Well, it's been a lil while since I was able to give everyone an update. Upon reading my local newspaper online (Echopress-Alexandria, MN), I ran across a couple of stories I want to pass along. I also just got a 2GB Memory stick chock full of pics that I need to sort through, edit, label, etc. I'll get them up as soon as I can!
Johnson's Mississippi adventure
Alexandria Echo Press
Published Friday, August 03, 2007
Both Justyn Johnson and Brian LeMay documented their Mississippi kayaking adventure by keeping a daily journal. Here are a few excerpts from Johnson?s:
May 5 - Fun day. Cool, rained, rapids, woods and open sloughs. Saw a porcupine. Cool campsite. Tired.
May 29 - Lake Pepin, very pretty. Red Wing is a must-see. We had to pull over and wait for the wind to slow down. 30 mph. Long beaches. Found a ton of agates.
June 6 - It rained all day. South wind, 30 mph. Sat three hours at lock 12; we were waiting for barges. Found a nice sandy beach and made camp. Ton of dead weeds here. Brian is a true outdoorsman. He is tough as nails. I am glad to have such an awesome guy to paddle with. He is awesome.
June 16 - Hot today. First full day with no shirt; I?m getting pretty dark. Saw a ton of boats today?getting close to St. Louis, so there are more people. Hot mamas everywhere. For some reason I enjoy writing down what I thought about while paddling. Today I thought about my aunt, Janet. Besides my mom, Aunt Janet is the coolest lady I have ever met?also the toughest lady on this earth? One time I was mad about something, and I lost my temper. She gave me the best advice I?ve ever heard. She said, ?Justyn, once you?ve lost it, you?ve lost it.?
June 20 - While I was paddling today I thought about children who are sick with cancer. To me, it is not fair. Old people are supposed to get cancer, not kids. I was thinking that if I?m single next summer, I will try to raise money for kids with cancer. I firmly believe that any kids who have cancer would much rather be canoeing with me than being stuck in a hospital? Medicine can only go so far. A kid needs laughter and excitement also? I have a soft spot in my heart for these kids. They did not ask for this to happen to them, but they are forced to deal with it.
June 21 - Not much happened today. Paddled to Cairo, Illinois; that?s where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi. The Ohio is very clean; you can see three or four feet into the water. We went for a swim.
June 28 - Not much happened today. My shoulder felt better, but I still feel lots of pain. We paddled 50 miles today. We are running low on supplies so we thought we would stop in Memphis. We saw no place to get supplies, so we found a nice sand bar and set up camp. We are right in downtown Memphis. I can see the pyramid from my tent (pretty cool). This is the sorest my body has felt in a long time. I also do not feel well; too much sun today, not enough water. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day. I miss Jason and Bennit.
June 29 - Lots of time to think today. This is what I thought about? For a long time, I have worked hard so I would have money. But after 50-some days on the river, I have realized that having money does not make me happy. It is when I have no money at all that I have found true happiness. I have $36 on me and enough food to get me to New Orleans, and I have never been happier. I feel free. I am broke as hell, but at least I?m happy.
July 6 - Slow start this morning. Soon as we woke up it started to rain. About 7:30 a.m. it quit; we packed up our gear and took off. About 11 a.m. it started to rain again; rained until 1 p.m.?that is when we got to the U.S. Coast Guard ship. What an awesome time we had with those boys. They gave us a tour of the ship, gave us a hot shower and a ride to Wal-Mart for snack food. We got to meet the captain; he was very nice. He said whatever we needed he would get it for us. They wanted us to stay the night but we had to go. We have to be in New Orleans in five days; that?s 52 miles a day. The last five days have been mentally hard for me. We are getting close to the end of our trip. It?s not that I?m sick of being outside or being on the river, but I want the self-satisfaction that I did it. Our goal is New Orleans, and I want it now. My dad always said, ?A hungry dog fights harder.? My hunger for New Orleans is endless.
July 9 - Paddled through Baton Rouge today. Nice town. It is a huge barge loading area. You must be on your toes when paddling. Lots of traffic. Saw our first ocean liner today; they are huge. They make a tow barge with 49 containers seem tiny. The river is very wide and lots of curves. I?m still mentally struggling. My body is sore, and I?m out of gas. I have to think about positive things or else I seem to get mad easily; too many days on the river in a row. I thought about Lee today. I miss him a lot. I was sad at first then I just remembered the good times we had. He was one funny dude. I have had three dreams about him since I?ve been on the river. In my dreams, I don?t know he is dead. It?s just like old times. I love it when he is in my dreams; it is the only time we get to hang out. I will never forget him.
