We made it!

After 68 days on the river, our journey has now come to an end. It feels quite weird to no longer be paddling, to no longer be outside 24/7, and to no longer be attached to our dear canoe, The Cindy Lou.
There is much debate as to where the Mississippi River ends. Some consider it to be in New Orleans (mile maker 95), some believe its in Venice (mile marker 11), some mile marker 0, while the most dedicated paddle all the way to the Gulf of Mexico (10 miles south of mile marker 0). Due to some logistical issues, we decided to end our trip in Venice, the last town on the Mississippi accessible by road.
Paddling into the marina yesterday was rather emotional - I think we all felt a mix of happiness, relief, exhaustion, and sadness. One of our mottos this summer has been "the river will provide," and this held true to the very end. We were treated like royalty at the Associated Branch Pilots station in town - thank you so much for the ride back to NOLA, the shower, and the amazing food!
We're spending Monday and Tuesday relaxing in New Orleans, before heading out on Wednesday morning. While we may be done paddling, the adventure continues!

Less than a week left!

Getting to and from mile marker zero is hard. If anyone has any contacts in the New Orleans area that might be able to help us out with some logistics, we'd greatly appreciate it! Email Elina at aberglun@bowdoin.edu or call 203-644-5378 if you're able to help.

On change

On May 29th, a little more than two months ago, our voyage down the Mississippi River began. Back then, the "Mighty Miss" wasn't so mighty. At the headwaters, the river was quite shallow, and small enough to walk across. The current was nearly nonexistent, and the banks unpopulated. We drank water from the river, and went swimming often. The Mississippi River was, in other words, like most other rivers I've encountered: beautiful, unpolluted, and generally pretty neat.

Much has changed since Lake Itasca. 60+ days, 10 states, and 2000 miles downstream, the Mississippi has evolved into a river that is far from ordinary. With strong currents, crazy wingdams, and barge traffic, you never really know where the river will take you. Everyday is an adventure. We paddle through cities, under interstates, and past flying fish. Draining 40% of the United States, the Mississippi is the third largest river in the world. Quite mighty, if I may say so myself. However, this also means that the river is quite polluted. I think I've seen more trash than fish in the water, and every time I go swimming I fear that I'll get some kind of disease. Don't get me wrong - the Mississippi is still a great river - but sometimes I wish I could be back at Lake Itasca, paddling through clear, clean, and cool waters.

We paddled through Baton Rouge, Louisiana today, and are now approximately 230 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. This final stretch of the river has been called "cancer corridor" by many. I'm not sure why exactly, but to be honest I don't think I want to know... The end is near, and more change lies ahead. A week from tomorrow we'll be exposed to the luxuries of modern society again. Air conditioning, running water, clean clothes, and good food will be nice, but I sure will miss the Big Mudy come September.

The centenial paddle

A few days ago we woke up bright and early at 4 am and paddled into the sunrise. 19 hours later we pulled into camp, having canoed 100 miles that day. Shortly thereafter we collapsed in our tents, tired and sore, but feeling quite accomplished.

After nearly 60 days on the river, we're getting quite close to the end. Tomorrow morning we plan on resupplying food one last time in Vicksburg, Mississippi, before canoeing onward to the Gulf of Mexico. 10 more days and 434 miles is all that we have left. Mile marker zero appears more attainable than ever before!

Walking in Memphis

Since leaving the wonderful hospitality of Cape Girardeau, we have camped in four different states in the last five nights. At the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers we met a solo kayaker from Knoxville named Andrew. Andrew had started his journey a week before, paddling down the Cumberland River from his hometown into the Ohio, and finally the Mighty Mississippi. We paddled and camped together all the way down to Memphis, completing 50 to 60 mile days despite the high temperatures. Once in Memphis we were able to store gear and wash clothes at the Mud Island Marina, thanks to Andy and his friendly staff. After our first showers in nearly a week we met Andrew's family and ate some world famous ribs at the Rendezvous restaurant. After that we walked the bustling Beale Street, checked out the Gibson guitar museum, and got some ice cream. After all that excitement we passed out pretty early in our first hotel room of the trip. Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Shankles, Molly, J.J., David, and Andrew! It's back on the river for now, only 730 miles to the ocean!

The lower section

People on the river have continually been nothing but gracious to us throughout our journey. We spent the past two days enjoying ourselves in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Bud and Jean, thank you again for a fantastic weekend! 

