The K. L. Hester Scholarship Project

Wrapping a few things up

2010-04-05T20:23:00.012-04:00

The boat has been sent back to Clipper with a big thanks...the gear, well most of it, has been put away and the memories of long, hot days are being thought of with more fondness than the reality. The project has wound down into a remnant of the force it once was. It's difficult to believe that the energy and constant thought that went into seeing this project through has slowed to less than a trickle. While the energy on my end has slowed, the need to scholarship support still stands. Remember that donations are still very much appreciated and tax deductible.
Over the last month, I've had the opportunity to visit a couple of the civic groups that showed their support to me and the project. The Rotary Club of Bryson City invited me to breakfast and to tell the story of the paddling portion of the project. I had visited with them about a year ago where they welcomed me with enthusiasm and warmth. At that time, I was able to talk about creating the idea and my desire to do 2 things with it. First, to tell the story of my dad. It's not often we get to do that to a large group of people. Father, teacher and pilot were just a few of his personas and it was a pleasure to talk about these in terms of his service to family, community and country. When the subject matter is such a positive force, it's easy to tell the story.
The second purpose was to raise scholarship funds for our local students in my dad's name. Again, an easy decision for me and for many to support. For that I was grateful to all who supported.
The actual paddling trip from western NC to the Gulf in Alabama was a way to generate interest and spread the word to as many people as possible. It did it and more. In all it was a great promotional vehicle...sorry for the pun...to accomplish the projects purposes. After the trip, many asked if I had fun. I can't say I actually had fun, though parts were enjoyable and all of it went well beyond worthwhile.
Anyway, back to the Rotary Club breakfast. This time the speaking was much easier. The emotion of talking about my dad and the project's purposes was eased. I only touched on it and was able to tell a much easier story. The story of the paddling advenure and showing my appreciation. I've told countless paddling stories over the years, but mostly to other paddlers. This time, it was fun to talk about the specifics of how to do a trip like this. Where to sleep...what to eat...who I saw...and what I saw told the story of the trip. Great questions that really made me realize all that I've already forgetten. So, once again, thanks Rotary for the welcome and opportunity to do a little show and tell.
Later that same week, I spoke with the Bryson City Womens Club. A small group of about 10 of the nicest women you will ever meet. Just like Rotary, I had spoken to them before the trip so this time it was another slide show and stroy telling session. For many, just the camping for a month was beyond their experience. Add the idea of traveling from western NC to southern AL and it is a fascinating and frightening thought for them. My telling of the positive experience and personal stories of the trip surprised them I think. Story telling is something I enjoy, but I'm much more factual than a good story teller probably should be. Now, my wife...she's a good story teller, but thats another story.
So, the process has wound down toward the end. I always enjoyed the process as this idea came to fruition. I never thought it wouldn't happen and never thought I wouldn't get somewhere. At times, where it was going was in question, but mainly due to my wife's willingness and understanding I was able to step away for a month; an opportunity not shared by many. With that, the last people I would like to say thank you to are my wife and family. The last thing I would like to leave the rest of you with are a few of my favorite photos of the trip. I might try to post the slideshow presentation at some point, but for now, enjoy these.

Sell the boat, or send it back to Clipper with a Thank You

2009-08-07T21:49:00.010-04:00

It's time to say goodbye to a friend. My boat for this great project has to go back to it's owner, or find a new one. I spoke to Clipper President, Marvin Bayes, yesterday about the Sea-1 I used for the trip. They truly stepped up and helped the project become a reality. Without their support and sponsorship, it might not have happened. For that, I'm grateful, but I do wish I could keep it.

Now, my options are I can either send it back, or buy it,or sell it. So, for the next month, I'll try to sell it. If it doesn't sell, I'll ship it back to Clipper.

Retail price for the Sea-1 (See Clipper - Sea-1 Specs here) is $2954 US. Add another $400 for the price for the skirt and total retail comes to $3354. Shipping to NC cost me around $360. In total, to get the boat here to NC costs $3684. In speaking with the Pres of Clipper, Mr. Bayes, he is asking $2799 for the boat and skirt. I'm asking....$2,600. The price will save you cost of shipping and the skirt. So, HUGE SAVINGS for who ever steps up.

Clipper has one mold for the Sea-1 and they make about 1 boat per month. If your looking to buy one, it may take several months to get yours so this will also save you the wait time.

If you looking for a high performance, solo expedition boat, I don't think there is a better one out there. According to Clipper Pres, Marvin, the Sea-1 took top honors at the Yukon 360 and has shown it's performance value at many other ultra marathon races and events. For me, the boat was unbelievably comfortable and fast. Sitting in it for 10-16 hours for 28 days was no problem. Packing everything I needed, including food and water...again, no problem.

Here's a link to another owner review and comparison. He also owns the similar boat by Kruger and has a great comparison of them side by side. He has raced in the Yukon race and gives a very detailed run-down and review of both boats.
http://teambumbazer.com/bumming/seawindvssea1.html

The boat is in great condition still. Looks great too. It does have some scratches and dings, but after 1,000 miles, it still looks great. Take a look at the pics and if your interested, drop me an email. (wrhester(at)gmail.com) We can talk on the phone after that and I'll answer any questions you have.
Again, I'm selling it so I don't have to ship it. If it doesn't sell, I'll send it back with a thank you. If I could keep it, I would.

Many Thanks...Where to Now?

2009-07-19T21:19:00.002-04:00

Slowly I've been re-emerging and re-energizing over the last week. Mainly, I've been enjoying spending time with my family and friends, but I'm also really glad for the cooler mountain climate. Tomorrow, we leave for Belize to spend some time exploring of a different sort. The kids and Susan are looking forward to their adventure and for me, I'll go where ever they decide. I'll just be appreciate being there.

