Humid, humid, humid.  Temperatures in the low nineties with heat indices in the low 100s.  IN THE SHADE.  Sitting all day outside in the sun is a bit rough.  I find myself getting sleepier than normal, and wanting to nod off for 5 minute naps all the time.  I try to pull out of the channel before I do.  I drink water from my camelbak all day long, and enjoy my fresh fruit all the more for the electrolytes they provide.  I dip my elbows in the water to try and keep my long-sleeve-wearing arms cool.  I dip my face protection wear in the water to keep my face and neck cool.  I breathe deep and try to lift myself off my seat to give my poor aching butt a break.  I am still not thankful, though, when big boats zoom past and swamp me because the water that cools me for a second, ends up hot and gross in my seat / pants for the rest of the day.  

Paddling in the heat, on a Saturday near a big city is not my favorite thing to do.  The river was crazy with drunk boaters everywhere.  So I opted to paddle through the bird refuge above lock #8 rather than staying in the channel, in an effort to avoid some of the traffic.  It was beautiful, and I'm glad I did it.  It was much less populated with recreational boaters, and I really enjoyed all the bird life.  However, on the way out, I got lured out into a channel that didn't actually exist.  That is, I saw a red nun buoy, and headed for it, but it was an errant floating nun, one that got loose from somewhere else.  So I was stuck in a mad mess of a wild celery and algae patch.  I had to paddle really hard to push my way through, each paddle lifting a heavy load of plant matter.  I headed for the lock, but it still took me 3 hours to reach it from the time I saw it across the pool.  A barge was locking through and another barge was waiting to lock through.  I sat behind the 2nd barge, watching a bald eagle and some crows.  The eagle was uncharacteristically standing in the water--probably to cool its feet--and taking sips of water every so often too.  I usually see them up high in trees, it was strange to see it panting in the river.  I feel you, little feathered friend, it's hot out here.

I realized I could  paddle around and see if I could maybe lock through between the barges, and guess who I saw?  Jake and Julie!  They had arrived a couple hours before and were told they couldn't lock through until the barges went through, so they went into the teeny town of Genoa and befriended some folks from a motor boat from Lansing; Kathy, Dave, Amy, and Ben.  Jake is one of those people who is unabashed and friendly with everyone.  He'll give anything to anyone, and expects the same of others, making him (a self-professed) scavenger.  By the time I showed up, Ben had literally given him the shirt off his back, and the others had filled J & J's cooler with ice, beer, and even a venison sausage that Dave had shot.  We locked through with this generous party crowd, and, as it was past sunset by the time we locked through, they towed us a couple hundred yards to the nearest beach below the lock.  They helped us set up camp, get a fire going, and I had some endearing one-on-one girl time with Kathy who kept asking me about my trip and then telling me about her family (who she clearly is very proud of).  She suggested I not date anyone longer than 2 years, and insisted that I keep her bug spray.  I accepted both the advice and the spray.  

When they left, J & J and I enjoyed a marginal dinner around the fire, super tired from our long, hot day.  I took some photos of the power plant across the way, but was surprised at the huge mosquitos and didn't end up taking a photo of the incredibly clear and starry sky.  

Kathy started me off by stopping at the Wenonah Canoe/Current Designs kayak warehouse to buy a foam pad for my seat (and aching butt).  Success.  The day was hot and I was glad to have my face protection. Part of the day I was able to use my umbrella as a sail.  I paddled until I was tired, a good 16 miles below Winona.  It wasn’t yet dark, and I enjoyed shooting photos of the plants that grow at the edge of the river.  

That night at 2:15am, a wind storm blew through, knocking my tent over on me.  I got out, tried to weight down the stakes better, but it pulled the stakes out and blew over again.  The third time, I put all my water bottles on the stakes and it stayed up, but the tent poles flattened and creaked.  I called my friend Ben in California, knowing he’d still be awake to look at the weather forecast for me since I didn’t have any 4G coverage.  “5 mile an hour winds,” he said.  Nope, I knew that was incorrect.  I guessed it was at least 20 mile an hour winds, gusting up to 30.  Eventually he found a Doppler radar showing a storm heading over me.  I hung up and waited out the storm which only ever sprinkled, but howled with wind over me until after 4:30am.  Sure enough, in the morning, I listened to my VHF weather radio, and heard of measured gusts a little south of me of 26 miles per hour.  Luckily, the only thing worse for wear was the bag that holds my tent poles which had blown into the nearby pond, but I was able to retrieve it and rinse it out. 

