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.
Missed part one? Read it first.
At it’s widest point the Mississippi River is over a mile in width. However, the beginning of the river is nothing more than a shallow stream.
Taken on day one of my 110 day, source to sea journey, down the Mighty Mississippi River.
I’d paddle a 100 meters, get stuck, walk a 100 meters, get back in, and so on…
It took the fun out of it, quick.
Paddles an entire river, skips leg day :)
One of the biggest dangers in the wild that a lot of people forget about is sunburn. Paddling in July meant we had to deal with a blistering sun on a daily basis, and nothing leads to sunburn like wet skin.
My ankles were protected by my kayak, but my dad, Peter, wasn’t so lucky.
Since he was in a canoe his legs were constanly exposed. Of course, he put on sunscreen, but it wasn’t waterproof, and so it didn’t take long before his ankles were 10 shades of red.
Eventually, we got through the shallow parts of the river, only to face our next challenge; rapids & cascades.
At the time I thought these cascades were dangerous. In retrospect, compared to the future challenges the river would throw at me, it was mere child’s play.
After the cascades we arrived at a stretch of the river that is overgrown with wild rice. I had detailed maps of every kilometer of the river, but these rice fields rendered the maps unusable.
Enjoying a cup of instant coffee right before entering the rice maze.
Wild rice grows fast, and incredibly high. It feel like your in a maze.
At first the rice fields were manageable, and Peter— Sitting higher in his canoe— would tell me where to go. However, after a while the wild rice became so large that all we could do was rough our way through it.
Often our boats got stuck, but getting out of the kayak was no option, as your legs might get tangled in wild rice, and you’d drown.
Eventually we made it through to the other side.
The day was over before we knew it, and so it was time to set up camp. Unfortunately, to get ashore we often had to wrestle our way through mud, which made getting in and out of our boats less than pleasureable.
The river was turning out the be especially tough on Peter. He suffered from muscle cramps, sunburn, and dozens of mosquitoe bites.
His condition worsened fast, and by the end of day 2 he had to be evacuated. For Peter this wasn’t easy. As a bussiness man he was so happy to be away from the office and back in nature. Unfortunately the river shows no mercy, and this meant I would now be on my own, much sooner than expected.
Two weeks later I received a message from my dad. It turned out he had second degree burns to his ankles, but he was going to be alright.
NEXT TIME >>
I was on my own. Facing 3750 kilometers of wild river. Next, I had to paddle through Silver Maple Forest; a dead forest with endless log jams and fallen trees…
And you’ll see me paddling across lake winnibigoshish, the largest lake on the Mississippi River. The river continues on the other side, so I had no choice but to cross it. However, if you’re in the middle of such a big lake, in a kayak, and the winds pick up, it can become extremely dangerous.
Not to mention, if you’re on the middle of the lake, and you have to take a leak… What do you do!?
Find out next time...
