.
Last night I stopped at Joe Wheeler State Park, and tonight I’m at Pickwick Landing State Park. Nice dinners ashore at both.
I’m now below where I came off the Tenn Tom, so this is new territory for me. There is one lock to get through tomorrow morning, then a couple of hundred miles to the last one before getting on the Ohio River.
Well, it’s all relative… I’ve been really loafing since I left Knoxville, on the assumption that I’m meeting guests in Kentucky Lake. But I’ve also been watching river levels. The Mississippi is low. That’s good. Not that I’ve been terribly concerned, but a good spring flood there could stop or hinder my ability to get to Chicago.
In consultation with Samantha and Sarah I’ve rebooked our biking and boating rendezvous to downstate Illinois, and am headed there now. Get up the Mississippi while the going is good.
So I have eight travel days to go down the Tennessee, about 360 miles, then down the Ohio about 50 miles, then about 240 miles upstream on the Mississippi to get to the bottom of the Illinois River. I’ll have to use my alarm clock to get started early each day.
Today I stayed put. I’m on the town dock in Guntersville. I picked up a few things, did an oil change and disassembled and cleaned my fuel separators. They were pretty gunked up. I hope that resolves my persistent air leak.
A friend suggested after seeing snow in my last post that I shouldn’t be in a rush to head north. But I like this weather. Today was about 20C and sunny. Any warmer and it would be uncomfortably hot 🙂
I left Knoxville Tuesday. A few hours into the trip downstream I was stopped by a law enforcement officer. He was curious about the Ontario licence number. I turned off the motor, and was drifting downstream while outside chatting with him when I went aground on a rocky bar. Not badly, but when I backed off I damaged my prop.
Today I had a short haul at a yard on the Little Tennessee River to install the spare prop and renew anodes. All good now.
In hindsight I should have called a towing service rather than trying to get myself off. But that’s not my instinct. I really need to work on that, or get a different boat.
On a related note, the charts on my Garmin are shit on this area. Navionics is better, but still showed 10 feet where I was hung up. I’ll make more of an effort to stay in the marked channel going down to Paducah.
Tonight I’m anchored just above Fort Loudon Lock. Had takeout from a local Calhoun’s restaurant. Tomorrow I’ll continue my leisurely cruise downriver. Snow and very cold is forecast for Saturday, but generally the weather has been pleasant.
I’ve been thinking about elevations and the trip to Chicago. I’m in the top pool on the Tennessee River, about 810 feet above sea level. Chicago is at about 510 feet. From here to there I descend on the Tennessee and Ohio, then go upstream on the Mississippi and the Illinois Rivers. I’m not sure I have a strong preference on going upstream vs downstream. Upstream is slower, but more engaging and interesting.
I’ve also been refining my schedule. I think that after my next set of guests depart from Kentucky Lake in early April I’ll head straight for Chicago, if conditions allow.
I haven’t been taking pictures, but will post a few of Susan’s. I like it around here.
That was pleasant. Susan joined me on Sunday afternoon in Decatur AL as planned, and we got underway immediately. I had suggested that she fly out of Knoxville, about 440 miles upstream, and she had a flight booked for Saturday, today. I realized early on that this was pretty ambitious, particularly with a head current that was up to 3 mph in spots.
We ended up arriving here Friday afternoon, with lots of time for her to get COVID tested and for us to explore Knoxville a bit.
The trip up was lovely. We had the river to ourselves most of the time, and the weather was gorgeous all week, sunny and calm, and warmer later in the week. We traveled dawn to dusk, and only stopped briefly in Guntersville and Chattenuga for provisions.
From here I’m heading down the Tennessee to meet Samantha and Sarah in Land Between the Lakes. We have a date there in three weeks, and it’s about 630 miles. It’ll be a very leisurely cruise, with time for stops and diversions.
But first I have to do some repairs. The fridge stopped working earlier this week, and I think my inverter is dying. So I’ll likely try to get that sorted before leaving here. And I have some old friends to catch up with.
Susan took a gazillion pictures, so I’ll ask for her best and post here later.
I’ve been hanging out tied up to the municipal dock in Decatur, AL. I got in here Thursday evening. Susan is flying in to nearby Huntsville airport tomorrow morning and cabbing over here to join me for a few days.
The trip up the Tenn Tom was uneventful. I was especially interested in the divide cut section. Most of the pics are of that section. That was a huge project that was completed in 1985.
The waterways have largely been empty. I met a couple of pleasure craft southbound, and occasional tows. The standard tow on the Tenn Tom is 8 barges.
I didn’t really have any expectation for the Tennessee River. It’s big, and largely empty so far. I’ve gone through two locks. The current is strong in places, up to 3 mph.
Weather has been pretty unpleasant since I got here, rainy and cold. Clearing tomorrow, and looks nice for this week. We’re heading upstream.
Hello Mississippi! I’m anchored here in the original river course next to Columbus. There is a dinghy dock nearby, and I was just ashore for dinner.
We’re 320 miles upriver from Mobile. This was about the limit of navigation on the Tombigbee before the Tenn Tom was completed in 1985. Steamers were coming here in the 19th century. Most of the travel so far has been on the original river course.
It’s been smooth sailing the last two days. Nice weather, and water levels are near normal. I stopped last night here.
I have plans to meet Susan next Sunday in Decatur, which is about 210 miles and a bunch of locks from here. Seems completely doable, although there is heavy rain forecast for the next two days. Hopefully that doesn’t cause issues with water levels.
I left Demopolis Tuesday morning and decided to detour up the Black Warrior. Tuesday night I anchored just below the Selden Dam, and arrived at Tuscaloosa just after dark on Wednesday, and spent the night at a restaurant dock.
I had a couple of meals out and put in a big load of groceries in Tuscaloosa. The weather was threatening on Thursday, and the dock was not suitable for stormy weather or higher water levels, so I left to head back downstream on Thursday afternoon.
There was a violent front coming through in the early evening, and I kept going on the river until the nasty stuff was over. Lots of rain and wind. There was a tornado warning, and a couple touched down within about 30 miles of my position. I anchored in a safe spot outside the channel about 9 pm after the front passed.
Got up this morning to find that the water level had gone up about 6 feet and there was a big tree hanging on the anchor chain. The second pic is of it floating free after I had got the anchor up.
Today I basically stayed ahead of the surge. The water levels are forecast to crest this weekend about 20 feet above today’s levels. Today I had a 2-3 mph tail current.
I’m now anchored here. Tomorrow I head north on the Tombigbee. Weather looks good for the next couple of days, and the Tombigbee isn’t flooding like the Black Warrior.
