Aah, crud! The spring I plan to depart on my first mega canoe trip is the spring the lower Mississippi River experiences major flooding. Cairo, Illinois, lifted the mandatory evacuation order yesterday but a curfew still is in place until next week. It doesn't look like the water will be down below flood levels until early June, just about the time I had planned to arrive. It looks like I have a few options which include: 1) delaying my departure date, 2) going as far as St. Louis on the Missouri and ending the trip, 3) keeping my fingers crossed all will be well when I get to the Mississippi, or 4) change my travel route and head north to a different destination.
At this point I'm leaning towards option #4. I'm seriously considering paddling north to the Illinois River and then heading to my home state of Michigan via the Lake Michigan shoreline. That option is looking pretty tempting right now with the uncertainty of the flooding situation along the river course I had planned to travel. At this point I'm taking a wait and see approach. At some point in the next week or so I'll make the decision just for the peace of mind. The upshot is that either route will have me traveling by water for at least five weeks and I'll have quite an adventure doing so.
I'll keep ya'll posted.
JB
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