RIVER SYSTEM: DAY 91: Hammond to Chicago - Joliet Wall IL

Hammond to Chicago: 12.3 mph; 14.6 miles; 1:11 hours 
Chicago to Lockport Lock: 8.2 mph; 32.3 miles, 3:56 hours
Lockport Lock to Joliet Wall: 6.3 mph; 3 miles; 0:28 hours

Departed Hammond at 8:00AM; Arrived Joliet 5:00PM
Heads Up: Waiting for the lift bridge, lock, and drawbridge adds time to the trip.

CHICAGO
Boating through the center of Chicago is like nothing I have ever experienced. The smile on Jim's face was priceless. It was breathtaking, spectacular, pretty damn cool.  If you can handle the bridges, I suggest you try it for yourself. I was able to sit up top to watch for clearance and take some great pictures.

THE CHICAGO RIVER BRIDGES: RESTATED FROM PREVIOUS POST

PLAN AHEAD: For real, there is serious math needed. The day of travel, you need to find out if the river is running high or low and by how much. Call the Chicago Lock for this information or go to waterdata.usgs.gov for gage height, discharge (cubic feet per second), and water velocity (feet per second). Next, you will need to factor in your boat’s height with the radar tower and make a decision: will you leave it up, need to take it down, or plan to reroute your trip. All the bridges in Chicago are 18-19 feet and there’s like … 40 of them!

THE CANAL STREET LIFT BRIDGE: 

Check your patience level, you will call the operator to schedule an opening; use 312-655-2242 or VHF Channel 16 (use both). This is some serious ‘old school’ and ‘it aint broke so why fix it’ thinking around these parts. 

The operator will, s l o w l y, walk across the train yard from a distant trailer you never see. He carefully walks across the bridge, with painstaking effort he will crawl up the rusted staircase to the rickety little house on top. Eventually he will blow a horn that train conductors can’t hear; because the trains can’t hear the horn, trains keep coming. Somehow, it is conveyed to the trains to actually STOP for the operator to lift the bridge; how that happens can only be thought as magical. 

The bridge is straight out of the early 1900’s - it is old and slow - sooo slow - go to historic bridges.com to find out more. In all honesty, I must have taken 20 pictures and videos for little Levi to see.

LOCKS 
Chicago Lock: The Lock Master is a little sassy but helpful. This is the first lock entering Chicago. Get out those gloves and keep those A3 balls handy - you’ll need them. The lock is about 2 feet and clean as a whistle. There are lines for you to hold. We didn’t have to wait for a barge.

Lockport Lock: WOW! 40+ foot lock. The cool thing here are the floating bollards. No slimy ropes hanging down! You'll need the short line. Tie one end of the short line to your mid-cleat, wrap the rope around the bollard, hold the other end of the rope (do NOT tie it back to your boat), and use a boathook to keep yourself off the wall - a one person show. It is the SLOWEST LOCK - OH MY GEEZY! We waited for 20 minutes outside then locked through for like 30 minutes! Again, we did not have to wait for a barge.

LOCK NOTE FOR FLOATING BOLLARDS: Some loopers use a section of garden hose with a short line threaded through to help ‘lasso the bollard’. This contraption makes it easy to set up your lock. I didn't use one and I was ok. I .used the criss-cross-toss and landed the bollard every time

ILLINOIS RIVER

CARP: Yeah the fish. After the Chicago and Calumet Rivers, the Corps of Engineers has developed an electrical ‘fence’ to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan. This is a huge deal around these parts. Those bad boys can jump 10 feet in the air and land inside your boat. Put on your life jacket and keep your body out of the water when you travel through this area. Electric shock is real - it doesn't cost anything to pay attention.

THAT BRIDGE

The bridge we ALL have to pass under, shows up after the merging of the Chicago and Calumet Rivers and it’s just as bad as the bridges in downtown Chicago. Make certain you have your math right - don’t be the entertainment.

Joliet Wall

FREE wall in Joliet. This is a Looper wall for sure. There are about 10 of us from all over the United States. The deal here is to make certain you have your bumpers out because the wall is tall and crumbling.

The wall will fit about 13 good sized boats and has 30/30 amps. The electrical towers could use some attention; we lost power in the middle of the night, not because of mischief, but I needed to readjust the cords at the tower. When the wall is full, there are plenty of Looper pictures showing boats tied onto other boats. It's a boater’s world - ebb and flow.

MISCHIEF MANAGED: Yes, it is true that a local untied the lines and disconnected power to a few boats, twice, and it was the same person each time. The young woman was apprehended, has a history of mental health illness, and will now have the opportunity for much needed therapy as she awaits her court date. 

Being The Entertainment - Thank you Sofia Chong for the laughs

There was a boat that came in late, reckless in his approach, and the deck hands were too uncoordinated to function as helpful mates. We were told the vessel has a hired captain and a ‘crew’ of four; the captain never left the helm (I think he slept in the captain's chair). 

Once the vessel was close to the wall, a crew member threw us their line. Well, we threw it back and suggested he attach one end to the boat before throwing it again. Literally he looked like a deer in headlights, two of them fumbled their way through the directions, we looped the wall cleat and tossed the ropes back. It was silently decided to let them figure out the last step for themselves. I will refer to this boat as the Sofia Chong.

Now, everyone has a ‘good-time-night’ once in a while and I am NOT one to judge. However, I am writing this a day behind; so, I know what’s coming.

DISCLAIMER: Sofia Chong is NOT a Looper - she is traveling 

to St Louis for a baseball game then back to her homeport.

LOOPERS: TEAM PLANNING FOR THE LOCKS TOMORROW: 

In the morning, only ONE Looper should call the Brandon Road Lock & Dam. The caller needs to ask the Lock Master when would be a good time to move a group of Loopers from Joliet through the Brandon Road Lock, Rock Island Railroad Bridge, and the McDonough Lift Bridge. The Lock Master will appreciate it and could very well tell us to ‘come on’ or to wait several hours with a set time. It all depends on the barges. 

The McDonough Lift Bridge doe NOT operate between 7:30-8:30 AM for rush hour.

Brilliant idea I just had! If I had swim noodles, I could slice one side open, then incase my lines so they won’t sheaf from rubbing against the walls! Why couldn’t I come up with this on the Erie Canal?

IF YOU MEET KEITH IN JOLIET

Keith is a local. He is a confused-religious-community-member and means no harm. He is lonely and just wants to talk a little. If you’re blogging at 3:45 AM on the back deck, you’ll meet him - just be kind. Life isn’t easy for everyone.