July 10 - Last full day on the river. Lots of barge and sea ship traffic today. Toward the end of our day we met Jacob. He?s in his 40s and from British Columbia, Canada. We set up camp by him and visited with him all night. Cool dude. This is the last time I will write in my journal. I?m out of pages and tomorrow is a half-day. I?m proud of myself because I made it to the end, but I?m disappointed in my mental toughness. The last 10 have been hard mentally, but I overcame that and got to the end, so I win. Ha, ha, ha. Mother Nature has kicked my ass for the last 65 days. She has brewed her storm, blazed her heat, blown her wind and crashed her waves, but every morning I would wake up, jump in my canoe, look to the sky and say, ?Bring it, Mama.? You will never beat me. You will never beat me!!
Kings of the kayak
By Erin Klegstad, Staff Reporter, Alexandria Echo Press
Published Friday, August 03, 2007
Call them modern-day Huck Finns: Two friends kayaking down the Mississippi from its start in Minnesota to its finish in Louisiana encountering risks, forming new friendships and strengthening their own as they paddled its length.
Justyn Johnson and Brian LeMay began their adventure at the river's Lake Itasca headwaters May 5. They arrived, proud and exhausted, in New Orleans on July 11.
And despite some trying days, the Brandon-Evansville area men never once thought about quitting the 2,253-mile journey. "There was no way," Johnson said. "I was not going to come home and say I didn't make it."
After four months of planning, Johnson and LeMay, along with three friends (they joined them for the first two weeks), began their river cruise.
"When you start, you can spit across the river," LeMay said. "By the end, you can barely see across it."
Each guy maneuvered his own kayak, purchased specifically for the trip, as sharing one would have slowed them down and had them at each other's throats.
"There were days where we would talk to each other all day long and days we wouldn't talk at all," Johnson said, adding that they were always within sight of each other.
"We talked about everything and anything there is to talk about," LeMay said. "We didn't get in any sort of conflict at all."
The friends logged between 13 and 59 miles per day, often paddling upwards of eight hours with two 15-minute breaks in all weather conditions. Temperatures ranged from 33 degrees at the start to a sweltering 114. "It was hot!" Johnson said.
A 23-day stretch with no rain kept the murky Mississippi low. "I can only imagine what it would have been like if it was higher," Johnson said.
By the time they reached the Gulf of Mexico, Johnson's skin was so tan his red Superman tattoo on his bicep was barely visible.
While days were spent navigating the river favorite spots were Minnesota's shoreline, the St. Louis arch, Memphis' pyramid and Kentucky nights were spent camping on sandbars. Some were a mile wide by two or three miles long and were often too hot to stand barefoot on. "You could see the heat coming off [them]," Johnson said.
Storms with kayak-rattling thunder were more frequent and intense the farther south the river snaked. One particularly bad storm and there weren't many collapsed both their tents, forcing them to put on their rain gear and wait it out.
Kayaking turned more complicated after Baton Rouge; the two recommend stopping there. " Don't go to New Orleans" Johnson said.
"It's not worth it" LeMay Chimed.
It's Baton Rouge where the river fills with ocean liners and barges which makes maneuvering the milky chocolate water precarious. "You have to pay attention the whole time" LeMay said. "You're just a speck out there."
Johnson called the barges "scary silent" because they glided so quietly through the water. There were so many lining the shore it was difficult to find a small spot to shimmy in their kayaks.
Amidst the busy river, Southern hospitality was at its finest. "They took us in like family," Johnson said.
Friends met along the way offered the river-riding duo food, hot showers and rides into riverside towns to pick up supplies.
"Everyone we met offered what they had on them," LeMay said gratefully.
Old fishermen were "always so proud" of the river and had many tales to tell. "That was cool to see," Johnson said.
It was an even better sight once they reached New Orleans where their families and friends were waiting for them. After some sightseeing, they made their way back to Minnesota- only this time in a vehicle.
So, would the two do it again? "Probably not the Mississippi", they both answered without hesitation.
"It got to be pretty mentally challenging toward the end," Johnson said. He compared it to third world living conditions : little food, broken and wet gear, no showers, and bouts with skin rashes and athlete's foot.
"It's just something you would do once," LeMay said.
They are, however, considering future kayaking trips in Yellowstone National Park or down the Ohio River.
Let their next adventure begin.
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Topic: New Orleans or Bust! -An Adventure of a Lifetime (Read 33388 times)
