Glory Days – Resource Guide

Glory Days, Outdoors 9 Minutes

If you are doing research for a Mississippi River Source to Sea trip and you have stumbled upon my Glory Days blog, this post is designed to help you find some of the most useful information without sorting through nearly 200 posts. I hope that you will read my entire blog, but this post is about getting to the meat of the information offered on the Glory Days Blog quickly and easily.

PICK YOUR BOAT

If you are thinking about doing a Source to Sea trip and you don’t know if you should paddle a canoe or a kayak, the first thing you need to do is get out and paddle some canoes and kayaks. If you don’t have much experience, I would suggest paddling on a pond or small lake to start with. Always wear a lifejacket.

Or maybe you’ve already decided which type of boat to paddle ( Canoe or Kayak ), but you don’t know which particular model will fit your need best ( it happens all the time ). The choices can be seemingly endless.

Choosing the right boat for your trip is a very personal decision … one that only you can make. You won’t know what your preferences are until you try many different boats. The following article should help you with that process.

My Portage Cart Articles

A portage cart is an important part of any trip on the upper portion of the Mississippi River. There are more than a dozen portages around dams on the upper river, most of which a portage cart would be very helpful on. Some paddlers have done that part of the river without a portage cart, but others have found it nearly impossible to continue very far without the advantages that a good portage cart offer.

I wanted a portage cart that was lightweight, small enough to fit inside of my kayak, and inexpensive. After doing some extensive searching I concluded that there wasn’t anything like what I wanted available commercially.

I decided to make my own portage cart. I didn’t know what it would look like or how it would work. I really didn’t know what I was doing at all, but I knew what I wanted and that I would recognize a good design if I could just come up with one. I started with the resources that I had laying around and went from there. In the end I probably spent as much money making my own portage cart as I would have had I just purchased one, but mine is lighter and smaller than anything else out there and it all fits inside of my kayak. I’m happy with that.

My Book Reviews – Things I’ve Read Articles

One of the best resources available, in my humble opinion, are the many books and other trip accounts that are available to read. I read more than two dozen books, and probably as many blogs, while doing research for my trip. There is a wealth of information and experience available, all you have to do is read it.

You can click on the “Things I’ve Read” links to read my comments on each publication ( with the links ) or you can click on the individual links listed under each blog post heading. I’m not selling anything here and I do NOT have an affiliate agreement with anyone. I make no money from this. Zero. The opinions I express about each of these publications are my own honest thoughts.

You may ask yourself “Why are there so many books about backpacking on this list?”. The answer is that I discovered that backpacking and through paddling trips have a lot in common. There are a ton of tips and tricks that you can learn from backpacking books. You can learn even more by actually doing some backpacking trips. The few short backpacking trips that I have done got me out of my comfort zone taught me a lot. If you are not a backpacker, but you are researching a Source to Sea trip on the Mississippi River, I highly recommend at least reading these backpacking through trip accounts.

Mississippi River Trip Index

Of course, I hope you will find some value in reading through the daily accounts of my trip. You can start at Day 1 and just click on the links at the bottom of each daily post to read the next post, or you can use the table below to skip around to whichever post you want to read. You can always click on the “Menu” link at the top of each page and then click on the “INDEX” page link and search for the blog post you want.

