Zach Webb - When we arrived at the Mississenewa Lake, I began to realize how much different our project was from the others. Our group does have a lot of freedom with our topic, but at the same time, we have little room for error. Our project is to present the Wabash River, to Hoosiers, old and new, and tell them about its biology, its history, and its beauty. With Clayton Craig still overseas, (on the Glee Club trip to the United Kingdom) we were accompanied by Mike Bachner.

 Mr. Bachner is a welcomed addition to the trip, not only for his knowledge in a kayak, but also for his wonderful sense of humor. Let me just say that he is very fond of pirates.

The three of us put in at the Mississinewa Dam, so that Mr. Bachner could see the Seven Pillars, which is a limestone rock formation carved out, by years of brute force from the Mississinewa. The trip down the Mississinewa gave us an opportunity to test our equipment on a slightly more manageable river. The Missisinewa is also home to an old circus museum, which houses a shrine to an elephant trainer who was killed by one of his elephants.  

After two hours of paddling, we finally reached the mighty river where the Wabash forms a giant “Y” with the Mississinewa.  For most of the day we moved, rather comfortably, along the river at about five to six miles an hour.  The Wabash follows several different county and state roads, most notably State Road 24, and the rumble of passing cars blend together with the squawk of the blue herons. The interesting thing about the speed of our boats was the fact that the surface of the river is extremely still. However, the Wabash is known for its strong under currents and frequent rocky areas. At one point, Mr. Bachner kindly reminded me that we should avoid one of the pillars of an old railroad bridge during a particularly rough patch of water. After paddling nearly 32 miles, 23 on the Wabash, we reached Logansport. 

We made camp at Logansport, where Homer and I parted ways with Mr. Bachner.  We awoke to somewhat cloudy skies and after a tour from one of the WRHCC members, the governing body for the Wabash River, we departed Logansport heading for Delphi. 

The float to Delphi was roughly 26 miles and trying at times, with both the current of the river and the wind preventing us from making any real progress at times. It is in this section of the river that the numerous riverside residences and highways end and there is little on either side of the river, but cottonwood trees, phlox, sycamores.

After almost 12 hours on the water in two days, we began to imagine things and not in a crazy way. As Mr. Bachner said on day one of our trips, it is important to keep the inner child alive. About a mile outside of Delphi, two islands that have with a little help from the river taken the form of two ships.

When we arrived in Delphi, we found Howard Hewitt, there to pick us up, standing on a bridge a fourth of a mile from our landing spot. Homer and I were relieved. We had paddled nearly 60 miles in 12 hours and we were tired.  I believe I can vouch for Homer and Mr. Bachner when I say that we loved every minute of it.

In photos: Top right, Webb and Twigg in the final 1/2 mile of their Wednesday journey. Upper left, the two are met by a Delphi area man and his grandson who were fishing. Middle right, after a long day of rowing there is still work to be done. At bottom, the two navigate a bend in the river just west of Delphi and come into view.