On the project front, a week to reflect hasn't defined where to go next, or even provided enough time to put it into perspective. In light of that, I would like to thank so folks for making this project a success. I know I've said this before, but the project had 2 main goals. One...to tell the story of my father and his service to family, community and country. Two...to raise funds in his name for our Swain County Schools Foundation. On both accounts, we have been successful. I was a watching Michael J Fox show titled, "The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist." I had to say I could relate to much of what the show was about, but one quote MJF gave really struck me as relevant and true. The quote is, "Do the next right thing." That's very different than doing the next thing right. In light of this project, doing the next right thing was the guiding principle in directing me. The goals just helped define what that was. At times, trying to do the next thing right didn't always work out, but as long as I kept trying to do the next thing right, it worked.
To that end, I have all of you who are reading this to thank. First, my wife and family, who supported and allowed me the freedom to keep moving forward with love and encouragement.
My sponsors, who, again, without their support, I would not have been able to have the absolutely right equipment to do this. The Nantahala Outdoor Center is first on that list of supporters. The first company to throw their support for the project and one that is part of the community that it benefits. I thank you for your unquestioned support for me, the project and the community.
Clipper Canoes, I can't thank enough. The Sea-1 was everything I needed and more in a high performance, expedition canoe. If anyone is planning on an extended trip and needs comfort, speed, ease of packing and access, as well as a boat that is pure pleasure to paddle, the Sea-1 is my first recommendation.
Bending Branches...wow! What can I say about your performance paddles. Your Sunburst XL 14 Carbon shaft and beautiful wood blade took all the stress I could give. Pushing off rocks on the Tenn-Tomm, knocking branches out of my way, banging on the boat countless times and not hardly a nick to be seen. It looks just like new still. Not only that, but at 17 oz, I never tired of paddling with it. I'm glad for the chance to represent you guys, appreciate the opportunity and will look forward to paddling anything you make. Thank you.
Northwest River Supply (NRS), who provided a much needed dry duffel, as well as some clothing and other equipment...thank you. The water tight, zip duffel was perfect for the boat. Well made, dry and easy top opening made the morning packing a breeze. TEVA, thanks for the foot support with the most comfortable sandal I've ever worn. Extreme support of their products and customer service make you guys top notch.
Astral Bouyancy and their V-8 jacket gave comfort and peace throughout the trip. Crossing large, wind swept lakes and locking through countless times were done with comfort and style. Even in the hot weather, it didn't make any difference to me since it allowed ample venting and never felt like wearing it made it hotter. I didn't even notice when I wore it.
Hawk Vittles was a great add on sponsor. Hawk, a chef by trade, applies his trade to great dehydrated meals that I look forward to every meal. A night, or morning, when I ate Hawk Vittles was always a thing to look forward to.
Lastly, I need to thank all of you who followed, donated, supported, watched, helped, assisted, cheered and got excited with me. My friends from Bryson City, NC to those in New Iberia, LA deserve a large thanks. Knowing I had your support, meant the world to me. The project was really about connecting communities to do something good. Your support went a long way toward great. Also, all my paddling friends from New Iberia to Bryson City and to those who have moved on to other parts beyond, it was especially great to have your support along the way. Old friends are always there and the re-connections made through this endeavor were special. I also made some new friends who lent their support and encouragement. Friends from throughout the trip and some from before it even started let me know of their support through email and facebook. Friends from Streamwood IL, Cottonport TN, Harrison Bay State Park, Chattanooga, Cleveland MS, Columbus AL, Hattiesburg MS, Decatur AL, and the many marinas where I was met with incredulity and friendship all deserve a salute. Your hospitality and assistance were beyond appreciated.
In closing, I want to say the project isn't over. The scholarship funds we've raised amount to a drop in the bucket. Its approximately $6,000 in donations and pledges. I'd like to continue doing something that brings the paddling communities together to support scholarships for our community. I've met a tremendous number of paddlers and friends through my time at NOC. Many have lived here, or lived here for many years. The success of a community, in my opinion is based on the diverse talents, contributions and willingness of all of it's members. Over the last 30 years of living here, I been a witness to the many diverse talents and contributions of our fair community. It can only get better through investment in it's future.
If you haven't contributed, please consider doing so. It doesn't take much, if we have many. To those who have contributed, thank you. Your generosity continues to astound me. Thank you.

