re: Psychos PADDLE Down the Length of the Mississippi

I know a guy who paddled down it in a kayak with a buddy while they were Tech students.

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where are they at in BR where they ended up on a beach on the river?

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. There are beautiful sandbars all along the river. Go to Google maps Sattellite view.

I just talked to my friend Layne Logue with Quapaw Canoe.

He is running trips from Vicksburg. They run from Old River to Baton Rouge. He’s on FB and Insta.

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My wife has some land on the river around Carville.

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We met a number of kayakers/canoers/huck-finn rafters. They were all pretty interesting people to talk to.

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was their skin falling off?

back in 2017, I too went down the rabbit hole and ran across a young man who just graduated from college. Before going to medical school, he paddled the River in 76 days.
June 2 to Aug 18 ... His longest paddle was 112 miles. I plotted his journey and estimated when he would be close so I could hook him up with a care package. Day 70 he would be in BR and I couldn't get away from work to meet Sam. Day 72 was a Sunday which was easier for me.

you can Follow his epic journey with awesome photos and the literacy of Hemingway

Sam told me he never felt scared with the riverboat traffic and large tankers/freighter ships. He said that navigating the lock system around Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee demanded lots of focus, attention, and communication since those tugboats and larger ships DGAF about kayaks and canoes. Sometimes it would take 2-4 hours before he could enter & exit the lock. He would communicate with boat traffic and listen to the River Boat pilots with a VHF Marine radio - Sam confirmed that was a MUST HAVE and made his travel so much easier and safer.

Weather conditions such as lightning and rainstorms were also scary at times. Day 67 and 69 were really bad rain storms. He also mentioned being alert for floating trees and debris in the river. Sam said that he could smell a noticeable difference in the air from the chemicals and refinery discharge when travelling through N. BR and Geismar. Sam paddled a 17' QCC kevlar kayak that weighed around 44 lbs. Very lightweight, sleek, and fast.

here is Sam's day 72 entry when I met up with him just South of the Hale Boggs bridge in Destrehan.

" ... Day 72: I woke up this morning around the usual 8am or so, packing up camp and paddling off around 9:20am. It was a gorgeous morning, with there being more blue sky than clouds for the entire day. I passed countless more ships today, many sporting some awesome names - Orient Tiger, Cielo di Iyo, Qi Xian Ling, Zaliv Baikal, Kazdanga, and my absolute favorite being the Southern Quokka (if you don't know what a Quokka is, google it, you'll smile). Around 1pm or so, I approached a pretty cool bridge, and ever so faintly thought I heard "SAAAAAAAAM! SAAAAAAAM!", over and over! I was completely confused, as I hadn't been contacted by anyone about meeting up and didn't know anyone that it might be. I scanned the shorelines (I was on LBD, left bank descending) and thought I may have seen a person under the bridge over on the opposite side of the river. It kind of looked like someone waving a white shirt around or something, but as it was the same height as the flags behind the levee I figured it was just that, a flag. Deciding I was maybe just imagining things and having auditory hallucinations, I continued on. Maybe 5 miles down the river, I heard the "SAAAAAM!" again! Only louder! I scanned the shorelines and on the one nearest to me (LBD still) I saw a man standing there waving around a white shirt! I realized he was definitely trying to flag me down and paddled over. The guy introduced himself as "Got Blaze", and had driven from Lafayette, LA (a 2-hour drive!!!) to meet me and give me supplies! He brought me water, fresh pineapple, watermelon and oranges, some AMAZING homemade jambalaya, Gatorade, Clif bars, and some gummy bears! He explained how he was from Cajun country, and that they're all about hospitality and taking care of their own (he recognized my french last name). We hung out in the shade for an hour and a half or so talking and eating lunch. Apparently, he was on the internet and somehow stumbled across the Stillwater Gazette article about me, and has been following me on Instagram ever since (he unfortunately doesn't have an account so wasn't sure how to contact me). While I had the amazing jambalaya (and ate all of the pineapple and watermelon)... "

Hale Boggs bridge - Destrehan ~ Luling



Day 1


Day 70 - Red Stick


coyote near Ft. Jackson - Buras - Boothville - Venice


final morning - gorgeous daybreak

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final morning - gorgeous daybreak

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now how do you get back?

Moved a houseboat from French Settlement to Port Eads once. Quite an adventure in itself.

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I would love to go stand In the headwaters one day for a vacation. Feel like it would be a surreal experience.

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Was there just recently. Very cool experience.

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The true psychos are the ones who paddle UP the entire Mississippi River.

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It happens. I hosted This group for a few days on their way up the river. I often help thru-paddlers when they pass through Vicksburg. Taking them to grocery stores, getting them water, letting them wash clothes/stay at my house. There are usually a couple dozen or more a year that paddle the entire river.

Sounds awesome but I have this thing called shite to do. This doesn’t involve two months of not taking care of shite in my life.

A couple of guys from La Tech did this in 2018

'Riverdawgs' brave mighty Mississippi in summer adventure

A boat trip of more than 2,000 miles – with no engine, just paddles and determination – gave two Northwest Louisiana college students the adventure of a lifetime.

Louisiana Tech students Jacob Brister and James Davison kayaked the entire length of the Mississippi River earlier this year.

“It was 2,552 miles to be exact, from Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico,” Brister said. “Took us 59 days total. We originally estimated about 60 so we were right on it with 59 days. We left just toward the end of May, all the way through the month of June then finished July 28."

“The ticks and mosquitoes, especially in the first part of the river, were pretty rough. They would hound you pretty good. You would wake up in the middle of the night with a couple of ticks trying to crawl, crawl around you,” he said.

Davison also shared a spiritual take away.

“Just the fact that we got to get up and (the) Lord gave another day to paddle and to breathe, that was enough for me."

Brister also touched on how the accomplishment affected him physically and spiritually.

“The hard part for me was the heat, especially when you got back down here in the South in the latter part of the trip,” he said. “We definitely both are Christians and believe in God, you know we really felt like he had a hand in it the whole trip. You know he was right there with us the whole time and that is what allowed to complete the trip."

The journey pushed the two guys to their bodies’ limit. Food and water were critical.

“We ate anything that would not eat us first, so whether that was canned beans or tortillas, or summer sausage, or whenever we could get into a town and get a big lunch,” Davison said. “Lots of good home cooking,” he said.

But they didn’t linger in towns.

“Most nights, I mean we were camping out we were in the sand or different camping locations along the river,” Brister said.

The pair offered some advice for anyone who wants to try a similar trip.

"I would say if you are considering to doing a trip like this or one similar to this to definitely go for it, prepare but go for it,” Brister said.

They say they’re glad to be home.

“We are back in ‘The Boot’ and I would say just keep on truckin',” Davison said.

article : LINK