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2012-06-15 tl;dr: After a tough portage around the Demopolis Dam I continued on down the now-getting-remote Tombigbee River. I radioed the Demopolis Lock, but the lock master informed me that the lock would be closed for at least an hour. He suggested that I could portage. Maybe. The fisherman do it. Well, they just walk. No boat. I paddled over to the other side of the dam to portage.I didn't want to get too close to the dam, so I got out of my kayak and walked along the muddy shore. Until I startled a huge water snake (I may have yelped). So I dragged the kayak up into the woods and around the dam. And down a bunch of rocks. And across a flat expanse of rock. At this point I realized I had lost my radio, so I retraced my steps until I found it. I put the kayak back in the water and paddled along until I realized I wasn't even close to being over this dam. I dragged over a bunch more rocks. Paddled some more. Dragged some more. And finally arrived at open water. There, two guys in a truck were waiting at a boat landing. I suspect they were from the lock. Realizing their portage advice was unsound they came to see if I yet lived. Hurray! I have current! Well, a little. Or is that just the wind? Okay, maybe not enough current to help out. This stretch of river is remote and quiet. I met very few other boats. Sometimes I listen to my FM radio. I turn it on and scan the stations, anyway. Gospel, gospel, local talk, country, country, country. And so I turn the radio off again and continue listening to podcasts or audio books. |
 Demopolis Lock and Dam panorama  below the dam  farther below the dam  getting really below that dam   rusty rocks  not Bigfoot   egrets  big rattlesnake   deer  mile marker 194.1  turkey   camping on a gravel beach |