Job, Luke, and Jonah have made it about 19 miles today against the current from TVA's water release.  They are camping on a beach in Cerro Gordo, one or two days' paddle from Pickwick and they end of they upstream struggles.

I just spoke to Jonah and the boys have finally called it a night.  After over 37 miles of paddling and over 19 hours of moving time they are ready for a break.  They are on a narrow beach not too far from Clifton, trying to tuck in for the night and get ready for some heavier rain.  They just had light rain during the night, and pretty flat water.  Jonah sounded good, though of course very tired.  He mentioned a five foot far that swam by during the night, bumping the boat like a log.  Anxious to hear more stories after they reccover.

The guys are about 27 miles in for the day and still paddling... they are trying to make a long run into (maybe through?) the night so they can make good progress towards Pickwick before storms roll in.

They took a rest break at Fisherdale Marina and found the proprietors super nice - the guys got free free pizza and t-shirts and an offer of a free place to stay, but decided to paddle on anyway...

Summary of their trip so far:

Wed 05/29/2019; distance: 29.3; moving time: 10 hrs 2 min; speed: 2.9 mph

Thu 05/30/2019; distance: 29.7; moving time: 11 hrs 48 min; speed: 2.5 mph

Fri 05/31/2019; distance: 27.7; moving time: 11 hrs 38 min; speed: 2.4 mph

Sat 06/01/2019; distance: 23.5; moving time: 12 hrs 34 min; speed: 1.9 mph

Sun 06/02/2019; distance: 21.5; moving time: 10 hrs 39 min; speed: 2.0 mph

Mon 06/03/2019; distance: 23.1; moving time: 10 hrs 53 min; speed: 2.1 mph

Tue 06/04/2019; distance: 27.6; moving time: 13 hrs 2 min; speed: 2.1 mph

Wed 06/05/2019; distance: 19.1; moving time: 10 hrs 53 min; speed: 1.8 mph

Thu 06/06/2019; distance: 26.5; moving time: 13 hrs 7 min; speed: 2.0 mph

Cool article about where the boys are right now on Kentucky Lake:
https://www.tnmagazine.org/danville-freight-elevator/

I was out of town with poor connectivity most of the weekend, but it was an eventful few days for the guys.  They've been following the news and made the difficult but wise choice to modify their route.  Instead of proceeding to the Ohio from the end of the Cumberland and Lake Barkley they started paddling up Kentucky Lake to head upstream on the Tennessee River so they can take the Tennessee-Tombigbee canal to the Tombigbee River down to the Gulf at Mobile, AL.  At this moment they are about to cross back into Tennessee at the notch on the top of the state border.

Yesterday we had our first chance to check on them in person since they started Wednesday.  A group of parents and Phil met them in Turkey Bay in the Kentucky Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge, just south of the route 68 bridge.  Dan and Marla paddled across the lake with the guys from Kenlake Marina, a terrific opportunity to watch the team in action.  We were in Phil's racing canoe, which we managed to capsize, but the guys helped us right it.  The boys are in great spirits and health.

About an hour ago the boys crossed into Kentucky, in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.  They've got beautiful weather for a gorgeous place to paddle.  They were up and at it early again this morning, posting a great shot of the moon of the water (see below).

At around 6pm the guys pulled up to a boat ramp just past Dover, TN, in the Barkley Wildlife Management Area.  They talked to some guys swimming nearby while they setup camp, with Job cooking "redneck ramen" to share (rice, ramen, lima beans, corn).  They paddled through more headwinds and some rain today, but feel good about their progress.  Close to 30 miles again.

We're trying to learn about the conditions on the Ohio and Mississippi given recent flooding.  The next day or two of paddling should be pretty as they head through the Land Between the Lakes in KY.