Day 1: 8/27/06

Aha! Finally we found a connection to do a little o' the updatin'. After driving all over the place between Lake Itasca and Bemidji on Saturday, we determined that the first section of the Mississippi was impassable. The river level for this entire section is extremely low and would require carrying our canoe and gear the entire way. At one river level guage, the water was two feet below the lowest reading and much lower than during the drought of 1988.

We decided to do a quick paddle/photo op at Lake Itasca (bottom) with all of our supporting friends and family. Thanks for making the drive! We then "portaged " to Bemidji where we had our actual sendoff (top). They apparently don't make paddles in Paul's size (middle).

And We're Off!

Ben and I arrived at Itasca State Park to scope out water levels this afternoon...it' not looking too good. The drought has left the river at its lowest in decades ( inches at the headwaters!). We'll see what we can make of it. We may not be able to post for a few days, so bear with us!

T-minus 24hrs!

After roughly 12 hours of packing and re-packing last night, we finally can fit everything into the canoe! (This means that we got next to no sleep) Left: Pictures at the starting line of the First Annual Mississippi River Beard Growing Championship. Place your bets!

Almost Ready To Get Wet!!

The culmination of months of planning is almost upon us. This weekend I met with the Vice President of Wenonah Canoes, who provided us with our expedition canoe. We will be paddling a variation of the Minnesota II canoe. It is an 18' 6" boat with an ultra-lite kevlar hull as well as a reinforced felt layer along the keel for protection against pesky rocks near the Mississippi's headwaters (note: the most recent river gauge reading near the headwaters was 1.7 feet, not too promising). This canoe has a natural kevlar finish with a toe brace in the stern for maximum efficiency while paddling. Wanna race fool?!