Ms. Mossings 6th Grade Class Q&A

Ms. Mossing 6th Grade Class

After months of searching we have finally been paired with Ms. Mossings 6th grade class from Esperanza Charter School in New Orleans. We are really excited to have a class to correspond with while on the river! They have submitted 4 questions for us to answer and we finally reached a computer to type up the answers!

1. Have you faced any wild animals? We just read the chapter in Hatchet where Brian runs into a bear, and we want to know if anything like that has happened to you.
   
   We are actually really surprised we have not run into any bears so far, as we have met a couple other paddlers who claim to have had a few invade their camp! Bears have an incredible sense of smell and can smell our bag of snacks and meal ingredients from a long ways away! Our food is our most prized possession out of all the equipment we carry.  In order to keep our food out of reach of bears and other critters, we hang a “bear bag” before going to sleep. If you want to keep your food safe like us and hang a bear bag. To do this, put your whole food supply in a duffel bag or backpack and hoist it high in a tree. Be sure the bag is at least 10ft high and 6ft out, so a hungry bear can’t reach it. Our biggest problem were “mini-bears” or red squirrels, who can climb trees, and get to even the most strategically placed bear bag. One morning we woke up to find that one had dug through the food bag and ate our prized bag of trail mix!

   In Minnesota we encountered a broad range of bird species!  The state bird is a loon, which spend their whole lives on the water! Loons can fly, but spend a majority of their time diving for their favorite meal, fresh fish!!! In Wabasha, Minnesota  we got the chance to go to the National Eagle Center, and see some of these incredible birds up close! We got to meete 3 bald eagles and one golden eagle! They are huge!

2. How much food and supplies do you have with you?
   
   All together we have about 400 pounds worth of gear and food, as well as the 90 pound canoe. The gear is all separated into different waterproof bags so that we can access things quickly and efficiently when on the water. Our biggest bag, “big blue” holds our 3 man tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, clothes, and toiletries, and is a lot of fun to carry over a portage! We also have a bag full of outdoor cooking gear, including 2 Mountain Safety Research camp stoves, a pot, and our Frybake, the most valuable tool in any outdoor cook’s arsenal. The Frybake is an aluminum Dutch Oven that can do it all, from a spicy coconut curry stir fry to gooey baked cinnamon rolls. You can even put it right in the fire and cook on the coals!
   
   For safety, we wear a Type III life jacket when out on the water, and each have a knife strapped on the chest. This is very important for rescue situations as you may need to cut a rope or something that could be holding you or your buddy underwater. We also have a huge medical first kit with everything from aspirin and bandages to blood coagulation and suture supplies. We are very thankful that we have not has to use it yet.Along with tents, sleeping bag and food, we brought a couple items just for fun, like our skateboards! The boards have really come in handy for getting to towns, and also for portaging around dams on the Northern Mississippi. These dams help maintain water levels in the river, and control dangerous floods by holding the river back, sometimes creating huge lakes. When you reach one of these dams you must “portage”, or get out and carry your canoe and gear to the water on the downriver side of the dam. This distance can range from 100 yards to 2 miles! When there was smooth pavement we could use our skateboards to transport all of our stuff around the dam! Malcolm has even portaged the whole canoe while riding on his skateboard!

   Along with the boards, we also have a couple books and our personal journals to keep us occupied when we aren’t paddling. Right now we are reading the Journals of Louis and Clark, and Canoeing with the Cree, two books that reflect our own expedition through the wild lands of North America. Canoeing With the Cree is an incredible story of two high school graduates who canoe from Minneapolis, Minnesota to the Hudson Bay on the northeast coast of Canada. They started about the same time of year as us, and had to race up north to beat the winter freeze out! Whenever we are cold we think of these brave dudes, and thank the Mississippi for flowing south.

   As for food, we eat anything, and have found that after a long day on the water, we are so hungry that we joke about eating rocks and sticks with some Sriracha sauce. For breakfast we usually eat oatmeal, or cereal with rehydrated milk on top. During the day we mostly just snack on nuts, granola bars, crackers, and more oatmeal, although sometimes we prepare a big lunch if we have time. For dinner supplies we buy a lot of canned goods and dry ingredients, as they last a really long time. Our favorites meals are based around a delicious recipe made with rice, lentils, black beans, refried beans, corn, tuna, or sardines. That’s right, sardines! Contrary to popular belief they are actually really tasty and make a quick and easy protein rich snack. We always make sure to eat enough protein, as it helps build muscle and helps our paddling muscles feel better after we exercise. When we get the chance to go into town we usually try to grab some fresh veggies that will last on the canoe, like carrots, green beans, celery, sweet potatoes, and even spinach.

3. How long do you think it will take to get to the Gulf of Mexico?
   As of today we have 635 miles to go until we reach the Gulf of Mexico, and hope to reach New Orleans before Thanksgiving!

4. What’s the worst (most dangerous) thing that has happened so far? (boats passing, storms, waves, animals, etc.)
   
   It’s hard to pick just one situation, but there is one event that stands out as “dangerous”. We were paddling towards Cape Girardeau, Missouri when the the riverbed narrowed drastically, causing the river to pick up speed. These areas are called “chutes” that are formed as the river narrows, and usually occur around big bends. These chutes are so narrow that only one set of barges can fit through the channel at a time, calling for constant radio communication between captains to decide which tugboat will wait while the other comes through.As we paddled towards a chute, we noticed a tug was going downstream as well, so we radioed the captain, who said we would be okay if we followed his tug down the chute. What he didn’t tell us is what to do when we got to the end, and were violently shot out of the chute. After we came rocketing around this huge 3 mile bend, we hung to the right shore in the channel, protected from the huge waves by the tug we were following. When we got to the end we noticed a massive tug was parked on the right side as well, pushing about 26 barges upstream. Each barge weighs about 2000 tons, meaning this barge without the tug was 52,000 tons pushing upstream! With that much weight, the captain must start slow and build enough momentum to tackle the current on the river. To us, the barge seemed motionless, however it was moving toward us slowly, picking up more and more momentum as it moved into the chute.

   With no room to pass between the massive tug and shore, we decided to cross the river upstream of the tug. Something we were told many times to never do. We were confident that we could paddle across and be clear of the barges path so we kicked it in full gear as we paddled like Olympians across the ripping current. About halfway across, a powerful jet stream yanked us sideways, pulling us right back into the path of the barge! It was at this time that the barge captain came over the radio and said, “Still have your radio with ya there, canoe?” We replied and told him we did have our radio and that we planned on crossing the river to stay out of his way. He responded coldly over our radio with “I…don’t…think…that’s…a…good…idea, and….. I just lost sight of you!” When a barge captain with the most raspy voice one can imagine says it’s not a good idea, he is probably right. The oncoming tug was gaining speed and we were being pulled towards it! We immediately went into survival mode, and made a quick dash to the shore, knowing that the barge wake could swamp the canoe! When a barge passes very close to the shore, it causes huge amounts of water to move in a confined area, and creates massive breaking waves! We had about 20 feet between us and the barge and were in big trouble.When we got to the rocky embankment we immediately hopped out and clambered up the rocky shore, grabbing our ropes attached to the bow and stern of the boat. As the waves pitched the canoe up and down we desperately held onto the ropes, hoping that at we could control it through the violent torrent. After the tug past we sat there for a moment, tails between our legs, and made a pact never to cross in front of a barge ever again!