Dodgin Gators and Eatin Fish

2009-07-10T08:44:00.015-04:00

The sun rose on Bobby's Fish Camp this morning and I didn't even see it. First time for that in the last 30 days. Yes, I'm here at the finish. No big emotions, no shout from the water as I took my last stroke; just a quiet satisfaction of accomplishment. It did feel good to know that tomorrow morning I wasn't going to get up at 4:30 and paddle again. A great trip for sure, and a trip with many things I'll remember with fond memories and great stories. Before I go on, I want to relay the events of the last 3 days.
I left Demopolis with a changed game plan. Instead of Mobile, the end will be at Bobby's Landing at Bobby's Fish Camp. Bobby's Fish Camp is the most famous fish eating place in the southeast...bar none. There is another one though. Ezell's is about 50 miles up river from Bobby's, but I only heard of Ezell's when I crossed into Alabama. I've been hearing of Bobby's from Tennessee. Since this trip has had it's food theme, I'll have to judge for myself.
The morning I left, skies were grey and the air humid. Sticky and muggy I left at my usual time with Demopolis locks a couple miles down river. I reached the lock just before sun up and had to wait for a barge to lock through going upstream. As the sun rose I thought of the 100 miles I had left and wondered what I would see on this final leg. The barge passed and in I went. Quickly locking through, the waters on the otherside were flowing through the dam on the west side creating a river with ledges and actual whitewater. Joining the main river a few hundred yards below, I could see white herons and mists rising from the ledges and waves. It seemed incongruous with the surroundings, but beautiful. I headed on downstream after few photos.
The day went by quickly and my pace was easy. I paddled with the idea of doing 25 miles a day until I reached Booby's on Friday. However, the day was cooler, even if a bit muggy so when I reached the 25 mile point, I went a little farther, stopping at around 29 miles. I stopped at a big sandy beach and set up camp. A great day for wildlife, including a couple more bald eagles, some wild hogs, a couple coyotes loping along the far bank and an Ibis. The bald eagles included an adolecent which I originally took for a hawk of some sort. It was circling around and landed in a tree just in front of me. When it landed I took out the camera and snapped a shot. When I looked at the photo, I saw a mature eagle sitting next to it. I hadn't seen that until I snapped a shot. It was then I realized what it was. Cool! The coyotes were another surprise. I don't like coyotes much, ever since our dog was bitten by one, but in this setting, they were beautiful creatures. I was wondering where the roadrunner was as I watched them sniffing and searching along the sandy bluff.
The next day the sun reappeared with a vengeance. I saw more barges and tugs plying their cargo and a couple pleasure cruisers as well. Other than that, there isn't much on this section below Demopolis. a couple miles above the state hwy 10 bridge I saw my first gator.
In the heat of the day I usually paddle along the shore and catch as much shade as possible. It's difficult during the middle of the day to find shade so I paddle even closer to shore and zigzag in and out of the shade offered. It was about 1 pm and hot. I had just taken a rest stop and napped for about 20 minutes so feeling a bit refreshed, I set off at a cruising pace. I was feeling pretty good and my thoughts were on the audio book I was listening too (Eldest). I rounded a bend when out of the shadows of the shade I see a huge gator scrambling to get in the water. Shiny and black as night, it was glistening as it started to slide into the water toward me from about 15 yards away. Yikes! I couldn't get the camera out and really didn't want to, so I backpaddled quickly. Wow! That thing had to be 10 -12 feet long. It's middle was as wide as my boat...or wider. The size surprised me and made me reassess my paddling strategy a bit. I wasn't in any real danger, but if it was 5 yrds closer and I hadn't seen it as soon as I did...hmmmm. I paddled out into deeper water and continued on down. Big gator!
Another hour and I crossed under the bridge and reached a building along the west bank. Ezell's Fish Camp. Lunch time!
A great, old building that you could see had history written all over it. Evidently the restaraunt was about 55 yrs old with several additions to the original building. I tied up nearby and walked the coulple hundred yards up to the building. The original part was log cabin construction. The manager there said it was over 200 yrs old and used to be a trading post for the Choctaw indians and traders in the area. The parking lot was full...good sign. I went in and drank some sweet tea while I figured out what I wanted. Old pictures lined the walls and the eating area overlooking the river was obviously an old back porch that used to be screened in. The photos showed the catfish operation from the 50's. Baskets of catfish being cleaned and fish traps made of wooden crates with wooden stays used for the traps. The upper part of the walls were adorned with deer antler trophies and large catfish and bass mounted. The food was ok. It wasn't as freshly cooked as I had hoped. It had probably been left over from the last of the lunch crowd. Now, it was still good...very good, but just not as good as my expectations. I love catfish and still ate it with relish.
I hung out there for the next couple hours. The sweet tea and ceiling fans were a little better than the heat of the sun and hard to leave.
Finally, around 4:30 I headed off. I only had 5 - 10 miles to go and enjoyed the afternoon. A small shower around 5:30 cooled things off and I found a camping spot for the night.
The camping spot turned out to be my last. I had paddled 32 miles and only had about 35 to go the next day. It also turned out to be one of the best spots of the entire trip. I small, smooth rocky/clay bank lined the west side. Gently sloping to the water it gave me a place to easily pull the boat up, but even better it had a few mushroom like outcroppings. These outcroppings were of harder rock that sat up like mushrooms out of the hard clay. When the clay washed away, these rocks sat like the cap of the mushroom. Flat on top, the largest made for a wonderful tent platform and overlooked the river. The one next to it, made a comfortable kitchen. It was a nice change from the sandy beach of the night before.
The next morning I left a little later, at about 5:30. Still dark and thinking of gators, I stayed out in the middle of the river, not wanting to surprise anything in the dark. A full moon lit my way and the cooler temps let me make some miles. By 10 am Ihad put in about 14 miles. I thought about this being my last day, but like all the other days, I didn't think too long about that. I still had work to do and things to see along the way. Gators were seen more often for sure. Many from far away, but as the day grew warmer, I had to paddle closer to shore, warily for sure.
I was surprised again and this time was a little too close for comfort. Again, rounding a bend I suddenly heard and saw a huge commotion to my right. I quickly slammed on the breaks and saw a wake heading for me. The water was still frothing and churning as I turned 90 degrees to deeper water and watched as the wake was still heading to me. Taking a few quick strokes more, the water started churning along the bank with spray going everywhere. Finally, the waves died down and I stopped to get my breath. I never saw the gator, or gators. I must have been a pretty good size gator due to all the water flying everywhere. What I think happened was I spooked the gator and it immediately dove into the shallow water toward me to escape. It either escaped under me in the deeper water, or turned back when it saw me. The commotion near shore could have been it, once it turned, trying to fight its way over the branches and limbs of the downed trees along the bank. Or, there were 2 of them. The first going under me into deeper water, and the second fighting its way along the bank and over/under the branches. Either way, at least on of them was probably pretty good size and did surprise me as much as it was surprised by me. Again, time to rethink my gator strategy. I moved farther away and kept a sharp lookout the rest of the day.
I did manage one more gator encounter, but I saw it from about 15 yards away. It was hanging out in the water in front of me. I see lots of logs and have to check them all out as I approach. This one wasn't a log and had the definite eyes and snout sillouette. I stopped at the same time it saw me. It sank out of sight and I gave it a wide berth as I passed. No problems.
Finally, after a long day, I pulled into Bobby's Landing at around 6:30. Glad to be done with the days paddling and smiling. So, who has the better catfish? Well, Bobby's does :). In one last act of kindness, I was invited to eat with a couple boat cruiser couples. We enjoyed eating, talking and sharing river experiences over the course of devouring Bobby's delectible food. In the end, when I got up to pay for the meal, the owner of Bobby's told me one of the cruisers payed for everyone's meal. What a great way to end the journey! I don't even know who it was since they had all headed to their boats and lights were out. Thank you whoever it was.
Oh, and early on, I had given a math problem to solve. I did get an answer on the comments section from Robby0 I think. How many strokes a day? 27,000 on the average. Working it out to how many strokes for the trip I get 756,000 strokes. So, 760,000 strokes later...I'm done. Not bad.
At the moment, I'm waiting for Susan and the kids to come get me. They are somewhere near Birmingham right now. Looking forward to seeing them for sure.
I'm not really ready to write any conclusions or give any hindsight about the trip. That will come when I get home. Suffice it to say, I'm glad to be finished and incredibly satisfied with the trip. I've truly enjoyed writing about the adventures, surprised at the people I've met along the way and incredibly appreciative of the friends from all parts of my life that have joined me in support of this project. I know that my dad was following along, much like he did when I was younger. Throughout our lives, we both enjoyed telling and listening to each others adventures and experiences and this trip was just another aspect of that.
Thanks to all who prayed, commented, encouraged and sent good thoughts. They really did make a huge difference, especially on some of those hot, miserable days. My appreciation for all of your support is immeasureable.
I'll post more soon. Until then, enjoy the pics from the last 3 days.