My hosts, Chris and Kathy, were marvelous people.  Generous, excited to hear my stories, asking great questions, very engaged with me but also understanding of me needing space to rest and do some internet work.  First thing Chris said to me as I pulled in last night was, “have you missed a good Kentucky accent?”  (his being thick indeed).  It WAS nice to hear. When I arrived, Kathy had made some delicious tabouli salad with mint in addition to cilantro (mmmm), and some ratatoulli to die for.  In the morning, she asked if there was anything I’d been craving living on the water.  And, well, since she asked…I ventured, “Pad se ew? It’s a thai dish, I’ve been craving it for weeks.”  While Winona doesn’t have great options for restaurants, Kathy is an avid cook, and was more than willing to try a new recipe.  

We mostly relaxed around the house and I took a four hour nap on the poofy heaven bed (these 30+ mile days really wear me out).  So, I didn’t get as much blogging done as I had hoped, but I had a great day of rest.  Later, we went for a drive to pick up some stamps and post cards, talk to the folks at the MN Fish and Wildlife, and Big River magazine. The Fish and Wildlife office ladies took great interest in my journey and gave me a ‘hoo rag,’ a tube of fabric that I could use to protect my face from the sun.  I was so excited about it (given my terrible sun burn the other day) that they gave me two for good measure. That evening, we ate the pad se ew, and it was SO GOOD.  I’m not sure it quenched my craving, though.  I just want it more now J.  The three of us took a drive up to the top of the bluff for a beautiful sunset view, where we met some of their friends and snapped some photos before heading home to some ice cream and homemade strawberry drizzle.

The following morning, I had to take care of some pressing matters back home involving a printer, scanner—and I was very glad to be in a place that had both!  I was interviewed by some folks from the Winona Daily News, and by the time I had finished all my work, it was after noon, and I didn’t think I could reasonably get to the next waypoint in what was left of the day.  Kathy welcomed me to stay another night (THANK YOU), so we had time to drive to see the Latsch Island community. 

Latsch Island and the adjacent Wolf Spider Island has 100 house boats moored to the edge of the island.  You can access them by foot from Latsch Island.  Some have electricity, many don’t.  Some are lived in year-round, some aren’t.  Those that do live there full time have to tote their water, fuel, groceries, etc by foot or by boat to their home.  In the winter, you can drive on the ice to replenish what you need, but the rest of the year, you still have to contend with flooding and other issues that make access difficult.  As someone who is obsessed with tiny houses they were really cool for me to see.  I wish I could have gone inside more of them!  I took another (shorter) nap, before we enjoyed a meal at the local golf club restaurant.  

I paddled 18 miles, from 8 miles below Prescott to another sandy bar a few miles below Red Wing. The thunderstorms wailed through camp last night, strobing almost continuously, making sleep fitful.  I did get dripped on a few times from the apex of my tent, where a bunch of seams come together (I need to re-seam seal that), but the re-waterproofing job I did on the rain fly did a great job and kept things pretty dry.  Sand, on the other hand…the rain drops down and sand flies up.  Sand is everywhere.  I wish I had a dust-buster to de-sand my tent.  As things dried, I helped myself to some fresh wild grapes. 

My phone wasn't working yesterday, and I hoped it was just my charging cord that was faulty.  When I pulled into Redwing, I was looking forward to using the municipal dock, but when I got there, it was festooned with "don't dock here this weekend" posters.  Since I had already passed the marina, and wasn't interested in paddling upstream, I made do by pulling over to the riprap, and precariously exiting my boat on the steep rock boulders, and locking it to a boulder that I could put my lock cable around.  A man from Texas who was in Redwing for work greeted me as I unloaded.  He was jovial and aghast at my journey.  Super nice guy, who wished me well.  I pulled my empty waterbottles, my backpack with all my technology, my trash, and a bag for groceries ashore.  I found that the lobby of the St. James hotel had wifi, and was able to do some work, fill my water bottles, dispose of my teeny bag of trash.  I shyly approached the woman at the desk, explaining my situation and wondering if she happened to have a micro-USB cable to try and charge my phone to see if the problem was just the cord.  More than willing to oblige, she offered me a cord, and we sat and chatted as I waited to see if my phone would charge.  She confirmed that Redwing was an artsy little town and told me about some of the art festivals they have there.  My phone didn't seem to be charging, so I gave up my goal to replace the cord while in town, and went instead in search of fresh fruit and veggies.  I'd deal with my phone some other way, some other day.  I found some chilled grapes--much cooler, meaty and less seedy than their wild cousins this morning.  But also less flavorful. 