1300 miles from Lake Itasca, we've now completed the upper portion of the Mississippi. Tomorrow we'll paddle by the confluence of the Ohio River, where we're expecting the current to pick up considerably. The past few days we've been able to paddle nearly 7 miles per hour, over twice the speed we paddled in the headwaters. We should make it to New Orleans in no time! 

Paddling south

After 42 days on the river, we're officially done with portaging and locks. From here on out, its just us and the river. The current has picked up significantly, and we're cruising along! After weeks of paddling through small river towns, it was slightly overwhelming to go through St. Louis yesterday. Traffic, tourists, and lots of huge barges made for an exciting day. As we've paddled south, the temperature has increased dramatically, and it is HOT. Kentucky and Arkansas are coming up soon, and who knows what adventures we'll encounter there!

Unyielding hospitality

All ailments are taken care of, and we are as healthy as can be. The past two nights we've experienced the most hospitality one could ask for - Jim, Judy, Nancy, and Bill, we can't thank you enough! So much great food! Our first shower in three weeks was also greatly appreciated. Needless to say, we are ready to continue on our way down the river!

Sunshine at last

The past week we endured crazy lightning storms and flash flooding. The river is way above flood level and we've paddled by so many houses and riverside parks that are underwater (including two halfway submerged outhouses-ufda). Because the river is flooding many of the dams are closed so we've had to  portage around them. On the positive side we've essentially had the river to ourselves because all the barges aren't running which has been nice and peaceful.

The past couple days the sun has finally come out. Yesterday we tied our canoes together and set up a sail with a tarp and paddles. We cruised, it was epic. Then we all jumped in the water and later that night enjoyed some stellar Mac and cheese.

Two days ago we met two guys from southern Minnesota who are also paddling to the gulf. We camped with them on a beach and shared stories around the campfire which was a lot of fun. They have done a fair amount of canoeing in the Boundary Waters which was pretty neat to hear about.

Tonight we're camping in a riverside park in Keokuk, Iowa. Molly had to stop at the doctor and get a steroid shot for her chiggers, which have unfortunately taken a turn for the worse. Leif's pink eye seems to be improving and Hurrikane's cuts are pretty much healed though so things are looking up. Tomorrow we'll be paddling into Missouri woot woot, our fifth state so far. Hopefully the people there will be just as friendly as the people we met in Iowa!

A summer solstice on the river

Happy midsummer everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the longest day of the year! We sure are. After a fantastic weekend in Minneapolis (Thanks Hannah!) we paddled onward towards Red Wing. Once there, we took a day off and rock climbed at Barn Bluff. So fun! After three weeks in a canoe it felt good to get a change of pace (although our muscles definitely ached afterwards...). That night we enjoyed a lovely dinner in the park with friends (Thanks for visiting us Phil, Liz, and Luke!). While the meat, boca burgers, and corn was tasty, nothing could be better than the mint brownies (Thanks Terry!). Such a great day!

On Wednesday we set off again, and despite headwinds we managed to canoe across Lake Pepin (the longest lake on the Mississippi) in one day. The current is slow in this section, but beautiful bluffs, sand beaches, and cute towns line the river, so life ain't too bad! Last night we encountered our first legitimate storm, but thankfully it passed without causing any damage. Today we passed through our 8th lock and dam and resupplied in Winona. As I'm writing this, I'm sitting on a beach overlooking the river - it's pretty neat!

Back in civilization (albeit briefly)

After 17 days of paddling, we've made it to Minneapolis. We've completed nearly a quarter of our journey, and so far everything is going well. Everyone is healthy (except for the occasional bump (or chiggers, in Molly's case), sunburn, and sore shoulder), we all still like each other (for now), and canoeing is still exciting. Let's hope it stays that way!

Yesterday was a big day. We completed our last portage, went through our first lock and dam without any issues, and paddled into the Twin Cities. Urban canoeing was quite strange - I'm not used to paddling under high way bridges, yielding to barges, and coping with the smell of pollution. However, after a shower, real food, and some ice cream, peace was restored. Today we've restocked our food supply, picked up a few pieces of gear, and washed our grungy clothes.

Tomorrow we paddle on towards Red Wing, where we might take a day off to climb. More adventures are in our future!

Eating pizza in Montissippi County Park

We just finished an incredible pinneaple pizza at Montissippi County Park. The dominos delivery guy wasn't too excited about delivering to a watercraft only campsite, but we met him at the boat landing. He said if we were in our boats he cant deliver to us, he insisted we had to be on land. Who knew dominos doesn't deliver to boats?

Today we actually ran several sections of class 1-2 whitewater and managed not to flip either canoe woot woot. Molly confirmed that she does in fact have chiggers on her legs and the rest of the crew has some funky red bumps on their feet and hands. The ticks seemed to have mostly disappeared though so all is good.