Happy 4th

2009-07-06T09:49:00.007-04:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th. Missed the fireworks in BC , but did manage to at least hear some going off around me as I camped by the river.
The day went by quietly for the most part. The difference was in the scenery. The grey, clay bluffs gave way to long sandy beaches interspersed with reddish banks lining the sides of the river. Later on, near the town of Eppes, the grey bluffs gave way to big, white cliffs, locally called the "White Cliffs if Eppes" for obvious reasons. Tugs and barges passed more often with all of them heading upstream. The weather for the day was pretty much the same with temps in the low to mid 90's and a light wind every once in awhile. Did manage to see 4 bald eagles and several hawks. Overall a nice day. Reached the 32 mile mark and found a small sandy beach to camp for the night. Dinner of one of my last Hawk Vittles and coffee had me settling into my tent for the evening as the light of day faded.
I had to be in my tent before dark. The mosquitos come out in hordes as soon as the the sun sets. Looking out the netting of the tent, 1000's of them are swirling outside. You can hear the combined buzz as these little vampires hungrily await any opening.
I awakened to the sound of a tug disappearing up river and light dawning down river. Looked at my watch and saw it was 5:10. A little later than usual, but I was dead tired last night and probably needed the sleep. I felt rested and ready so I put the water on for coffee and packed the tent. Once coffee was ready I looked at my watch to see what time I was launching. Oh my, I did it again. It wasn't 5:10 when I woke up....it was 2:25. That light dawning down river wasn't the sun, but the full moon through the trees as it was setting. It was now 3 am. I had a choice. Set the tent back up and get some more sleep, or head on down. I chose to head on down. Cooler weather and a full moon to light the way wasn't hard to resist. That means I would get to Demopolis early as well. So, off I went.
Yesterday, or yestermorning was a good paddle for the first 14 miles. At that point my arms felt heavy and my eye's were droopy. I took a short nap at around 8 am and managed to get about 20 minutes in before a big cruiser was heard coming up stream. This one must not have seen me because he didn't even slow down. He was pushing a huge bow wave and the wake off his stern was throwing 3 foot waves behind him. Uh oh. I turned so i could hit his wake at a 90 degree angle. My bow rose up the first wave and plunged down into the second. Slicing through the 2nd wave, water poured over my bow and splashed over me. It felt like I was on a big western river and paddling through a big wave train. I was soaked, but all was fine. Thought about radioing him, but just sponged the water out of the boat and kept going.
I arrived at Demopolis at around 11 am. The marina there has a small restaraunt and small motel. For $44 bucks I got a room. It was an easy decision. After a burger at the restaraunt I headed back to the room for a long nap.
The weather report called for lots of severe weather for that evening and all day on Monday. Hmmmmm. Lots of big thunderstorms with high winds was not what I was looking for. I don't mind paddling in the rain, but big thunderstorms are a bit scary. Looking at the forecast I have a couple options. Tuesday, the threat of thunderstorms lessens with only scattered, afternoon storms forecast. I could tough it out, paddle on, and see what Monday brings. I could also hang out and see what other landings/end points are available. I decided to sleep on it and see what the weather was like in the morning.
I awoke at my usual time...4:30. When I looked outside, it was pouring wiith lightning in the distance. Needless to say, I went back to sleep. I woke up at dawn and it was still raining hard. That set my decision to hang out and find out where I can take out above Mobile.
There is nothing above Mobile for a ways. Coffeeville is the closest place for Susan to pick me up and have a chance to actually find it. There are several small landings, but I wanted a place that Susan won't have to wonder if it's the place. Having no cell phone service, it wouldn't be easy for us to connect and find each other. So, Coffeeville will be the end. The Corp of Engineers has a boat ramp at the lake above Coffeeville Lock and Dam and there is a great little restaruant and cabins on the river called Bobby's Fish Camp. It's a place the kids might enjoy too.
So, I'm good with the plan. As I said before, I'm not setting any records, or am I the first one to do this. The purpose of this trip is to help promote the scholarship effort and tell the story of my dad. Personally, I'm feel very comfortable with the paddling effort and accomplishment. No regrets on any accounts.
I'll enjoy the last 100 miles and hope that the scattered thundershowers aren't too bad. I've been putting in big miles so slowing down and enjoying the day with out working quite as hard will be enjoyable. I look forward to that. Not sure what day I'll end and will talk with Susan this afternoon to work that out. Right now, Friday is looking like a possibility.
If I'm able to, I'll post again. If not, I'll wait until I finish. As usual, thanks to all for your support. I've enjoyed the writing much more than I thought I would.

Attack of the Killer Beaver

2009-07-04T10:59:00.005-04:00

It didn't really attack, but it might as well have. As your know, I get up early and on the water when it's still dark. Yesterday morning was no different. The cove I had pulled into was near the dam and lock, but as I pulled out that morning, headlamp turned on, I couldn't see much. The fog was drifting across the water and truthfully, all I was thinking about was gators and was I in the channel leading out of the cove. By the way, no gators yet and everyone I talk to hasn't ever seen one,but swear they are here. Anyway, as I paddle out virtually blinded I see something pop out of the darkness not 3 feet off to the left and just in front of me. Wham, it hits by boat and makes a huge splash. My first thought as I saw it was gator, but as it came along side my bow, I saw it was a beaver. After the little girl yelp escaped my mouth, and I looked around to see if any heard, I waited until my heart slowed a bit before paddling on. Nice way to start a day.
The day went well with happy paddling in the morning and bearable heat in the afternoon while I ducked in and out of the shade along the banks. The best part was at about 26 miles into the day. It was late afternoon and I had slowed considerably due to the heat. I hadn't seen many people all day, but fisherman anb families out in their boats. A few docks scattered along the banks as well. I had come on a group of nice houses with boat docks and could tell people were starting to get ready for the 4th. After a mile or so, I happened upon a group sitting on their dock obviously having a nice time. As I paddled near, they yelled for me to come over.
I ended up spending the next few hours with them. A big group of friends, family and kids, they immediately made me feel welcome and comfortable. Cold water and conversation while I told them about the trip and I learned about them. Reminded me of my youth when we would get together with aunt and uncles, cousins and the rest for summer outings at the lake in Lake Charles. Water skiing and eating with lots of story telling. Turns out they have about 200 lbs of crawfish for the 4th. I think I was a day too early! One of the brothers, Todd, is a crawfish supplier and has the wholoe setup to do it right. His brother James and a friend Norman made me feel like I knew them all my life. I was offered a place and shower,but sadly, I still had about 8 miles to go. With lots of picture taking, a couple sandwiches (killer chioken sald) and a couple gifts of t-shirts and a platter for crawfish with logo and all, I paddled on. Remember these folks if you pass through Cleveland MS. I know if given the chance, i'll stop in to say hello.
Today, I found a place with connection so wanted to eat lunch and write a little.