Mississippi River – Day 1Mississippi River – Day 25Mississippi River – Day 49
Mississippi River – Day 2Mississippi River – Day 26Mississippi River – Day 50
Mississippi River – Day 3Mississippi River – Day 27Mississippi River – Day 51
Mississippi River – Day 4Mississippi River – Day 28Mississippi River – Day 52
Mississippi River – Day 5Mississippi River – Day 29Mississippi River – Day 53
Mississippi River – Day 6Mississippi River – Day 30Mississippi River – Day 54
Mississippi River – Day 7Mississippi River – Day 31Mississippi River – Day 55
Mississippi River – Day 8Mississippi River – Day 32Mississippi River – Day 56
Mississippi River – Day 9Mississippi River – Day 33Mississippi River – Day 57
Mississippi River – Day 10Mississippi River – Day 34Mississippi River – Day 58
Mississippi River – Day 11Mississippi River – Day 35Mississippi River – Day 59
Mississippi River – Day 12Mississippi River – Day 36Mississippi River – Day 60
Mississippi River – Day 13Mississippi River – Day 37Mississippi River – Day 61
Mississippi River – Day 14Mississippi River – Day 38Mississippi River – Day 62
Mississippi River – Day 15Mississippi River – Day 39Mississippi River – Day 63
Mississippi River – Day 16Mississippi River – Day 40Mississippi River – Day 64
Mississippi River – Day 17Mississippi River – Day 41Mississippi River – Thank You
Mississippi River – Day 18Mississippi River – Day 42Mississippi River Trip – What Worked – What Didn’t
Mississippi River – Day 19Mississippi River – Day 43Mississippi River – Letters – Part 1
Mississippi River – Day 20Mississippi River – Day 44Mississippi River – Letters – Part 2
Mississippi River – Day 21Mississippi River – Day 45Mississippi River – Wrap Up
Mississippi River – Day 22Mississippi River – Day 46Mississippi River – Resource Guide ( this page )
Mississippi River – Day 23Mississippi River – Day 47
Mississippi River – Day 24Mississippi River – Day 48
“Glory Days – Mississippi River – Source to Sea – Solo … but never alone.”

Campsites and Daily Mileages

The following table is a quick guide to my campsites and other places that I stayed, as well as my daily mileages.

