This Idea was born about six years ago in Big Bend National park as two of my friends Aaron and Kyle, my Uncle Tom and myself floated the Rio Grande. It was a long trip, about 25 days but for Aaron and I it just wasn’t quite long enough. As we drifted between canyon walls we daydreamed out loud about spending weeks and then months on the river. We couldn’t get enough. Any river!!, every river!!!, the Amazon, the Yukon, the Yangtze and the Nile, the Ob and the mighty Mississippi; If they were long we longed to float their waters. “Well, if three and half weeks aren’t enough maybe three and half months would satisfy us,” Aaron suggested. “Or three and a half years,” I belted out.
Our daydreaming continued into the evenings and as we stoked the fire with gnarled mesquite branches we discussed the pros and cons about descending the longest rivers in the world. One river was too slow but accessible, others were fast but malaria ridden, some were romantic, or dammed, or too buggy, if militia weren’t the problem it would be the bears or hippos. We slung ideas back and forth and realized that some of the pros were cons and some of the cons were pros, but one thing remained true; we still wanted to float them all. But where should we begin? As our fantasy grew, days passed and more river miles were upstream of us, we noticed that the word “Mississippi” clung to our tongues.
So the question of ‘where?’ had been decided. Our thoughts however, were still being tantalized and our conversations controlled by ‘who?’, ‘when?’, ‘why?’, ‘how?’ and ‘what?’. The answers to those questions started out ruff around the edges then got smoothed out, torn up and stitched back together so many times in the last six years that a creationist might start listing left. Ill eventually fill you in on the evolutionary process, but for right now lets go back to the idea’s inception on the muddy little Rio Grande and the wayward river rats.
Overview
The Big Getter Voyage Map
click here to follow along
In the summer of 2008 I will be taking a pontoon houseboat down the Mississippi River from Minneapolis St. Paul to the Gulf of Mexico. It will be my home and vessel as I descend the mighty Mississip. This will be a healthy and relaxing trip, an adventure worth experiencing, and a good-livin-hell-of-a-time. For six years this trip has been living as a fantastical goal within me. I know the beginning is around the bend, and that makes me smile like I just lost my training wheels.
The boat is not traditional in many ways except for that it floats. It is a unique HPB (human powered boat) that in basic appearance looks like a hybrid between a cataraft on steroids and a traditional houseboat. There are four different systems of propulsion that can be operated individually or in conjunction with one another. Its primary form of power comes from two pedal-driven-propeller stations located at the stern on both sides of the boat. They resemble recumbent bicycles with a propeller instead of wheels. In addition, there is a set of oars for rowing on the front deck. The boat also has, for those occasions when the current is strong, sweeps that can be operated from the top of the cabin. Sweeps are long oars that resemble gigantic hockey sticks. They protrude fore and aft of the boat and are used for steering and lateral movement but not necessarily to gain downstream momentum. Lastly there is an outboard motor that can be used in emergencies, for safety and to make up lost time.
The 3-foot diameter inflatable pontoons are 22 feet long and are attached to a frame constructed from 2” Aluminum pipe. The frame also doubles as the skeletal structure, which supports a hanging floor, two side decks, a front deck and a cabin. Plywood that is cut to the right dimensions and fastened to the aluminum pipe forms the floor and decks. As for the cabin, it is waterproof nylon, canvas and mesh all sewn together and fitted around the aluminum pipe. Inside the cabin there are four berths, a living area, a kitchen and storage. Oh yeah there is a bathroom too, outfitted with all the amenities a camping king would expect.
From June through August I’ll weave approximately 1800 miles through 10 states to the ever-nearing Gulf Coast. Geographically speaking the Mississippi River is separated into two sections, the upper and lower, with the dividing point lying at the confluence with the Ohio River. Both section are as unique as they are long and will offer a river front glimpse at Middle America. One major difference of the Upper Mississippi is that it is a series of pools created by channel dams, while the lower half is free flowing. Due to this, the average current will be much faster downstream of the Ohio River. Along the way I will ‘lock through’ 27 locks, visit the homes of Mark Twain and Elvis, dodge barge traffic, and do some fishing and sunbathing. I intend to explore as much as possible, learn what I can and enjoy life to brim.
If you’d like to come, believe me, I want you to. In fact, I want as much company as possible. The cabin will sleep four, so I hope to have three others with me at all times. The invitation is open to everyone and anyone, family, friends, friends of friends, and especially to characters I meet along the way. There is an itinerary in the blog archive that will help you choose when, where and for how long you would like to join the adventure. Don't worry; I expect the trip will take me 100 days, so you'll have all summer to fit in a Mississippi get-a-way.
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