Paddling By

It has been over a week since my journey down the river came to an end at the steps across from Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans. I am left with mixed emotions of elation at such an accomplishment and also a longing to return to the simple life of paddling every day.

I have found some of the experiences that I miss from the river:

• Beautiful starry nights
• Not having an agenda
• Watching the sun rise and set over the river
• Paddling in the cool of the morning just as the sun is peaking up over the horizon
• Letting the strong current flow over my body after a long day of paddling
• Meeting people who I have never known in my life and being overwhelmed by how quickly they treat us like family

Also, some experiences will not be missed:

• Having sand in my food, in my sleeping bag, in my life
• Mosquitoes everywhere… including the swarm that only appears as soon as I am all set to do my business in the woods. If you think I am kidding… well, I laughed at Michael when he said there were no mosquitoes in sight and then as soon as he was all set to do his business a swarm approached. I laughed until it happened to me the next time.
• Putting sunscreen on daily

I have also found that adjusting to life off the river has produced unexpected issues. Who would have thought that I would have to adjust to seeing myself in mirrors again or bathing on a regular basis? Life is just so proper off the river.

I know that I have learned a lot from this trip and have gained a new appreciation for many details of life. I hope to be more generous after this trip. (Not that I feel I was stingy before the trip, but the bar has been raised.) I also feel I will be much more appreciative of the nuances of life including seasoning on food, taking time to simply relax, the art of storytelling, and just how much culture we enjoy in the states.

A typical day starts with Andrew rising at the crack of dawn and cooking us breakfast.  Andrew is definitely the early bird of the group.  Breakfast usually consists of oatmeal with powdered milk, brown sugar, and a dash of salt.  We then pack up all of our gear into the holds of the kayaks and start paddling for the day.  The morning process typically takes around two hours.

Before we are on the river, we feel out the day and decide how we feel and how far we would like to go that day.  The paddling in the morning usually covers the most miles.  We will go for a few hours and stop and eat a can of fruit.  Like most of our eating, this process is very ritualistic.  After we get the can of fruit open, we each take a sip of juice from the can.  We then proceed to take turns eating a piece of fruit, occasionally sipping the juice until the can is empty.

After the snack, we put in some more miles before lunch.  Lunch almost always consists of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, but sometimes we use jam instead of honey.  Lunch is served in three rounds.  Each person makes a round of sandwiches for the group giving us a total of three apiece.  Sometimes, we might take a little swim in the river to cool off or spend some time napping before we hit the river again.

The afternoons are spent grinding out more miles before we reach our destination.  Sometimes we stop by a town in the afternoon to get some water and possibly buy some more groceries.

Paddling on the river is usually quite varied.  Each day brings us an assortment of waves, eddies, strange currents, barges, and beautiful scenery.  I enjoy paddling with some waves on occasion because of the sheer thrill of the experience.  It also is more interactive than just paddling on a placid surface.  We enjoy napping and floating during the calmer sections of the river as long as there is a current.  It is rather disappointing to wake up from a nap and realize you haven’t made any progress.

Many of the locals along the river, have a fear of its power.  I suppose if I were to live along the banks in the shadow of a mighty river that has destroyed so much life and property, I too might fear it.  Though I have never felt out of control on the river.  The kayaks are very responsive and since we sit so low to the water, we are able to balance pretty easily.

By the time we stop for the evening, the sun is in its last phase.  We try to find a camping site that has a sandy beach to land the kayaks on and also so we can avoid the mud.  Sometimes, there will be some woods we can set the tent in or we will just place the tent on the beach.

We do most of our cooking on a fire.  Although, we do have a small backpacking stove if we need to use it.  Some of our favorite dinners include Macaroni and Cheese with spaghetti sauce and summer sausage, ramen with black beans, and rice with crunchy noodles, soy sauce, and beans or meat.

Dinner is followed by relaxing, reading, journaling, or if we are exceptionally tired: sleep.  After some down time, we crawl into the tent, hoping to not let in any mosquitoes, and drift off to sleep to begin a new day.

The day Michael arrived to Cairo to join the journey, Andrew and I woke up to watch the sunrise over the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi River. It was breathtaking to see the mighty Mississippi flow into the lethargic Ohio. At the confluence, it appeared that the Ohio was actually wider than the Mississippi, but the Mississippi was moving much more water.

As the sunrise marks the beginning of a new day, so this day marks a new phase in our journey. It has now been over four weeks since Andrew, Dustin, Dan, and I started on this journey. The memories that stick out in my mind the most of the interactions with the people we meet along the way. The generosity of those we meet is surreal.

A notable encounter was when we met a father/son duo, Jerry and Peter, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.  They are in the midst of biking from L.A. to New Jersey.  That was inspiring to meet another group that is off on an adventure as well.  You can read more about their adventures here.

Almost every small town we stop in is a treat as people offer us rides, showers, food, and/or conversation.  (Not every town is like this though.  Some are just quiet affairs and we are back on the river in no time.)  I love talking to these people.  Whether it is just to hear their comments about how dangerous the river is and how crazy we must be to those that simply see the adventure and desire to live our adventure vicariously.  I love them all.

As this new phase is well underway, I am understanding just how blessed we are to experience this trip.  The people around us are merely the icing on the cake to this grand adventure.

Today was a busy day… after a short, but restful night of sleep, Andrew and I headed over to Fluid Fun to test out the boats and do some last minute shopping. It was great to actually see the boats and get out on the water a little. It seemed to make the trip all the more real. I am now starting to get the little butterflies that I craved the day before. Finally I can think to myself that this trip is for real and also have physical proof.

Later in the afternoon, Andrew’s friend Dustin arrived with Dan and Ruth, two other friends from his semester in Russia. We barely had time for introductions before the reporter from the South Bend Tribune arrived. The interview was pretty brief as Andrew had already had a phone interview.

Sometime after the interview Dan decided that he would join us for the first leg of the journey. After a quick check with Matt, the owner of Fluid Fun, it became official. So now tomorrow we have a fourth joining us for the first leg of the journey.

It is promising to be an adventure unparalleled in my life. It is becoming quite obvious that the best is yet to come.

This is the start of the adventure.  Today, Andrew and I will fly up to Chicago to meet up with Dustin and head over to Bristol.  I must admit that emotionally I haven’t quite realized what is about to take place.  My head has been spinning like crazy trying to get everything together for this trip and still there are items left unsolved…  This trip could prove to be very interesting and I like that.

We are planning to start kayaking on Friday at 10AM.  Other than that time, we have no schedule… simply us and the water.