Bonked

2009-07-02T19:31:00.011-04:00

First, just to let everyone know that my connection from here on out will be sporadic, if at all. I think I'll be able to connect somewhere, but I'm just not sure where. So, if you don't see a post for a couple days, don't worry. My wife Susan says she'll give me 2 days, but if she hadn't heard from my by the 3rd day, she's sending someone after me. Seriously, no worries, it's just Verizon doesn't have great service south of here. Not sure anyone will, but keeping my fingers crossed.
Second thing before I write about the last couple days. Previously I mentioned that Tuesday was a smooth day with the locks, and it was, sort of. Looking back, there are a couple little stories I had wanted to relate. Yes, the first lock was a breeze. I called about 15 minutes out. The lockmaster opened the doors and in I went. Smooth.
The second lock had a little wait while I waited for a barge to clear. All the locks have 2 walls on either side, a long wall and a short wall. The lockmaster asked me to wait outside the long wall while the barge/tug cleared. No problem. I just tied off on a small piece of pipe and waited. About 5 minutes later I hear the big diesel motors of the tug crank up and the swoosh of the barge starting to move through. At this point, I'm thinking this is pretty cool. The sounds are loud and powerful. I can feel the vibration of the motors and ships through the 6 foot thick concrete wall. Powerful forces in action here. Well, I'm sitting there in awe when all of sudden "WHAM"!! The sound is even with me on the other side of the wall. The barge is banging along the wall. Again, "WHAM"! At this point, cool changed to uh oh. I look up at the wall I'm tied to and actually see the wall move as the barge slams into it. Needless to say, I untie and back off. I hear over the radio, the lockmaster talking to the tug telling him that there's a akayak tucked behind the wall and out of the way. Believe me, I'm out of the way a lot farther than I was. No problem. As I peer around the corner of the wall, I see the tug, pushing the barges sideways out into the channel. Whether it was wind, or current, the tug was trying to get them turned back and seemingly started the turn a little too early. The power was incredible. A littel sidenote - yesterday, I was at the marina and struck up a conversation with a tug operator. He told me that a full barge weighs in at 15,000 tons. Unbelievable!
The last lock of the day was smooth too, but required a little extra work to make it so. I was tired and had covered about 25 miles to this point. I radiod the lock to tell them I was 15 to 20 minutes out. He comes back with "can't you get here any sooner?" I stared at the radio alittle perturbed. I told him I was in a kayak and he could probably get a visual on me from where he was. The lock was in sight, but a little over a mile away. He comes back and says, "well, I'll go ahead and drop the pool, I've got a barge coming up river and once I get him through we'll get you down." "NOOO", I thought. I quickly radiod back, I can hurry it up if you'll wait...please. Gratefully, he said he'd hold em open if I could hurry. Man, I took off. Looked at my watch and made it to the lock at 11 minutes. At any moment II was pulling at close to 5 mph, after a long day already, but made it. I think I must be getting into a little bit of paddling shape now.
Ok, back to the present. Actually yesterday and the Bonk. So far the days have been pretty much the same. I leave early and paddle moderately hard until the afternoon. If I can make 20 miles at around noon, I'm feeling pretty good. Later, I'll either find a spot to rest while the suns at it's height,or cruise the best I can at a slower pace and take smaller stops. I've felt pretty good energy wise through out the trip. No dehydration issues. No food issues. I've been thirsty and hungry, but nothing to where the body just stops. Until yesterday. Yesterday I bonked. I was a little strange too. I started out having a great morning of paddling easily and making decent time. The shoreline was interesting and the morning cooler than ithad been. I was passing near Columbus, MS and the Air Force base there. What looked like some T-38's with some flight school pilots were flying around. My dad flew T-38's during his flight training days and it made me think about him. Actually growing up on AF bases, the sound was very familiar, but I was never good a telling what kindof planes were flying around. Anyway, a good day all around.
About 11 am, I was starting to get hungry so I ate some gorp. Its a staple I eat throughout the day. I drank some water with it and started to go again. Well, I was still hungry so I stopped and made some ham salad and ate it on a couple tortillas. At that point, I lost all energy and started feeling very weak. I couldn't have gone further if I wanted to. Thankfully, I found a good, shady spot with trees overhanging, a nice gravel beach and a coolingbreeze blowing through. I slept for close to 2 hours. I woke up, ate alittle more and drank some water and off I went feeling pretty good, but taking it easy. Much better.Not sure if I bonked due to food, water, or a combination of the last 3 days energy expenditure. My guess is a probabaly all three. I had put in 3 hard days with the 38 miles the day before taking a final toll. Either way, when you bonk...you bonk and have to recoup before you go on.
At about the 18 mile mark,I was passing some women and kids beached with a boat and a jetski. They were out having a great day off with their kids and friends. As I was paddling by, they yelled to me to come over so over I went. They asked all the usual questions, gaveme a piece of the Colonel's best Fried Chicken and a cold bottle of water. Happy Happy Happy. Nice women too. Dawn, works for the State's School of Math and Science. There was also a school nurse, a landscaper and another working to be a teacher. It was great to just to sit there for 30 minutes and talk with them. They pointed me to the marina I was heading to and said it was a great place. Seems the burgers are great and the owners, Clif Yarborough and Rita are also first class. I pulled into the marina around 5 pm after only 22 miles. Don't think I wanted more either. The Waverly Marina is a cool little place tucked back in a cove away from the river channel. The first thing you see when you pull up is a vine covered Tiki Bar and restaraunt with cieling fans whirling and plenty of bar stools. All was true about Waverly. Clif and Rita let me sleep under the fans and recharge all my electronics. They also let me shower. Now, showers have been an unexpected treasure. This one was even better. A couple of Pittsburgh guys were bringing a boat up from Mobile to Pittsburgh. They were kind enough to let me have a razor so off went beard etc. Off it went partly due to the scrathy nature of it, but I have to admit, the grey/white was starting to outnumber the darker colors in it. Of course the main reason was the scratchyness.
Falling asleep at 9:30 was a wonderful feeling.
Today was one of the better days all around. First, made it through Stinson Lock. It was funny, they knew I was coming. Evidently, they faxed the lock yesterday to be on the look out for me. Also, when I pulled into the marina tonight, the owner looked at me and said, oh, your that kayaker. Evidently he's on the Tenn-Tomm Association and they emailed everyone that I was out there. Nice to know they are looking out for me too. Thirty-two miles and felt great. The first 20 was easy...the last 10 slow and hot. Again, met a family with kids getting ready for the 4th. They offered me a sandwich...I said no thanks, I'm ok. They offered again with more insistence and said I could take it to go. So, Ok, I took it. They threw in a yorgurt and a cold coke. Hard to refuse when people want to help out. The sandwiches were great. White bread, roast beef with mayo. The mayo and beef were cold, as was the coke. Ahhhhhhh. The yorgurt was a plus.
The river today was remote and one of the more scenic paddles. The banks were interspersed with small bluffs of clay and sand. Beaches of sand, or pea-size, redish brown gravel lined the shore. Not many houses, or industry through out the morning. Only 1 barge passed as well. Barges are great.They are very corteous as they pass. Hardly any wake by any of them. On the other hand, bass boats fly by without any regard. The big cruisers are mostly good to me. Most slow down as they pass, but a few go by and throw up a wake that I could do cartwheels on if I was in the right boat.
Also saw another bald eagle this morning. It flew off just as I turned and I saw the white tail. It decided to land in a tree about a hundred yards away. Managed a couple shots of it perched up,but the zoom has it's limits. Oh, Dawn and the girls from the day before say I'm definitely in gator country now. Being from Louisiana and having some experience paddling around them, I'm not worried,but will be careful. Mostly they will be in the backwaters and sloughs and not in the main channel. i looked hard today but didn't see any. I've seen many water snakes also, but no cottonmouths, or anything else like that.
Tonight, dinner of mac and cheese with little smokies and pudding. Haven't made it yet, but soon. Btw, most common questions so far? How do you go through the locks? Same as everyone else I tell them. Second most asked...how's your rear end? Doesn't it get sore? It's fine. The boat is very comfortable, but I also stop every few hours to stretch the legs. today, I was finished at 4, so only 11 hours in the boat today. I'll be getting up early to go through the locks at Aliceville, AL. Yep, I'm backin Alabama tonight with 300 miles to go and 10 days to get there.
Thanks to all for the comments on FB. I read them when I do email, but haven't had time,or connection to get on and do much else. They mean a lot and I really enjoy reading what all of you have to say about the journey, the writing and the project. kept expecting the doors to start swinging shut. If so, that would have meant another hour wait. I did not want to wait.