I had a tip to stop at the Harbor Bar across the channel in Redwing, as they're friendly to paddlers, but it seemed pretty rowdy and I was looking forward to another quiet evening.  I found a little spit of sand, and set up camp just in time to snap some nice photos of the setting sun. Even on islands like this, where things look pristine, I still find bottle caps, single-use tooth floss things, gloves, etc. 

I felt like there was a tickle in my throat, like I was trying to get sick, so I just took it easy today.  I slept until 1pm, so I decided the whole day was just for rest.  My friends back home decided I needed to participate in GISHWHES (the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen) even though I live on a river in a tent from a kayak. So, I spent some of the day collecting plastic trash on my little beach, and recreating (sort of) an image by astronaut Chris Hadfield, tweeting it to him, and also recreating an optical illusion in sand.  In the afternoon, I was interviewed by Katie McKy for Canoe and Kayak magazine.  She had solo paddled the Mississippi 30 years ago, and made it most of the way to New Orleans.  She suggested not stopping in any of the Illinois towns, and reminded me to be careful of the wing dams as the river gets bigger.  She said 39% of the river’s volume comes from the Ohio River, so my speed should be faster after I reach the confluence with the Ohio.  It was great talking with her, and she very encouragingly said I was doing great.

The following morning, I packed everything up, and headed into town to do some blogging. Prescott has a public dock, so I used my lock and headed into town to get some water and find some wifi.  Prescott is a very small place, and I was worried I wouldn’t find what I needed.  I first went to what I thought was a hotel, but it was an apartment building.  “WELCOME” read a big stone out front.  But the doors were locked to anyone who didn’t live there.  Ironic, I thought.  As I walked down the main street, I followed a sign for coffee (usually coffee=wifi) and was in luck!  The Twisted Oak was a great little spot for me.  I indulged in a strawberry smoothie and sat to work on their cozy couch. I stayed until closing, and finished what I was working on outside the coffee shop (yay, their wifi still worked), found some water, and headed back out.  I had only meant to stay 4 hours, but I stayed nearly 7…so the sun was setting, and I only managed to paddle a total of 4 miles today.  But I shot the photo at the top of this post, which made everything worth it.

When I woke up, my sleeping bag was cozy.  My body heat dried it out over night! Today’s the first day I’ve taken a rest day without wifi, without people around.  I like it.  I had thought I’d go find wifi today, but the allure of not packing anything, and staying put and REALLY RESTING won.  I spent the morning gathering plastic trash and sparkler sticks from the beach around me. It’s been windy all day, and sunny.  Nice to look out at the river and not think, “I should be out there, making use of the flow,” but “look how pretty.  And I don’t even have to pack up my tent.”  I spent some time looking at the map, realizing I am only 25 miles from Minneapolis.  I made some plans to meet up with Alyce Louise, a woman who paddled down the Mississippi with a group last fall, tomorrow night, and to paddle from Coon Rapids Dam with her and Jon Clark (my 1st cousin once removed) on Friday, and then have dinner (THAI !!!!  I’ve been craving pad see ew) with them and some other paddlers in the area.  

There are goldfinches and monarch butterflies alighting and flitting down the edge of the water. I dug out all my food to see what I could reasonably eat for lunch, and was stoked to find one last dehydrated mashed potato packet.  I added some dehydrated leeks, mushrooms and carrots, water, and Ta-Da!  I real-ish meal. Better than the jellybeans and honey I thought I’d have to eat. For dinner, I had jellybeans and oatmeal. And chocolate.  I really don’t have much food left.

The questions that are on everyone’s mind and only the bold (or very close friends) ask.  I’ll do my best to answer the questions without getting too graphic.  I’m a pretty open book, so ask away. 

…Shave?

I don’t. Not when I’m on extended travel like this. When I have access to a shower, I pay extra attention to washing my hair, in all places, to make sure it doesn’t harbor ticks/mud/bacteria/smells.

…Shower?

In a month I’ve had 4 showers.  In between, I haven’t really seen people, so the consideration is more about basic hygiene than appearances.  To that end, every night I give myself a sponge bath with wet wipes.  WET WIPES ARE MY FRIEND. 

…Use the bathroom?

