As I woke, I was gripped with the reality of my situation. My oar was broken, and I did not have a spare. I had made spare oars earlier in the journey, but due to the weight, I got rid of them on the Ohio. They only solution I could think of that could work with the materials on hand was a splint, must have been all that EMT training coming out. So I started looking for some good strong pieces of wood but there were none to be found. I was left with only one option; I had to cannibalize the boat. I didn't want to have to do it, but I needed the wood. Taking off the canopy system provided the necessary pieces, but now I would be totally exposed to the sun during the day. I was obviously concerned considering it was getting into the hundreds even without the heat index factored. The repairs went well though, and soon the oar was up and running. It definitely wasn't a hundred percent but I was pretty sure it would work. Well, I was as sure as one can be when an essential piece of equipment is held together with duct tape and rope. I just prayed it would make it the next hundred miles to Memphis. Leaving that day was not as easy as getting in the boat and rowing away. I had to make it over to the channel that was a mile upstream and a mile across the water. To do this crossing, I would have to pull the boat at least two miles upstream to account for downward drift. It meant pulling, pushing and paddling from the front of the canoe with my canoe paddle. Being covered in cob webs and sweating in temperatures that are well over a hundred degrees, it took me four hours to move the two and a half miles upstream. Though it was worth it because when I did make the crossing everything went off without a hitch. Thank god for duct tape...never leave home without it!