Better than I Thought

2009-06-30T21:39:00.010-04:00

Here's a piece of advice. Never try to do math when you've been working hard in the hot sun, low on energy and in desperate need of sleep. Today I had to reassess my reassessment. My math was wrong. Last night, when I was trying to figure out how far I still had to go and how many miles per day I needed, I made one mistake. This trip is a month. Last night, a month was 28 days,or 4 weeks. Today, I realized that Susan is picking me up after a calendar month...Doh! So, that leaves 2 more days to figure in. Today, was a good day and I made 38 miles. That included 3 locks which was stellar. That leaves me with 12 days left and 28 miles a day to average. Much mre doable than the 34 a day I had worked out last night. A little over 350 miles to go in 12 days. I've made over a 100 in the last 3 days so give me some good weather...meaning cooler and less humid and I should get to Mobile on time.
Last night was spent at Midway Marina. Nice group there and I really enjoyed just hanging out and talking with them. If they're reading...thanks for making me feel welcome. The sunset last night was awe inspiring. God really knows how to end a good day on a high note. Enjoy the pics.
Today, up at 4:30, in the boat and 5 and through the first lock at 6, with the sun rising as I entered. The 3 locks today were really smooth. None of them had the high tie-offs and all went down with the water level. Even still, I was ready. Instead of a couple half hitches, I tied a bwline with a bight. If I needed to, all I had to do was pull on the end of the rope and off it came. No need to though,thank goodness. 14 hours later I pulled into Aberdeen Marina. Drank a Dr Pepper and made a couple phone calls. The marina isn't big, but has a convenience store and gas pumps alongside it. Speaking to the ladies behind the counter I asked about camping on the dock and explained the whole deal. They ahd to call the owners to see if it was ok. I thought, uh oh. No way would they let some stranger with some sort of story camp there. Once again I was surprised. The owner, Miss Susan, not only said ok, but let me stay on her screened in pontoon boat, had the ladies fix me a burger and fries and set me up with a fan. They later came in while I was eating and introduced themselves. Great folks once again. Kerrie, one of the women working there made sure Ihad everything I needed and helpe3d find the fan for me. Again, thanks. I've been blessed numerous times throughout this. It's sounding somewhat like a broken record. The eternal optomist in me is silently rejoicing that the world, no matter the media we hear, isn't all bad. We live in uncertain times right now, but one thing is for certain. Most people in our world are genuinely considerate, helpful and kind...no matter what you see in Atlanta traffic.
One last thing. I can tell I'm movcnig south. Saw my first White Heron today. Also, the water and surroundings are starting to get that lowland, swampy feel as you move away from the main channel and into the backwaters. Cypress knees and hydrilla floating by. I'm definitely not in the mountains any more.
One last work. Thanks to all who are commenting and messaging. I can't respond to all, but they are appreciated and mean a lot.
Nite

The Heat Is On!

