Trip Statistics (pre trip estimates)
The following chart shows the approximate mileage for the expedition route. All dates are best guesses and don't mean a whole lot until I get underway on the river and see how things go. If you'd like to see a map of the route click here.
Main Route: 5350 Miles – 22 states
Incl. side trips: 6100 Miles – 27 states
Projected pace: 25 miles per day
Proj. days on water: 240
Departure: December 5, 2009 – Portage Wisconsin (WI River)
Completion: September 2010 – Portage Wisconsin (Fox River)
Stages: All mileages and times are estimates.
Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers
- 1560 MILES
- Portage WI to New Orleans
- Dec-mid Jan
- Support crew for first week
- Very cold water and weather
Gulf Coast
- 900 MILES
- New Orleans to Key Largo FL
- Jan to Feb
- Mixed route through Intercoastal and open coast
- Big Bend Water Trail and Wilderness Waterway
· Sweetwater Kayak – St. Petersburg FL
Florida Keys – SIDE TRIP –
-- 110 MILES (one way)
- Key Largo to Key West FL
- Side trip to be done if I’m ahead of schedule
- Will look for ride(s) to return to route in Key Largo
SOUTHWEST SEA KAYAK SYMPOSIUM
- One month off route to attend/work at the symposium
- March to early April
- Aqua Adventures Event (my support team)
East Coast (south)
- 1350 MILES
- Key Largo to New York City
- April to mid May
- Mixed route through Intercoastal and open coast
- Outer Banks
· Sea Kayak Georgia
East Coast (north) – SIDE TRIP -
- 650 MILES
- New York City to Eastport Maine
- Mid May to mid June
- Completes entire east coast
- Side trip if time and money allows
- Would look for return ride(s) to return to route in NY
New York Canal System
- 337 MILES
- New York City to Oswego NY
- Mid June to early July
- Hudson River to Erie Canal to Oswego Canal
Great Lakes
- 1062 MILES
- Oswego NY to Green Bay WI
- Early July to mid August
- Follows south shore of lakes Ontario, Huron & Erie
- North tip of Lake Michigan
Fox River
- 138 MILES
- Green Bay WI to Portage WI
- Mid August to September
Incl. side trips: 6100 Miles – 27 states
Projected pace: 25 miles per day
Proj. days on water: 240
Departure: December 5, 2009 – Portage Wisconsin (WI River)
Completion: September 2010 – Portage Wisconsin (Fox River)
Stages: All mileages and times are estimates.
Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers
- 1560 MILES
- Portage WI to New Orleans
- Dec-mid Jan
- Support crew for first week
- Very cold water and weather
Gulf Coast
- 900 MILES
- New Orleans to Key Largo FL
- Jan to Feb
- Mixed route through Intercoastal and open coast
- Big Bend Water Trail and Wilderness Waterway
· Sweetwater Kayak – St. Petersburg FL
Florida Keys – SIDE TRIP –
-- 110 MILES (one way)
- Key Largo to Key West FL
- Side trip to be done if I’m ahead of schedule
- Will look for ride(s) to return to route in Key Largo
SOUTHWEST SEA KAYAK SYMPOSIUM
- One month off route to attend/work at the symposium
- March to early April
- Aqua Adventures Event (my support team)
East Coast (south)
- 1350 MILES
- Key Largo to New York City
- April to mid May
- Mixed route through Intercoastal and open coast
- Outer Banks
· Sea Kayak Georgia
East Coast (north) – SIDE TRIP -
- 650 MILES
- New York City to Eastport Maine
- Mid May to mid June
- Completes entire east coast
- Side trip if time and money allows
- Would look for return ride(s) to return to route in NY
New York Canal System
- 337 MILES
- New York City to Oswego NY
- Mid June to early July
- Hudson River to Erie Canal to Oswego Canal
Great Lakes
- 1062 MILES
- Oswego NY to Green Bay WI
- Early July to mid August
- Follows south shore of lakes Ontario, Huron & Erie
- North tip of Lake Michigan
Fox River
- 138 MILES
- Green Bay WI to Portage WI
- Mid August to September
Many people would debate the use of the word expedition to describe a trip like this. By their standards it is not remote enough or dangerous enough to consider a true expedition, and that’s just fine. In fact the idea of this trip is quite the opposite of so many kayak expeditions that have been undertaken in the past. It’s not a hard-core, off-the-charts trip designed to prove what PEOPLE can do such as a trip down an un-runable river in Tibet, a wind blown crawl in remote sub arctic island archipelago, or a high speed race around an entire continent. Instead, it’s a trip that links together hundreds of everyday trips that YOU can do right near home. If you’ve got an idea for an adventure go out and do it. Don’t “est” yourself out of that experience just because you’re not the – first, youngest, fastest, oldest, best, - or if the trip isn’t - the wildest, longest, hottest, coldest, furthest, etc….
This trip will be done “solo” only in the sense that it will be me alone that paddles the entire length of the route. However, others will be invited to join me throughout the journey, to share in the adventure to be found right in their back yards. I will not be trying to set any records, or prove anything about his paddling prowess along the way. Opportunities for support in the way of warm beds to sleep in, home cooked meals, and “slack-packing” where folks lighten the load by hauling his gear will be most graciously accepted. In the first weeks a support crew (my uncle Jim) will be shadowing the river with a truck and camper sparing me the pleasure of sleeping on the frozen ground in sub zero temperatures after paddling in ice water all day. Side trips (paddling or land based) may involve taking rides (with kayak and gear) in automobiles, but the one rule toward accepting rides along the main route is that no forward progress may be made by automobile. If a ride off the water is given to spend the night with a friend the trip must resume at the same place I was picked up. This isn’t a rule to keep the trip “pure” but rather my desire to see all that there is to see along the way.