Yesterday when portaging around a dam in Little Falls we met a great man that we call the can man. He goes around the town collecting cans and raising money for the church. When we canoed up to the portage he jumped out of his golf cart and ran towards us and said he could help us portage our stuff in his golf cart and trailer, what a guy. And it doesn't stop there. As the can man was helping us unload our stuff from his golf cart, a very nice old women came out and offered us hot coffee and homemade cookies, what a town.

Tomorrow we'll be paddling to Coon Rapids Dam and doing our last portage of the trip! Friday and Saturday we'll be in the twin cities taking a break and seeing family and friends. Entering civilization will be tough but after 2 weeks we all could use a shower I suppose, and probably a break from sunburns. 

Also, Steve Downing at KAXE radio station interviewed us when we were in Grand Rapids a few days ago. If you're interested in hearing the interview it's available on their website!

Conquered Lake Winnie!

After a long day of paddling in the sun, we've officially made it past Lake Winnibigosh (the largest lake on the Mississippi) and are now at Crazy Jame's Campsite. Unforunately (or maybe fortunately?) James has yet to grace us with his precence, but we'll let you know if we meet him. The 12 mile crossing of Lake Winnie went well, unlike all the horror stories we've read.... We just enjoyed a delicious dinner by the lake, and I am very excited to drift off to sleep very soon. 8 o'clock has become my new bed time. Due to a lack of energy (and phone battery) we decided to make a list of words describing the past few days (complete sentences are overrated):

Ticks

Jimmy

Georgia

Sun

Sunburn 

Ticks 

Bugs galore

Red lights

Turtles

Awkward portage

Pelicans

Hurrikane and the Cloud Controversy (c) 

Dry water

Wet water

Cribbage

Skinny dipping

Lists

Light ramen bombs

Stone face

The river

Medical mysteries

Mysterious lake monsters

Spirit animals 

Sore shoulders

Old people

Logg jams 

Crazy James

In a few days we'll be in Grand Rapids to buy groceries and potentially be interviewed by the local radio station. More updates to come then. 

47 miles done!

We just finished day 2, canoed 17 miles yesterday and 30 today. Our first day we found two paddles, a life jacket, and a stove along the river. We also met two entertaining guys from Georgia who are also paddling to the gulf. They flipped their canoe and were in the process of salvaging their things when we met them. We spent our first night camping with these two guys and they told us stories about blowing things up on their farms in Georgia. They then proceeded to pull out their laptop computer and showed us videos of their life in Georgia. We exchanged cell phone numbers. That night there was a lightning storm but no one got electrocuted. We started paddling at 7:40am this morning and ran into another group of older folk who were also traveling to the gulf but in many different kinds of boats including canoes, paddle boats,, pontoons, barges, and fishing boats. Hurrikane had actually talked to them before when they gave a presentation in Duluth about their trip last year where they walked around all of Lake Superior. We paddled onward and found a rope swing and jumped into the river, definite highlight. Tonight we made a phenomenal hot meal consisting of rice, beans, avocado, and salsa. Tomorrow we'll be paddling through Bemidji, portaging around our first dam, and camping on star island! Stay tuned!

P.S. We can't really figure out how people can comment on the blog but you can always email us! Molly's mom tried to post the comment below but emailed it to us instead:

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” 

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Next stop: Lake Itasca

After months of planning, organizing, and packing, we're finally about to begin our trip! This morning we're driving to Duluth to buy groceries before heading up to Lake Itasca this afternoon. Family and friends will be camping with us tonight. We start canoeing bright and early tomorrow morning, and if all goes according to plan we'll be in Grand Rapids early next week.

Fun fact: it takes a drop of water 90 days to travel from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. So, if we never camp or paddle, and just hang out in our canoes 24/7, we should be in New Orleans by September! (Thanks Farfar!)

4 days till send off!

oh hello friends!

Elina arrived in Minnesota late last night, and all four of us are officially in the same state! On Tuesday, friends and family will join us at Lake Itasca (the source of the Mississippi) for a send off party. Ya'll should join us around the campfire! We start canoeing on Wednesday morning. So excited! We would love if anyone wants to join us/feed us/pull our canoes behind a barge at any point along the way - just email (or preferably fax) Molly (mrider@bowdoin.edu) or Elina (aberglun@bowdoin.edu). You might even spot a shark (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/07/0719_050719_bullsharks_2.html) or an alligator (http://www.twincities.com/ci_18842792)!