TripTracker.net - Mississippi River, Day 69/ October 13, 2007

Leaving Home, Count Down - 4 Days to Go Day 1 /August 6th Day 2 August 7th Day 3/ August 8th.Day 4/ August 9, 2007 Day 5 / August 10, 2007 No title No title Day 6 / August 11, 2007 Day 7 / August 12, 2007 Day 8 / August 13, 2007 Day 9, August 14, 2007 Day 10, August 15 Day 11 August 16 Day 12 August 17 Day 13, August 18 Day 14 August 19 Another Bed & Breakfast & Supper An Island Campsite Day 15/ August 20, 2007 Day 16/ August 21,2007 Day 17/ August 22, 2007 Day 18/ August 23, 2007 Day 19/ August 24, 2007 Day 20/ August 24, 2007 Day 21/ August 26, 2007 Day 22/ August 27, 2007 No title Mike Zwonitzer in LaCrosse Day 23/ August 28, 2007 Day 24/ August 29, 2007 Day 25 August 30 Day 26, August 31st Day 27, Sept. 1st Day 28 / September 2, 2007 Day 29 / September 3, 2007 Day 30 / September 4, 2007 Day 31 / September 5, 2007 Day 32/ September 6, 2007 Day 33/ September 7, 2007 Day 34 / September 8, 2007 Day 35 / September 9, 2007 Day 36/ September 10, 2007 Day 37/ September 11, 2007 - 1,000 miles Day 38/ September 12, 2007 Day 39/ September 13, 2007 Day 42/ September 16, 2007. I yam what I yam.Day 40/ September 14, 2007 Day 41/ September 15, 2007 Day 43/ September 17, 2007 Day 44/ September 18, 2007 Day 45/ September 19, 2007 Day 46/ September 20, 2007 Day 47/ September 21, 2007 Day 48/ September 22, 2007 Day49, September 23, 2007 Day 50/ September 24, 2007 Day 51/ September 25, 2007 Day 52/ September 26 Day 53/ September 27, 2007 Day 54/ September 28, 2007 Day 55/ September 29, 2007 Day 56/ September 30, 2007 Day 57/ October 1, 2007 Day 58/ October 2, 2007 Day 59/ October 3, 2007 Day 60/ October 4, 2007 Day 61/ October 5, 2007 Day 62/ October 6, 2007 Day 63/ October 7, 2007 Day 64/ October 8, 2007 Day 65/ October 9, 2007 Day 66/ October 10, 2007 - WE MADE IT, WE MADE IT, WE MADE IT!Day 67/ October 11, 2007 Day 68/ October 12, 2007 Day 69/ October 13, 2007 Note from Dan Zellner

Anne Zellner

Mississippi River

Day 69/ October 13, 2007

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Oct 14 2007, 11:23 AM

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Traveler

Anne Zellner

Journal

Location

Natchez, United States, Mississippi

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Today is the day for the Phat Water Kayak Challenge. We arose at 4:00 AM and boarded a school bus an hour later for the ride to Port Gibson. The bus, jammed with nervous participants and their gear, arrived about one hour later at the put-in point in Port Gibson. The town had mowed the shoreline grass and removed the brush to create a nice staging area. We nervously ate breakfast during the mandatory safety meeting prior to the race. Due to the low water level in the chute, the race would be starting on the river. We boarded our boats and proceeded onto the river, creating a floatilla of kayaks, the fastest racers in the front. We held onto each others boats and awaited the starting cannon. To our surprise, the Coast Guard had shut down all barge traffic on the river and the Army Corps had removed many of the navigation bouys lining the channels. At 8:30 AM, the cannon sounded, scaring the heck out of all of us. As we took off, we immediately realized that the rudder on my boat had become tangled with Joe's! Once untangled, we again took off down the river. There was little current, and we knew it was going to be a long, hard paddle. Race participants ranged from a three time olympic kakayer in an unlimited racing boat to 6 female friends from Florida in plastic boats. This is an important race and competition was intense. Joe and I started out strong and stayed in front of the pack but we have never raced in such a long race, 13 miles being our longest. This race would take over 4 hours to complete we didn't know what to expect at the end. I became sore several hours into the race and needed to get out and stretch. But I didn't. I kept paddling. We had to keep going. We had to finish this. Five hours and one minute later, Joe crossed the finish line, 10th. overall. Thirty minutes after him, I crossed the finish line, 19th. overall. We had completed the 42 1/2 mile race. The preliminary results have Joe finishing 2nd. in his class and me finishing 3rd. in my class. We tried hard and are proud and pleased with our efforts. The night ended with a party in Natchez after a long, long day. We will be driving to Baton Rouge on Monday and beginning our journey home soon after. ... by dz

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	77. Note from Dan Zellner Oct 14 2007, 12:05 PMNatchez, United States, Mississippi1 comment As some of you know, I have been updating Joe and Anne's log for them. I have been the words of Anne. I likely have made many errors and misstatements. One thing I know I have not misstated is the tremendous gratitude and love they have for all of you who have followed, prayed for, and rooted...

	76. Day 69/ October 13, 2007 Oct 14 2007, 11:23 AMNatchez, United States, Mississippi Today is the day for the Phat Water Kayak Challenge. We arose at 4:00 AM and boarded a school bus an hour later for the ride to Port Gibson. The bus, jammed with nervous participants and their gear, arrived about one hour later at the put-in point in Port Gibson. The town had mowed the shoreline...

	75. Day 68/ October 12, 2007 Oct 14 2007, 11:12 AMNatchez, United States, Mississippi We spent the day helping Keith and the committee with race preparations. I helped with registration and Joe with equipment repair. Last year there were about 50 participants, this year it nearly doubled to 89 registrants. Gear needed to be shuttled to the starting point in Port Gibson and last...

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