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has designated river-access campsites all along the Mississippi River. Until recently, I have stayed in those campsites almost every night, and luckily they’re furnished with either an outhouse or a latrine (composting toilet in the middle of the woods, but no structure protecting it).  I usually have to furnish my own toilet paper. On the few nights where I’m in a campsite with road access, or—even better!—a river angel’s house, I get to use a real, flushing toilet and don’t have to worry about mosquitos biting my bum! Occasionally (more, recently), I camp in spots that are not designated as a campsite, and in these places, I go far from camp, dig a hole, do my business, and cover it up, with rocks if possible, to keep animals from digging it up. I usually hold everything in all day while I’m in the kayak.  I’ve noticed all the male paddlers have a pee bottle in their boat and in their tent.  Seems like that’d be really nice plumbing to have in this sort of scenario.  I heard of one female paddler who uses one of those pee-bottle things for women, but I haven’t had the chance to ask her more about how she likes it. 

…Deal with your menstrual cycle?

Some people suggest taking birth control pills straight through (without allowing a cycle during the sugar pills).  I have endometriosis, so I’m supposed to do that anyway, but unfortunately (for convenience-sake), my body goes ahead and cycles like normal despite hormonal control.

So.  Because this is relevant to my mission of reducing plastic and waste in general, I’m more than happy to talk about this.  At home and on the kayak, I use a menstrual cup and fabric pads.  There are lots of different menstrual cups out there, and lots of different fabric pads, but these are the ones I use, along with what I like about them:

Diva cup, available in many pharmacies and some groceries. 

• Not spending money on tampons every month
• HUGE sigh of relief when I think about all the waste I am not producing any more, and the positive environmental impacts of using this little silicone thing (No more: pesticides for the cotton, fresh water for the cotton, bleach in the cotton, bleach in the cardboard & paper, petrol used for growing/harvesting the cotton, petrol used for transport of tampons to the store shelf, not to mention sitting in a landfill for eons.)
• Whereas I used to have to change my tampon several times/day, I can usually go the whole day without changing the diva cup (huge benefit on the kayak)
• I am comfortable (and it is sanitary) peeing or pooing with it in, too, which I could never do with a tampon.  
• After just a few times getting the hang of it, it feels more comfortable than a tampon did.  (Think about it:  a cup surrounding your cervix instead of a big hunk of cotton jamming up against it!)
• Again, after you get the hang of it, it doesn’t leak (!).  (Trick: twist it in a circle after inserting to make sure it opens fully).  (Some people don’t find this to be true).
• I can measure my flow to see if I’m having a normal/abnormal period, since there are measuring lines on the cup (I’ve never actually had to do this…but it’s sorta interesting).
• I noticed my flow go from 7 days (5 heavy) down to 5 days (3 heavy), and I’ve heard lots of my friend say their flow has diminished too.  My theory is that the cup just catches what comes out, whereas tampons ‘pull’ more out than necessary.  Not sure how scientific that is.  
• Pretty easy care: I boil mine before the start of each period, and simply rinse out whenever I take it out during my period (wet wipes while I’m camping).
• I hope you don’t think this is really weird.  Or even if you do, I’d recommend giving one a try.  Or buying one for your sister/girlfriend/wife if you’re a guy. 
  

Menstrual pads made by hand, sold on etsy. 

• More comfortable than plastic pads
• I don’t have to pay for plastic pads every month
• I am not adding to the landfill every month
• Easy laundering
• You can get various thicknesses to match your flow
• Handy snap means no more adhesive grossness on your panties
  
• Because of the diva cup, I rarely need pads anymore, but they’re good for backup/spotting. 
  

…Maintain a relationship?

It was very important to me to have the support of my boyfriend, and I didn’t begin planning this trip until I knew he was on board for a stint of long-distance-relationship.  He and I talk almost every night, excepting when I don’t have coverage or I get into camp after he’s already gone to sleep.  So far, so good.  (and he’s coming to visit this weekend! Yay!)

The morning was gorgeous, and I only had 16 miles to paddle.  I started listening to Huckleberry Finn, and even though I had read it as a kid, I hadn’t remembered much of it.  I was rather shocked by the fact that every slave is referred to as the N word, throughout the book.  I mean, I know it reflects a time and place, and that the racism in the book is used on purpose by Mark Twain to point out the rubbish people, but still.  Shocking. 

