Hogback Island is located about five miles up river to the northwest from Quincy, Illinois. It is located about four miles down river from LaGrange, Missouri. About everyone around this area has experienced it at one time or another. On summertime weekends, the beaches are loaded with boats of all different sizes and shapes. On weekdays, you may have the whole island to yourself.
The nicest thing about this island is that it has a real nice sand beach well over a half mile long on it's west side. Also, the water along that beach doesn't drop off real fast. During normal pool stages, you can walk out 100 to 150 feet away from the shore before you get in over your head. Needless to say, one has to be aware of the heavy currents at times.
At the southern end of the island, there are sand beaches on both sides of the island. In 1957, when I came to Quincy, there were no sand beaches on the southern side of the island. They started forming in the mid 1960s. When these southern beaches first started appearing, they were very small and were somewhat separated from the main island. They became known as "Piggyback" and the name has stuck since then. When someone tells you that they were on "Piggyback" last weekend, you'll know they were on the south side of the island.
Should you wander away from the beaches into the woods, you will walk into the most god-awful jungle that you've probably seen. It is full of trees, bushes, hanging vines, thorns, mosquitoes, bugs, spiders, snakes, etc. You may even see a deer or two in there. Luckily, most of those things don't bother you if you stay on the beaches.
- An aerial view of Hogback Island, looking south...
- Some of the "natives" - Note the dredge pumping new sand on the beach...
One reason this island has an unusual amount of sand is because it comes from the channel just to the west. The channel at that point seems to get too shallow about every year or so. To keep it at the nine foot depth required by the tug boats and barges, the Corp of Engineers must bring in their dredge and clean it out. When the spring floods come, much of the sand they pumped up on the island gets deposited on the downstream side, expanding the size of "Piggyback"!
- David, Irith and Aidan just happened to find this nice old log to sit on!
- "Hey, this water feels much better than sitting around".
- We're still in Illinois but that is Missouri in the background - It's just a short swim over there!
- "How am I going to start this darn thing when Grandpa takes the key out?"
- Well, at least I can sit here and look like a movie star!
- David and Aidan making like "Tom 'n Huck" on Old Miss.
