The idea behind the Expedition:
The last words in my trip log from the Northern Forest by Canoe Expedition are as follows: “…[long trips] have a nasty side effect that I am only now coming to terms with: they're habit forming.” Now, a year and a half later, the truth in that statement is becoming more and more apparent as I prepare for what may prove to be a very long trip indeed. In looking at a map I see only possibilities. My reaction, my reflex, in starring down on the symbols, lines and colors, is to imagine in them unique connections that are invariably made by water. The goal is always to find the tiniest blue lines one can, and look uphill to see where they come closest to meeting more tiny blue lines and shapes. In this way it is possible to imagine the efficient crossing of immense distances. This is how the great explorers and our own forefathers did it, this is how the ancestors of all civilization did it, and this is how I intend to do it as an honor to their memory.It is my intention to travel by canoe from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine in one seasonal year. The route I have planned lies entirely within the contiguous United States, and all travel will be human powered, either by paddle or by portage. The 6,000 mile route will be attempted over a period of six months and will include over 2,000 miles paddled against the current, 3,500 miles with it, and over 600 miles of portaging. The route begins on the incoming tide of the Pacific Ocean and follows the Columbia, Snake, Yellowstone, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers for much – and in most cases all – of their length, before joining Lake Erie, the Erie Canal, the Hudson River and a variety of smaller rivers and lakes to meet the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Presumpscot River. I will withstand the snow and wind of the Cascades in March, battle the power of the Rocky Mountain freshet, cross the continental divide by portaging 100 miles through the Teton Range, and, depending on water levels and the most appropriate route, paddle through downtown Portland, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Albany as well as Yellowstone National Park, Teton National Park, fifty National Wildlife Refuges, four Wild and Scenic Rivers, and several National Recreational Areas, just to name a few.
If successful, this crossing will be the first of it’s kind. It would be the first west to east crossing of North America by canoe in a single year and the first crossing of the United States, at its widest point no less, by non-bicycle human power in a single year; these in addition to many other firsts. Firsts, however, in high-altitude mountaineering as well as in paddlesports, serve primarily to sell magazines and move books, but the achievement of these arbitrary distinctions is not the goal of my project. Instead, my goal is to protect and promote that which I love by the only means I know. I will invite the people I meet and those that have only heard or read about the project to pledge a penny or a dime or any amount they choose for each mile I paddle, and direct that money to people who’s life work is the protection of these rivers and the education of their importance to the next generation.Also, the choice to travel across the United States by canoe is a deliberate one. The connection people feel with their backyard, their local river or town, is immense, and the canoe is a ubiquitous object in our country. Thus, the chance of connecting and inspiring people is much higher; they can envision themselves exploring the same places that I will be and in the same way. I do not doubt the ability of Himalayan mountaineering expeditions or polar traverses to inspire people, but I know that most people will never be able see those landscapes, haul a pulk, or front pointing on a glacier.
This trip will be many things. It will be a strengthening of a connection to my country and the craft and sport that is my passion. It will be a method of equipping and promoting the river keepers of the nation to better protect, if only slightly, our most important of natural resources. It will be a journey undertaken with respect to my environment and those that came before, and with humility in all things. And most of all, I hope it will be a catalyst with which I hope to inspire young people raised in the age of Nature-Deficit Disorder and video game athletics to go outside and reconnect with their natural surroundings.
