Up until now only a handful of people have heard about what I’m planning this summer – some friends, some family, my barber.

But maybe you won’t be too surprised as you read about it. The seed for the idea started in high school when my dad was telling me about Lewis and Clark’s route up the Missouri on their way to the Pacific. “Wouldn’t it be cool to retrace their steps,” I remember him saying. I couldn’t help but agree. This trip won’t be that cool (or long) and people will probably say I’m more like Huck Finn than L&C, but that little conversation with my dad is where the inspiration comes from.

I’m planning to kayak from Louisville, Kentucky to New Orleans, Louisiana by way of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. This trip should take me around 45 days (weather dependent and how hard I want to push it) to travel the 1300 miles as I camp out along the way.

I understand there are real risks involved with this trip…barge traffic, wing dams & other hidden river structures, people, snakes, alligators, insects, weather and surely more I haven’t taken into account yet. But trust me. I’m doing my homework. Others have done this and I’m not being careless in my preparation.

So then…the purpose of this blog is to capture the “How” and the “Why” (and the other “question words”) of this trip.

I look forward to having some time to think, write, and maybe fish.

Hope you enjoy reading about it,

Z