#DateStart MMFinish MMMiles PaddledDestination DescriptionMiles to goTotal Miles
1May 291341.0131130.0Bear Den Campsite2095.030
2May 301311.01286.0 25.0Hampton Inn, Bemidji2070.055.0
3May 311286.01255.0 31.0Smilin’ Joe’s Campsite2039.086.0
4June 11255.01225.0 30.0Crazy James Campsite2009.0116.0
5June 21225.01196.0 29.0Leaning Willow Campsite1980.0145.0
6June 31196.01162.0 34.0Blackberry Campsite1946.0179.0
7June 4 1162.01121.0 41.0Ms. Keto Campsite *1905.0220.0
8June 51121.01080.0 41.0Jake & Mike Carlson’s House1864.0261.0
9June 6 1080.01035.0 45.0Lone Pine Campsite1819.0306.0
10June 71035.0996.0 39.0Overlook Park1780.0345.0
11June 8 996.0965.0 31.0Blanchard Dam1749.0376.0
12June 9965.0926.0 31.0Lee & Patti Bergstrom’s House1718.0407.0
13June 10926.0906.0 20.0Oak Island Campsite1698.0427.0
14June 11906.0871.0 35.0Jeff & Lisa Ronken Karan’s House1663.0462.0
15June 12871.0853.0 18.0Residence Inn, Minneapolis, MN1645.0480.0
16June 13853.0833.0 20.0Pig’s Eye Island1625.0500.0
17June 14833.0833.0 0.0Pig’s Eye Island 1625.0500.0
18June 15833.0796.0 37.0Riverbank Campsite, Wisconsin1588.0537.0
19June 16796.0777.0 19.0Long Point, Lake Pepin1569.0556.0
20June 17777.0758.0 19.0Island 1550.0575.0
21June 18758.0714.0 44.0Dam Road, right side descending1506.0619.0
22June 19714.0690.024.0Island, Party Cove1482.0643.0
23June 20690.0671.5 18.5Island1463.0662.0
24June 21671.5655.016.5Richard & Deb Schroeder’s House1447.0678.0
25June 22655.0619.036.0Island 1411.0714.0
26June 23619.0582.037.0Stumpf Island, Debuque, IA1374.0751.0
27June 24582.0558.024.0USACE Blanding’s Landing Rec. Area1350.0775.0
28June 25558.0558.00.0Chestnut Mountain Resort, Galena, IL1350.0775.0
29June 26558.0531.526.5Island1323.5801.5
30June 27 531.5510.221.3Swan Island1302.2822.8
31June 28510.2497.512.7Tony & Melissa Terronez’s House1289.5835.5
32June 29497.5468.529.0USACE Grant’s Ferry Rec Area **1260.5864.5
33June 30468.5430.737.8Riverbank, Illinois side1222.7902.3
34July 1430.7385.545.2Dutchman Island1177.5947.5
35July 2385.5349.536.0Buzzard Island1141.5983.5
36July 3349.5327.022.5Stoney Creek Inn, Quincy, IL1119.01006.0
37July 4327.0327.00.0Stoney Creek Inn, Quincy, IL 1119.01006.0
38July 5327.0294.532.5Denmark Island1086.51038.5
39July 6294.5255.039.5Riverbank, Illinois side 1047.01078.0
40July 7255.0218.2536.8Small Island near Grafton, IL1010.31114.8
41July 8218.25170.447.9Riverbank, Illinois side 962.41162.6
42July 9170.4107.562.9Riverbank, Missouri side899.51225.5
43July 10107.553.554.0Marriot Courtyard, Cape Girardeau845.51279.5
44July 1153.553.50.0Marriot Courtyard, Cape Girardeau 845.51279.5
45July 1253.553.50.0Marriot Courtyard, Cape Girardeau 845.51279.5
46July 1353.5948.058.5Island #1787.01338.0
47July 14948.0883.065.0Kentucky Point Island722.01403.0
48July 15883.0829.054.0Riverbank, Tennessee side668.01457.0
49July 16829.0769.060.0Riverbank, Arkansas side608.01517.0
50July 17769.0738.530.5Michael & Virginia Rowland’s House577.51547.5
51July 18738.5677.061.5Walnut Bend Riverbank, Arkansas516.01609.0
52July 19677.0632.045.0Riverbank, Mississippi side471.01654.0
53July 20632.0581.051.0Riverbank, Mississippi side 420.01705.0
54July 21581.0541.040.0Riverbank near Lake Ferguson, MS380.01745.0
55July 22541.0537.04.0Tru by Hilton hotel, Greenville, MS376.01749.0
56July 23537.0466.570.5Riverbank, Mississippi side 305.51819.5
57July 24466.5403.063.5Riverbank, Mississippi side 242.01883.0
58July 25403.0364.039.0Air BnB House, Natchez, MS203.01922.0
59July 26364.0364.00.0Air BnB House, Natchez, MS 203.01922.0
60July 27364.0304.060.0Shreve’s Bar Island143.01982.0
61July 28304.030.037.0Danny Major’s House106.02019.0
62July 2930.0101.071.0Fish Camp on an Island35.02090.0
63July 30101.0114.013.0Hampton Inn, Morgan City22.02103.0
64July 31114.0136.022.0Hampton Inn, Morgan City 0.02125.0
Total2,125 miles
Glory Days – Source to Sea – Data Sheet 2021
  • 7 River Angels Visited
  • 9 Family Visits
  • 2 – 70 Mile Days
  • 5 – 60 Mile Days
  • 3 – 50 Mile Days
  • 8 – 40 Mile Days
  • 19 – 30 Mile Days
  • 11 – 20 Mile Days
  • 10 – 1 to 19 Mile Days
  • 6 – 0 Mile Days

Gear Reviews and Stuffs

Food & Nutrition

River to River Trail

Last, but not least, there’s the account of my ten day backpacking trip on the River to River Trail across Southern Illinois. Backpacking? Yep … backpacking was a great way to get in shape and prepare for my Mississippi River trip. I’m still a rookie backpacker. This was only my second actual backpacking trip ever, but backpacking has taught me many great lessons. Those lessons helped me during my big river trip.

Other River Trips and Miscellaneous Stuff

The “Glory Days Resource Page” has a bunch of links to other great resources too, so don’t forget to check those out as well.

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” ― Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Previous Post: “Mississippi River – Wrap-Up“

Next Post: “Introduction“

Published by Dan Faust

Dan Faust is your average outdoors enthusiast. He has been canoeing and kayaking for more than fifty years, and camping for even longer than that. Dan recently started backpacking and has been converted to the lightweight way of doing things. Dan says "I am not an expert at anything. I'm still learning and trying new stuff."

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