A few years ago I took part in a 478 kilometre paddle from Auckland to Cape Reinga at the top of New Zealand to raise money for Child Cancer research. It was a very exciting trip (in parts) I described it at the time as comprising hours of boredom interspersed with moments of pure terror. However it did make me realise what I was capable of in terms of long distance paddling both physically and mentally, and created a desire to do more. Since then I have paddled the Hudson River in New York from Albany to Manhatten and circumnavigated Gt Barrier Island as well as countless long day trips. All this has led to a desire to do a really big solo long distance paddle and I have spent a good deal of time over the last few years following the blogs of other long distance paddlers and dreaming of what I might do. Initially I was attracted to the idea of doing the Intra Coastal Water way which runs up the eastern seaboard of the United States from Key West to Maine (and that is still a possiblity depending on how this trip goes). The blog of Margo Pellegrino was one of the first I followed. Other possibilities included circumnavigating the coastline in Florida as a kayak trail had just been established with excellent maps and charts. The Missouri/Mississippi was also considered but eventually I settled on the Mississippi itself as one of the world's classic river journeys.This was reinforced when I discovered that there was some dispute over the exact source of the river. The accepted source is where the river leaves Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. I initially thought that I would start at the far end of the lake about 6 kilometres away. When I checked it on Google Earth I discovered that a small stream runs into Lake Itasca from the adjoining Elk Lake. For the life of me I couldn't understand why this wasn't the true source of the river and I have since found that there is a minority view that believes it is and I subscribe to it.
So the plan is to launch into Elk Lake which is quite small and to paddle around the edges to make there are not any streams that run into it from yet another lake (and it looks as if there could be some sort of "puddle") and if so I intend to bushwack my way as far as possible up it.
I fly into Minneapolis on the evening of Tuesday 24 May. This will give me 3 days to buy a boat, gear and food b/4 leaving on the long drive to the lake on Saturday. I envisage the rest of the day will be spent on setting up camp and perhaps a trial paddle around part of the lake.Sunday will then be taken up with the exploration to the true source I have described above.I will set off down the river on Monday which is Memorial Day with the objective of reaching the campsite at Coffee Pot Landing 20 miles away. It will take me 3 days to reach the first town Bemidji I have set myself 10 targets for the trip. The first is to simply get through the wetlands to Bemedji,the second is to cross the lakes that are next,the third is to pass the 300 mile mark which would equal the distance of the trip to Cape Reinga and the fourth is to make 500 miles which I was once told was the minimum distance to be classifed as an expedition.(and coincidentally would find me back in Minneapolis ready to tackle the second part of the river to St Louis with its 29 locks and dams).
I hope that I will be able to update this blog regularly once the trip starts and that you will enjoy readng it. Please mention it to anyone you think might be interested
