I’m an adventurer, thrill seeker, and life enthusiast with a shorter life expectancy than your mother’s cat - Follow my never-ending journey.
Mississippi Solo Series - After friends and family label him a serial quitter, Henk sets off on a wild ride down the Mighty Mississippi as he paddles from Source to Sea to prove to himself and other that he can stick with something.
There are many reasons why it might seem unwise to paddle the entire Mississippi River in a kayak.
That— in part— is exactly why I did it.
I’ve always been known as a serial quitter; the guy who never finished anything. For me, paddling the Mighty Mississippi from Source to Sea, was a form of redemption.
I figured, if I paddled 3750 kilometres from Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico; then nobody would ever call me a quitter again.
Here’s me not finishing my sand castle. - Growing up I quit jobs, quit sports teams, quit universities, and even quit pets. Getting me to stick with something was like nailing jelly to a wall; it just didn’t work.
The idea to cross America in a tiny boat popped into my head after I had walked over 2200 kilometres from England to Rome.
Unfortunately, I had contracted plantar fasciitis, a painful foot condition, and was told I needed to keep the weight off my feet for a while.
So I had three options; I could either get a real job, sitting behind a desk. I could pay NASA to let me live in an anti-gravity chamber. Or I could find an adventure where I could keep my feet up all day.
Photo taken in the English countryside during a 2200 km pilgrimage from Canterbury, England to Rome, Italy. (No, I can’t walk on water, I took the ferry across the sea.)
Since paddling kept all the weight off my feet, I decided to become a modern day Huckleberry Finn, and paddle the entire Mississippi River.
The journey led me through 10 different states, and lasted a total of 110 days.
Minnesota, Wisconson, Iowa, Illinois, Missiouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana.
I wrote to my father, Peter, that I was going to paddle one of the longest rivers in the world from source to sea. He replied by sending me a list of all the people that had died on the river.
Thanks dad, very helpful.
He had a point though. The Mississippi is a wild, unpredictable beast. I would be facing many dangers.
Class II rapids, giant locks & dams, whirlpools, barges, and not to forgot; bears, coyotes, and the odd alligator. By the way, did I tell you I have a combined paddling experience of about 1,5 hours?
Here I’m passing through one of many locks on the upper Mississippi. In my little kayak I was at the bottom of the food-chain.
Ironically, when the summer of 2013 came along Peter decided to join me on the journey for the first eight days.
Peter and Me in Mongolia in 2012.
My dad needed a sleeping bag, but unfortunately he was a bit too big for the normal sized sleeping bags, and so we had to improvise by zipping two sleeping bags together.
Necessity is the mother of all invention.
Peter paddled a canoe, and I paddled a whistler kayak that over time became my trusted companion.
Keeping a canoe or a kayak stable takes practice, especially in class II rapids. However, we had our food, water, and gear stored in the compartments of our boats which put the centre of gravity very low, and gave us both lots of stability.
I had consulted several other adventurers and paddling experts on what I should bring, and as is usually the case, I took far too much.
The first four days we would be alone, completely isolated from civilisation. There would be no resupply, so we made sure we had enough food to keep us going for at least a week.
We had lots of canned foods, beef jerky, and chocolate. Mostly high energy foods, and foods that didn’t spoil easily.
Peter and I had one last meal before we started our journey. I told him I was nervous about coyotes and bears, to which he responded by telling me that he had brought his machete.
Peter brought his machete, which he planned on thrusting into the ground next to his tent to protect us against bears, coyotes and the worst predator of all: humans.
It was hard to believe that I would be spending the next 110 days in my kayak, that I would be seeing every inch of the river for myself, and meeting interesting people along the way.
I was so excited.
I had obtained maps from the Army Corps of Engineers that gave us detailed information on every mile of the river.
Sometimes I caught myself realising the enormity of the expedition. In those cases I instantly felt overwhelmed by insecurities and doubt about the feasibility of the adventure.
At some point I made a promise to myself.
Just like everyone who works a 40 hour workweek, I would take it one day at a time. If I paddled one day. If I survived one day. I was successful.
And so we took off…
NEXT TIME >>
The beginning of the river was a maze of wild rice, fallen logs, and rapids.
Often my boat got stuck, but getting out of the kayak was a no go as my legs might’ve gotten tangled in wild rice, which would then put me at risk of drowning.
