Mississippi River 2015
Thru-paddlers
By John F. Sullivan
T
he paddling season started early
this year, with the departure of
the Rediscover North America Expedition at the Gulf of Mexico
on January 2 (see Big River, May-June
2015). Six paddlers launched their
three canoes into the Gulf of Mexico, then proceeded up the Atchafalaya River to the Mississippi. There they
turned their canoes into the swift cold
waters of the Mississippi and paddled
all the way to the mouth of the Minnesota River at St. Paul. Fortunately
the river was unusually low last spring,
but cold weather, snow and ice slowed
their progress at times. The expedition
crossed Minnesota via the Minnesota and Red rivers and then followed a
maze of big lakes and rivers in Canada
to reach the Arctic Ocean September 2,
after paddling 5,230 miles.
Another ambitious paddler, Steve
Top: Richard Sojourner approaches Lock & Dam 5. (John Sullivan)
Above: Alyssum Pohl and Leanne Davis pass St. Louis. (Leanne Davis)
Posselt, attempted a similar trip from
the Gulf on March 3 and struggled
with high water until reaching Memphis on April 11. There Steve quit the
river and continued his adventure on
bicycle — peddling into New York City
on June 21.
Dale Sanders paddles above Wabasha, Minn. (John Sullivan)
18 Big River Magazine / January-February 2016
In 2015, at least 51 thru-paddlers
started at the s­ ource of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca, from just after
ice-out in mid-May through early September. One notable paddler, Dale
Sanders, who had just turned 80, started with three f­ riends and a film crew
on May 15. They battled snow storms
and cold windy weather early in their
trip near B
­ emidji, Minn. Dale’s paddling partners had a hard time keeping
up with him as he pursued his goal of
reaching the Gulf in 80 days! Dale paddled into the Gulf on August 15 with
at least three of the original team members — Richard Sojourner, Austin Graham and Brad Tallent — raising more
than $23,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation.
Both Dale and Richard completed their trips in 80 days of paddling.
However, Richard took a break in late
July at Vicksburg, Miss., due to heat
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exhaustion, as heat indices approached
115 degrees. He returned to the river
in October and completed the segment from Vicksburg to Venice, La.,
paddling with Julie Haskel and Jake
Travakoli as well as Scott Hite, a Missouri-Mississippi thru-paddler.
In 2014, Ellen McDonah was
believed to be the first woman to solo
paddle the Mississippi River from
source to sea. This year four female
paddlers, Annie Balthazar, Leanne
Davis and Alyssum Pohl in kayaks and
Nicole Brennan in a homemade wooden canoe, paddled the river. Annie
­reached the Gulf on October 31.
Leanne and Alyssum finished together on November 4. Nicole reached the
Gulf on November 19.
About 10 Mississippi River
thru-paddlers were still making their
way downriver in late November. One
paddler, Mike Hatfield, left La Crosse,
Wis., just a few days before the season’s first winter’s storm dumped
loads of snow along parts of the
Upper Mississippi River a week before
Thanksgiving.
Dave Roberts faced a serious challenge during his solo trip when he
stopped at Brainerd, Minn., in midJune to wash clothes, get on the internet at the local library then grab a
bite to eat at a restaurant. When he
returned to the landing, his canoe and
all his gear were gone. However, with
assistance from a network of friends,
Dave managed to get back on the river
four days later at Bohemian Flats, in
Minneapolis. Dave finished his trip at
Venice, La., about two months later.
Unfortunately, none of his stolen gear
was recovered.
20 Big River Magazine / January-February 2016
Above: David, Reggie and Amanda Mosse paddle
past La Crosse, Wis. (John Sullivan)
Below: ”The Big Finish” (Leanne Davis)
The Lower Mississippi played a near
deadly “trick” on Caleb Reynolds and
Joshua Witham on Halloween near
Hickman, Ky. They were crossing the
wide channel to avoid barges and got
caught in strong cross-winds. Their
canoe quickly filled with water while
some of their gear floated away or sank.
Towboat workers rescued them. They
were ­t reated at the Union City, Tenn.,
emergency room, only an hour away
from the their parents’ homes in Jackson, Tenn. They spent 10 days recuperating at their parents’ homes and
replacing missing gear, then returned
to the river to continue their adventure,
with greater caution.
Several recent veterans paddled the
river this year, searching for peace and
tranquility, which the river is so willing to offer. They included ­previously
(Thru-paddlers continues on page 31)
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(Thru-paddlers continued from page 20)
mentioned paddlers Leanne Davis
and Annie Balthazar, as well as Shawn
Murphy, who finished his trip on the
Atchafalaya at Morgan City, La., on
October 30. Veterans Mark Fox and
Bart Lindberg are still paddling. Casey
Barfels, another veteran, departed
from Lake Itasca with his son Carson.
They completed their trip on July 22 at
Appleton, Wis., after leaving the Mis-
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sissippi and paddling up the Wisconsin
River and descending the Fox.
I sometimes ask the thru-paddlers
why they chose to paddle the Mississippi. Their responses are often similar.
Jake Travakoli summarized it nicely,
“The Mississippi River represented a
chance to challenge myself and take
on an iconic American adventure. The
river splits our country down the middle. As a child it was the first river I
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learned how to spell. I wanted to take
on a lengthy expedition and the Mississippi was able to do all of these things
for me.” F
John F. Sullivan lives in La Crosse,
Wis., and has paddled the length of
the Mississippi and many other rivers.
His last story for Big River was “Wild
Rice Resurgence on the Mississippi
River,” May-June 2015.
January-February 2016 / Big River Magazine 31