On the following day, I was joining a small group paddling from Blanchette access in St. Charles, down to the St. Louis Arch riverfront. I’ll talk more about that in my next post. Part of the paddle is the Chain of Rocks. Below is a photo of the Chain of Rocks bridge courtesy of Google Maps. The box in red is the area that is best for portaging the chain. You can see from the photo that the water is quite dangerous.
The goal of my motorcycle trip is to scout out the portage and see if the chain might be runnable. The river was at approximately 20 feet and the rocks don’t show up until around 10 feet.
For the trip, Danelle was joining me. We took off around 10 am in the morning headed straight to the Chain of rocks. At the chain, I was quite impressed with how powerful the water was. I spent quite some time looking for a line that would be runnable. I was about 50% confident that I could make it without issue.
With video and images, I had the path I wanted to take in my head, Danelle and I took off on the motorcycle for the rest of our journey.
After messing around, we decided to get lunch. We were famished and headed to the semi-famous Fast Eddie’s Bon Air. The food is super cheap, but the drinks are not. It all evens out in the end. It was a fun environment, but not a place I feel the need to revisit any time soon.
After lunch, we drove down the great river road and then headed home. The total trip was a little over 4 hours and I should have worn sun screen. I’m gave Danelle my riding jacket, so my arms weren’t covered like they usually are. It was a great time out with Danelle!
Hogan Haake