Why?
Many have asked the questions, "Why did you decide to do this?" or, "What made you think of this?"
Having been planning for two years, I had forgotten at first. The answer: It was a result of inspiration coming from reading the journals of Lewis and Clark. Yes, yes, I realize they paddled up the Missouri instead of down the Mississippi, but it was the idea of a meager river expedition.
When?
The decision to go down the Miss. was made in the summer of 2006. I had just completed my sophomore year at Oral Roberts University. That summer I had been working for and with a buddy of mine named Ryan. We and a few others painted houses and barns - it was a good gig. One evening after painting while resting and thinking it hit me. It took me aback a little bit, knowing that from that point on there was no turning back - the trip must be done. Not wanting to publicize it and not wanting to get ahead of myself, I pondered it for about two weeks before mentioning it to anyone.
Realizing that life generally has a certain order, I chose a start date that made the most sense. Planning on working at an internship the summer of my junior year, it seemed best suited for the summer immediately following my graduation.
Who?
Realizing (at least I thought) the magnitude of the trip, I did not want to directly ask anyone, knowing that unless they volunteered to go, they would not have the passion necessary to complete the trip. Mentioning the trip to Ryan, he immediately seemed interested. Not wanting to overstep his bounds, he cautiously asked if I would want anyone to travel with. This, of course, was taken well. Ryan is someone who had enough brains, strength, and stamina to do the trip. the first year we had planned the trip, thinking aloud what we would need and what could happen. The second year things began to look a little shaky. Ryan had graduated college, gotten a full-time job, purchased a house (and later a second.) I started adding things up and after talking with him, it came to no surprise that he would be unable to go. No hard feelings, at all.
Trying to research other options, I soon realized how difficult it was to get people to commit 2-2.5 months of their lives to paddling the Mississippi. Many people really wanted to go, but other priorities seemed to always get in the way. Determination kicking in, I had decided to start planning this trip as if it were to be a solo experience, an appropriate move.
What?
Initially I had wanted to complete the trip taking two kayaks down the river. This seemed to be a more efficient and more enjoyable choice. After learning that Ryan had a canoe, the plan had changed, and for close to a year and a half, the plan was to take Ryan's canoe, with or without him. It had never occurred to me, after realizing it would be solo trip, to reinvestigate kayak options. A month or two before graduation, my dad came down for a visit. It was during this time when he suggested that I look into kayaks. It hit and stuck - this was to be a kayak trip down the Miss. I couldn't wait.
It was cutting down to the wire, days before the trip was scheduled to start and still no kayak. I was fervently checking craigslist and ebay hoping and praying to find an appropriate kayak. Finally on May 17th, I drove down to Champaign, IL to look at a kayak with only a mental image form a written description. Thanks to my intuitive imagination (a feeble attempt at humor) the kayak was a perfect fit - a polyethylene, golden-yellow Wilderness Systems Tempest 170. Strapped it to the Jeep and drove home, preparing to leave the next morning.