2009-06-29T21:27:00.008-04:00

Finally have a good connection and want to catch up with everyone. 3 Days ago I had just entered Pickwick Lake from Florence Al. Beautiful lake with gravel and shell beaches that made rest stops comfortable and easy. No worry about boat wakes with the boat pulled over to shore. Usually, that's the big worry,but not here. Spent a long day with several breaks just enjoying. Probably one of the more pleasant days I've had in the heat. Pulled into Coleman State Park on Mississippi. Yes..Mississippi. Really can't believe I've paddled from Bryson City to MS. Met a couple law enforcement guys from the park and talked about the project. Great guys and really liked hearing about it. I went back to the boat to secure it and get my stuff. In pulls a boat, careening into the boat dock with the gas pumps. I was parked just behind them about 15 yards and immediately got worried. They were obviously drunk and the girl was seriously mad at one of the guys. Lots of F-bombs and crying and generally making a scene. I immediately got back in my boat and paddled around to the other side, picked up my stuff and headed off the find the law enforcement guys. Gladly, they took off and handled it. I didn't care what happened to them...they were going to hurt themselves or someone else if nothing was done.
After a dinner of mashed taters, ground beef and veggies with lots of butter. Finished it off with some coconut cream pie pudding. I was happy. I slept well. The next morning, I started down to my boat to start loading. When I got there, there was a note on my seat. Evidently one of the officers had read this blog and decided to help out. On top of the note were 4 pair of sunglasses. I took a picture of the note so you guys could read it. Just another helping hand along the way.
The next day,by comparison was the worst day of the trip. HOT with no releif anywhere. I entered the Tenn-Tomm Waterway, headed south. Reaching a milestone like this is big and I was looking forward to the "Ditch" as most call it. Well..its a ditch. Riprap lining both sides and no coves or inlets to get away from boat wakes. Not only that it was a water skiiers paradise. It was Sunday and all day I fought boat wakes and sun. Not only is there no place to pull off, there isn't even hardly a tree big enough to offer shade. I could only keep going. Drank 2 gallons of water and splashed water on me all day. Pulled into Bay Springs Lake at around 9 pm after a 36 mile stint. Don't want to do that again.
Today was much better. A front passed through taking some of the humidity with it. Temps were in the low 90's instead of the high 90's as the day before. Listening to the weather on the radio, yesterday had a heat index of 110. Today,it was only in the low 100's. Up early as usual to clear skies and light wind. Cool breeze actually and it was at my back. Pushing early, I made the first lock of the day. The Tenn-Tomm was created to provide an alternate shipping route to the east instead of using the Mississippi. To make it, they had to create a channel to conect the3 Tennessee with the Tombigbee River. Using a lot of locks..I think there are 15, they were able to make the connection. I had to wait until the lock filled to enter, taking about 20 minutes. After I entered and tied off, they started lowering the water. After about 10 minutes and 20 feet, they started filling it again. Another boat was upstream so they decided to refill and let him in. A big cruiser entered and tied up opposite me. Turns out its a family, dad, mom and a small boy of about 6. The dad asked about the "purpose" as he had seen it printed on the side of the boat (Thanks Getcha Graphics). We spoke a bit and introduced ourselves. Dad, Bill Butler, and his family were heading to the Abacos in the Bahamas for a year. He owns an internet company and can work from anywhere. I wanted to go with them..badly.
Anyway, the water lowered and off we went. Nice guy and I hope they have a great voyage. I did see a snake up close and personal while in the lock. It swam along the wall toward me, stopped for a sec at my boat and then zoomed past me, between the wall and me. The watersnake was not interested in me as he swam by at inches away.
Thenext channel and then lake were only about 6 miles long. As the lock came into view, I saw the same cruiser entering and a tug with barge attached leaving. I knew I wouldn't make it in time to enter with Bill's cruiser. Another wait until he locked through, they refilled and I could enter. Waiting for this takes about 20-30 minutes. So, I waited.
This time, the lock was a little different. The tie-offs were up high. High enough that I had to stand to tie my boat off. These tie-offs are engineered so that as the water lowers, the tie-offs lower also. They are like cylinders sliding up and down inside the lock. I stood and tied the boat and sat back down to wait. That's when my worry became a reality. At every lock, I wondered what would happen if the water started lowering, but they cylinder tie-off didn't. This one didn't go down at the same time as the water. As the water lowered, the rope became tighter and tighter. I had some slack, but it quickly played out. The rope got tighter and started to pull the side of the boat up as the water lowered. I frantically tried to untie, then started to reach for my knife when "Bang". The rope popped. The little D-ring on my boat broke. It was hard plastic and easily fixed, but wow, not a comfortable feeling.
Water lowered and my nerves feeling better I set off again. It was not about 3:00 in the afternoon and hot. Not as hot as the last 2 weeks, but still summer hot. A light wind still blowing at my back I made some time. This time it was about 8 miles to the mext lock. This time the same tie offs. This time, I learned and left some more slack and tied it in such a way so I could pull the bight of the rope and untie it quickly. This time, no problems, but still had to wait for a tug and barges coming up river. Another hour to get through the lock. I paddled for another few hours and came to Midway Marina where I am tonight. Glorious sunset and a shower with plenty of hot water. Even a hot-tub which I used to pound my back for awhile. Great folks here as well. Boat people seem to like to hear the story, share some of their own and generally make anyone around welcome. I guess its one of the perks of a trip like this and I'm glad to found it out.
Now seems like a good time to do a little assessment of where I am, how far I've gone and what challenges lay ahead. First, there is more than 500 miles of water between Bryson City and me right now. That amazes me. I still have 392 miles to go. I thought I would be really counting the miles I've paddled, but Ihaven't really cared. I can't count like that...it would be like watching a clock go by, or watching water boil. Time just drags on. I just focus on the next task and stay in the present. What do I have to do next. Last night when I finally reached my campsite, I had to fix dinner, set up the tent and go to sleep. Everything was in slow motion and all I could focus on was the next task. It would have beento overwhelming otherwise.
So, 392 miles left. I figured out at yesterday morning as I made the turn into the Tenn-Tom that I had to average 34 miles a day to make Mobile. If I have more days like yesterday, I won't make it. Today, my body was still paying for yesterday. Also, I wasn't expecting the 3 locks today to take so much time. Taking 3 hours out of a day to virtually stand still doesn't get me closer, but it still takes a toll on me in terms of sun and energy. My hope is that I'll get lucky and not have to wait as long tomorrow. I don't know, but I'll keep trying to make it and see where it goes. Would I be dissappointed? I don't think so. I have 30 days to do all I can and so far I've done it to my limit. Putting 12-16 hours a day in the boat is about all I have so I'm satisfied with that, and I'll keep doing the same from here on. When I started this project, I wrote the 2 purposes. #1. To honor the service of my dad to his family, community and country. #2 Raise funds for the Swain County Schools Foundation in my Dad's name. Those have, and continue to be successful thanks to all of you.
Tomorrow, I'll get up at 4:30, pack and start paddling again. I'll see where it leads. The weather is supposed to stay like this through the week. Hopefully, with some breaks and good timing, I'll make up some time. I'll let you know.

2 Locks and a Mink

2009-06-27T07:16:00.007-04:00

Tonight I'll be spending in Mississippi. Tomorrow morning I'llm ake the turn into the Tenn-Tomm Waterway, heading south. One nice thing is that I'll be facing south and won't have to paddle into the sun during the later afternoon. That's especially good now that I've lost my Native sunglasses. Bummed is putting it mildly. I seem to have bad luck with sunglasses and can't seem to hold on to them. I had been so concious so far, but as luck would have it, they are now gone. I can blame it on the mink. Isn't that what your supposed to do when someting like that happens?
Ihad just come through the second lock of the day. It was hot as usual and I had just battled the wind crossing the last part of Wilson Lake toward Muscle Shoals. I was tired nad cranky, There is about a 3 mile channel after the lock as it heads to Florence AL. The wind was still kicking my rear so I was paddling as close to shore as I could to find calmer water and what little shade the trees could afford me. The bank was lined with riprap and lots of industrial junk. Out of the weeds and in amongst the rocks I spied a small shape moving. It popped into a hole between 2 rocks just as I got a good look at it. A Mink!! Cool. The day hadn't gone very well so far, but this really brightened my mood. Out came the camera and I stayed very still, right up under the trees along the bank. Out it popped and snaked its way under the leaves. I snapped a few quick shots, but still hadn't gotten a clear photo of it. Cute little guy looking like a little brown ferret. Callie and Rye would have loved to see it. Heck, they would have loved to hold it. Anyway, it disappeared and off I went down river. A couple minutes later I noticed a spider on the bill of my hat. Spiders arn't my favorite thing and it had probably climbed on while I was getting a look at the mink. I quickly took my hat off and gave it a flip. Off went the sunglasses flying to the water. The boats momentum wasn't letting me stop and go back very quickly, but I could see the glasses slowly sinking. Finally, I stopped and reversed my momentum and reached the glasses just as they sank out of site. In hindsight, I should have jumped it after them. I was close to shore and easily could have managed the boat back to shore to get in. I was worried about all the junk in the water and along the bank too. In addition, I have a little, slightly infected spot on my foot from the sandal strap rubbing. I didn't want to get it wet. Btw, it's fine this morning. So...no more glasses. Bummed me out for acouplehours.
Back to the morning and why it wasn't a great day to start with. I awoke from my luxurious slumber at Wheeler state park at around 4:30. I didn't want to go, but still managed to get into the boat around 5:30. It was a mile or so to the dam and I wanted to get through the locks early. Disappointingly, the lock master wasn't monitoring his radio, or looking out his window. I hailed him on my vhf and waited. Nothing. I didn't this several times while floating in front. Finally, after about 30 minutes, he comes out and notices me. Stupidly, he asks if I wanted to go through and tells me to go to the end of the wall, which is about 200 yrds back. First time any lock had asked me to go that far back. Usually they just ask me to go off to the side, out of the way. So,off I go. Another 20 minutes and the gate finally opens. As I paddle into thelock I asked what channel he was monitoring..16 or 14. Most of the time, youhail them on 16 and they ask you to switch to 14. He said 16, saying he heard the radio keep coming on, but didn't see anyone. I wasn't happy getting out of the lock at 8:30.
My usual 8 before 8 goal had evaporated into 11 before 11. I knew it was going to be a long day. Out of Wheeler and into Wilson. Long, wide straight away with only a slight bend before I reached the dam at Muscle Shoals. The staights were 6 miles long and took a a couple hours to get across. The last one had the wind in my face and the boat moving all of 3 mph. Finally, at 2:30 I reached it. This lock operator was much more professional and locked me through fairly quickly. From there it was down the channel to Florence.
The river front in Florence was pretty cool. A small harbor with a marina is just after the bridge. Flags and what looked like a tower/torch marked the harbot on either side. The marina was moderate size and hot..way hot. Into the restaraunt I went...but it wasn't open. I found some shade which was still 90 degrees and read for awhile. I was drained, but the Dr Pepper did help. At 5 the restaraunt opened and in I went to get some ice water and check it out. The a/c felt glorious and instantly I felt better. A couple glasses of water and good conversation with the waitress were enjoyable, but the best part was the owner was trying out a new recipe for fried oysters. Coming up with a small tray, she asked if I woulld try a couple. Oh my! Good could not describe them. I ordered a baked potato with the works which went down in a heartbeat. I knew I would be paddling for awhile still and didn't want to take the time to cook later. The waitress was not only helpful, but said the potato was her donation to the cause. Awesome lady. I left Florence around 6:30 once the sun had started to go down and the wind had died. Feeling refreshed and energized I headed down river to 7 mile island. Beautiful section, but much different than those above. High bluffs on one side and sandy, lowlands on the north side. The paddling was easy and comfortable as I made my way down river over the next few hours. Finally, as the sunset and my headlamp and lantern attached I pulled into a suiutable camping spot. Nothing fancy, but clear, sandy shore with a flat spot for te tent. Exhausted I set up the tent, climbed iin and slept soundly inspite of the heat and no wind.

