Day 3- Let the Rain Come Down
“Who-ute”, I hear in my sleep, while immediately waking knowing that’s the Quapaw universal signal, with the light of the day barely peeking through my fly on my tent.
“Hey River, there’s a storm about a half hour out, Driftwood wants everyone to pack up.”
I get excited knowing I will at least have a dry tent after the storm. I rise still fulfilled from the dinner of willow smoked catfish and steamed squash the night before. This will be our third day on expedition and the crew is in great moral as we all gear up for the cold fall rains of the Mississippi River.
Willow smoked catfish
I pray for health and strength, and the intestinal fortitude to paddle hard all day to help the team weather the storm. Cold and wet are not my favorite environments, but I always make the sacrifice for the team and to be on the River.
We pack the boat, as the rains start to roll in.
We head towards the Barfield Bend as the headwinds try to impede our velocity. I feel great. The rain switching directions around every bend changes the dynamics of the elements as we paddle forward into the rainy, foggy Mississippi River channel. The combination of towboats, wind and rain makes the water confused and choppy, but the momentum of the Grasshopper tends to blow through the waves as if they were fresh powder on wintery slopes. My body is handling the elements better than ever as the rain continues to come and go throughout the day.
We come around the bend and I can see Osceola’s San Souci landing in the distant. That would be our lunch spot and pickup of our new crew member, Tom. We make our landing and have a spirited lunch underneath the shelters over looking the Mississippi River.
First Chickasaw Bluff
We continue downstream towards the first Chickasaw Bluff as the crew chats and laughs out loud. I’m excited and surprised by the strong moral our crew has upheld going throughout the day with continuous cold scattered showers. I continue to be in good spirits knowing whenever you weather a storm, the River always blesses you with a beautiful day. We head towards our camp for the night near Sunrise Towhead with the rains stopping just long enough to set up tents, shelters, and start a fire for dinner and warmth. The rains start again as we stand around the fire gorging ourselves on a hearty vegetarian stew, while the silhouette of the rain dances through the light of our headlamps. I look around again, everyone’s smiling. We finish dinner and head for our tents as the winds start shifting directions and the temperature continues to drop.
“Who-ute.” I hear outside my tent the next morning as the sun beams through my fly. I look through the door and it’s an immaculate sunny day with pristine sandbars freshly saturated into fluid, flowing landscapes. I step out of my tent and smile. Not because of the beautiful sunny day, but what we overcame to get this beautiful sunny day.
-Mark River
Mark River Peoples is a guide and teacher with Quapaw Canoe Company and is also the 1 Mississippi Southern Region Intern representing the Lower Mississippi River Foundation. You can get on the River too using the Rivergator website at www.rivergator.org, or signing up for a guided trip with Mark on the Quapaw Canoe company website.