Yup, the whole length.
Is this possible? How long would that take? How busy is the traffic on the river in major cities? I’ve never been done to that whole middle part of the US and I think that this could be a good way to do it. Maybe.
Any thoughts?
Sure it’s possible. So is roller blading on the freeway.
It was done earlier this year, according to this website. The winning team took a little over 24 days to do it non-stop. They also had to get permission from the Coast Guard to pass through sections of the river that are normally closed, and from the Corp of Engineers to navigate the locks and dams on the upper and middle sections of the river. So while it wouldn’t be easy, it’s possible with a fair amount of planning and some good negotiating skills.
From the August 28, 1997 issue of the St Louis Post-Dispatch, we find
**And of course to get the rest you’ve gotta fork over the two bucks.
I went kayaking for half a day on the Tennessee River last year, another big wide muddy river. Not that thrilling. It’s why people prefer to hike through the woods, not through cornfields. IMHO, sounds like fun for a day or two, but the other 70 days might get dull. Still, I’m curious about what’s so dangerous.
BTW, here’s a list of locks on the river.
I doubt that you’d need many permits, if any. Going through a lock is free, and there would probably be plenty of places to camp for free along the way (there are in Minnesota).
Lots of places along the Mississippi are scenic–plenty of wildlife to photograph, bluffs to climb, and you could troll for fish while you’re at it.
Then again, there might be plenty of boring spots. Bring a CD player.
I’d start exercising now, though.
Again–going through a lock is free (I’ve done it many, many times.) You might have to wait for a barge to cycle through, though.
I’m curious about any sections of the river that are normally closed. I haven’t heard of any as far as the Minnesota/Iowa border. I could see where local water conditions might have something to do with it. The Upper Mississippi locks from Red Wing up were closed for a long time this spring, and all boat traffic was banned until the water levels went down.
None of the boat owners at the marinas have ever mentioned it. (There are several people who summer in Minnesota and winter down south by taking their boats up and down the river.) I could see where some areas by nuke plants might be off limits, but I don’t know of any entire stretches being off-limits.
I’d have to echo dqa’s thought. My brother canoed the Yukon River. It took him 3 months and during that time he saw a few bears…, and that was it for thrills. He saw some other wildlife, but generally the scenery wasn’t all that enthralling. He usually describes it as the most boring 3 months of his life.
On the Mississippi you would, at least, see other people.
Rysdad:
I did a little digging, and found a detailed synopsis of this year’s Great Mississippi River Race here. Apparently the permissions mentioned in my first cite referred to sections of the river that were temporarily closed due to heavy rain. On day 10:
So you’re right, there’s no need for permits under normal conditions. My mistake. :o
oh yeah, it’s possible. i’m actually considering it myself, not with a kayak, but with a larger boat (i don’t know how to kayak). i’ve found these resources to help:
http://www.uppermiss.com/
http://www.inkwells.net/AdventureBBS/adv_toc.htm
and plenty of books (i work in a book store, so i ordered a bunch of books. there’s a few available, mostly memoirs.
if ya want company, i’m game, if you don’t mind traveling with some dude you met off the internet.
I kinda thought that was the case. Thanks for looking into it.
I will tell you one thing, though…
Since the Mississippi is a “border water” between states, the US Coast Guard patrols it, and they are most strict about having sufficient personal flotation devices onboard as well as having a “throwable device” if you’re in a boat of a certain length (I forget…18 feet? 20?). Anyway, I was in a boat of a ‘certain length,’ and I didn’t have one, so I got to pay a fine.
There is always someone floating the length of the river. Usually its canoes.
Last spring was quite wet in the northern Mississippi valley. The river was closed to motorboat traffic for quite some time so levees would not be damaged. Since the river flooded several lowlying areas of towns were closed and the only ones allowed there were emergency personnel ,for sandbagging,and the National guard to protect from looting.
The Mississippi is a lazy old river except when there is a storm. Wind blowing from the south can raise 3 to 4 foot waves.You wouldn’t want to be on it then.
Good luck.
Wave as you go by.
I read an article in the Memphis paper about a couple that did it. They spent a lot of time at different stops and it ended up taking them two summers. At least it wasn’t so boring that they forgot to second part of the trip. It seems that they said the first part took longer than expected (at the very beginning, before Minneapolis).
Do people actually go through the locks in canoes? I suppose it beats portaging :).
Yeah, wave as you go by!
My scout troop did a multi-day canoe trip down the Kentucky, and yes, MANY canoeists use the locks. Why not? They’re free, and it’s a hell of a lot easier than portage. You do have to be careful, though. We usually lined up side-by-side and and interlocked with our paddles.
Having never done anything like that, I was wondering, wasn’t that kind of embarassing? Especially if you were alone. I would think it somewhat akin to walking up to a drive through window…[sub] Ok, bad analogy…But you get my drift**
Embarrassing? Nah. A boat’s a boat to the lock operators - size doesn’t matter.
I have no idea about the feasibility of kayaking down the Mississippi but it would be worth reading ‘Old Glory’ by Jonathan Raban. Apart from being an excellent read, it would probably prove instructive. He travelled most of the length of the Mississippi (Minneapolis to the Louisiana bayou) in a sixteen foot motor boat. Even with this larger, albeit less manoeuvrable, craft he had some hair raising moments - eddies, boils, stump fields, tows the size of several football fields. He was a bit of a novice though.
Anyway, best of luck and if you decide to go ahead with it, keep us posted.
Hey any of you who have ever crossed the I-270 bridge from Illinois into Missouri, north of St. Louis, may have noticed what appears to be rapids a dozen or so yards downstream of the bridge. What’s that all about? Isn’t the river several dozen feet deep at this point? Do boats & such have to do some sort of treacherous navigation to avoid getting scraped up (or worse) on the rocks? Is it just some weird trick-of-the-eye? What’s the scoop?
Also, FTR, if I ever have the time and the money (yeah, right :rolleyes: ) I want to take a boat from Chicago to New Orleans. It may be boring, but I’m sure the scenery gets particularly interesting between, say, Natchez, MS and New Orleans.
I’m just taking a WAG here, but I think that what you’re seeing is outside of the navigation channel. The Corps of Engineers maintains a 9-foot deep channel for barge traffic.
Do the rapids go shore-to-shore?
Also, re: locking through…
Nothing embarrassing about it. You paid for building the locks, and your taxes maintain it.
Two notes about locking through…
Don’t touch the walls of the lock. They’re coated with a purulent slime. I don’t even want to think what’s concentrated in that stuff, but I think the next generation of germ warfare bugs will be cultured from lock slime.
Now this may come as common sense to most people, but not all. When going downstream, and the lock guy drops a rope for you to hang on to, don’t tie it on to your boat. Y’see, the water level is going to fall, and by the time you figure out that you’ve made a boo-boo, the line will be too tight to untie.
Yes, I’ve seen this happen. No disasters, but good humor.
Bear with me here…
I just went to the store, and while I was there, I bought a Monopoly scratch-off lottery ticket. None of my numbers matched the “house numbers,” but there are two other places where you get a second chance: Community Chest and Chance. I didn’t win anything in the Community Chest box, but the Chance box said, “Canoe Down Mississippi - win $10.00”.
Yeah, mundane and pointless, I know.