I kept my eyes peeled for the landing to meet Jim Lewis, and was glad I was coordinating my Google maps location on my phone with the paper map.  The landing was hidden behind a swath of reeds, and I only knew it was actually the landing because “Trommald Landing” was painted above the stormwater drain. I pulled in, texted Jim my GPS coordinates and waited in my tent a couple hours as he drove to pick me up.  Jim had already hiked 24 miles today, so to come pick me up after that was really generous.  I thanked him profusely. We loaded up my boat, Jim remarking, “My, that IS a lot of water you’ve taken on!” and headed to his house.  

We stopped on the way in Aitkin, snagging a quick bar meal, and sharing some past adventure stories.  We also stopped at the Lutheran church where his wife, Sharron, is Pastor, to turn out all the lights and lock up.  I enjoyed seeing the space that fills Jim and Sharron’s life with light--it seems like a strong community, doing a lot of good.  Their home was spacious and comfortable—I briefly met Sharron (Jim said, “this is my new best friend, Alyssum!”  Sharron said, “He always has new best friends.”), took a shower and headed to bed.  I realized that a shower in a house is more effective than a shower in a campsite—there was still a bit of toenail polish on my big toes under all the mud that had been caked on for so long! 

I spent the first half of the day editing videos, using the electricity under the campsite's picnic table pavilion. Around 2:30, a man walked up from the river looking triumphant.  He introduced himself as Levi, a solo canoer who is "flying under the radar" because he's not on Facebook.  He set up camp, and later we walked into town together.  We sat at the bar (water for me, $2.50 vodka/cranberries for him), then walked across the street to the restaurant where you can bring your own liquor.  Behind the bar, they keep locals' liquor bottles with their names written in sharpie.  Aw, small towns.  :)

Levi and I enjoyed a yummy, deep fried meal, and some good conversation.  He made a copper wire ring for his girlfriend and decided to propose to her tomorrow when she visits.  It was great talking with another solo paddler.  He said the Buddies Not Bullies folks behind me have only seen 2 deer because they're not stealth like we solo paddlers are (he's seen 46 and I've seen close to a 100).  He kept telling me to give myself more credit.  "You're plenty strong!  You've made it as far as I have, and this hasn't been easy!"  

In order to stock up on some canned food and wet wipes, we went to the convenience store in town.  "What're you going to do with all this food?" asked one cashier.  "Put it in my kayak and keep going!"  "Oh," said the other cashier, "are you going all the way to the gulf? Good for you!" as I nodded.  "And, you?" she motioned to Levi.  "I'm paddling to the Iowa border."  "Why aren't you going ALL the way?" they quipped.  "See what I have to deal with, Alyssum? I get this everywhere!  700 miles, and no one cares because it's not the whole river!" 

We spent the evening hanging out at some RV campers' campfire (Mike and Cindy).  They were self-avowed climate change deniers, and Mike works at a plastic factory.  Cindy was quick to mention the biodegradable soap they use, and Mike was very proud to share the stools/tables he made out of scrap polyethylene that would have been waste otherwise.  He said that the company he used to work for never had recycling unless the recycling companies paid them (most recycling companies require you to pay them to pick up the waste). He said the new company he works with was bought out and it took the new management 6 months to implement mandatory recycling, and they recycled 70 tons (!!!!) in the first month.  Both Cindy and Mike were unaware of the plastic gyres in the oceans.  They were aghast to hear that there's a swath larger than the size of Texas swirling in the Pacific Ocean!  I talked a little with them about microplastics and microbeads (against which you can take action here), and they seemed curious and receptive.  I'll be posting more about my work with 5Gyres.org soon! 

Yesterday I was brought a fresh batch of daily contact lenses.  They’re made of plastic.  The container they’re packaged in is plastic.  Every day that I use them (almost every day), I am creating waste.  Single-use plastic waste. 

I dispose of them properly, and recycle the pouches they come in, but that doesn’t change the fact that I create plastic waste daily.  There are many plastic items that I still use in my life, but this is the only thing that I use almost every day, that only has a single use.  Lasik is not a good option for me for financial reasons as well as the fact that I have super dry eyes and astigmatism. I often feel guilty about this plastic use.  But I also feel grateful to have an option that allows me to have better than 20/20 vision, good peripheral vision, no headaches, the ability to wear make-up (if I’m performing, for instance), and which isn’t affected by my super dry eyes.  *sigh*  

I just wanted to address this head on.  I’m not perfect in my reduction of plastic use in my own life.  I do what I can, and I can always do more.  I don’t want to legitimize my plastic use, nor do I want to feel like I bear an albatross around my neck.  I just want you, my readers, to recognize what plastic you use in your life, and to be aware.  The first step in reduction is awareness.  I am sharing my awareness.