Wheeler Lake and Decatur Alabama

2009-06-25T20:29:00.001-04:00

Absolutely a great day today. I spent last nnight at the Riverwalk(?) Marina across the river from Decatur Alabama. A couple mile upstream for Decatur, a jetski passed by and circled back to talk to me. Kevin, the owner of the jetski was out cruising around and was curious about me sohe stopped. We floated along and taLked for awhile enjoying the slow current and late afternoon sun. At least he was enjoying it. I was ready to be done. Another very hot and humid day with about 26 miles behind me. I was grateful for the rest, but wanted to be done. Anyway, Kevin and I were talking for about 5 minutes when he offered to buy me something cold to drink. Of course I said sure. I still had a couple miles to go so he offered a tow. Of course I said yes. It was funny,he asked me if it would be breaking any rules or something. No way came out of my mouth before I could stop it. No records trying to be made here and I'm not the first one to do this so off we went with me in tow. At 5 mph,it wasn't much faster than what I was paddling.
Kevin,it turns out, is in the steel business. I imagine Decatur would be part of the "Rust Belt" in Alabama. He also turned out to be just an all around nice guy. His wife, a former elementary teacher was on a trip with the kids and Kevin was bach'n it. He towed me into the marina and from there we headed to the restaraunt, a nice beachy place on the water called the Hard Dock. A cold drink and catfish poboy later, I was feeling much better. Spent the rest of the evening talking about everything from kids, to work, to river travel. Nice. Slept on the end of the boat dock, in the tent, right next to the boat. Thanks Kevin...
My routine has settled into somewhat of a pattern. Awake at 4:30, make coffee, pack and load up the boat. Shove off around 5:00 in the dark. A couple photos today are of Decatur industry lights as I left. Played around with moving the camera as I took the shot. Couldn't get a steady one so I went the other way. I thought they looked pretty cool. I've got a headlamp on and another little lantern that I put on my back deck so other boats can see me. The best part is when the sun comes up. Glorious every morning. Best part of the day.
I usually paddle slowly at around 3.5 miles and hour and stop every so often to sip my coffee. I also have a sort of silly guage for how I'm doing. If it's an 8 before 8 morning, its good, meaning I've paddled 8 miles before 8 am. A 9 before 9 morningis average. A 10 before 10 isn't great and means I'll be paddling later in the heat. Today was a 7 before 7 morning. I had some big lake crossings that I needed to get across. In fact, pretty much all day I was out in the middle probabaly 1/2 mile from shore most of the days. Most of the time I can paddle close to shore and get some shade as the sun and day heat up. Today, I knew, wasn't one of those days. One good thing about today, was I didn't have any natural stopping points. No trees for shade...no bends or points in the river to stop. Instead, just kept paddling and keeping a 50-55 stroke pace. The dam at Wheeler lake was 30 miles away. My hope was I would get there early and take a long nap, recharge and rest was needed. Wheeler State Park was just before the dam so I was also looking forward to the marina there and seeing what the park was about.
No lunch today, but constant grazing. I have a bag of peanuts, cashews, almonds, raisins and such that I munch on all day. I also had found my beef jerky a couple days ago. I also still had some tortillas that were good. Eating the tortillas and the beef jerky was sorta like a burrito if I used alittle imagination. Good!
Surprisingly, I made it to the state park by 2:30. I killed that 30 miles today! Also, the park had a lodge/hotel with a room for incredibly reasonable rates. So, tonight, I'm sitting in a room, watching tv and resting. What do you think I did first when I checked in? First, ordered a burger and fries. Second, shower...loing and hot. Ihadn't grown a beard in a long while. Not surprised to find it mostly white on the sides. It made me laugh. I'm now sporting a goatee. Next was a long nap. A good 3 hour, dead to the world sleep. I'll sleep again in a couple hours, once I update all this.
Tomorrow, through the locks at Wheeler and on to the turn at Pickwick onto the Tenn-Tomm. Not sure what to expect as I head south. The pattern here on the Tennessee has been lakes with varying amounts of civilization such as houses and marinas.That followed by the tailwaters with little or no civilization for a day or two. Then the next lake. I think the 15 locks on the Tenn-Tomm will be just another part of this that I'll get to see what its all about. Looking forward to it. I'm probably close to, or just over 400 miles of water between me and Bryson City. Hard to believe that I'm just about 1/2 way. I can't look ahead too far though. It's just too large of a distance. I just take one mile at a time and one day at a time. If I let myself leave the here and now, it gets too daunting and demoralizing, but I can always paddle one mile. Seems like there's a message there I believe.
Enjoy the pics..I'll get up tomorrow and start again, but for right now, I'll enjoy the moment.

Moving Along

2009-06-24T06:51:00.004-04:00

I'm sitting on a bench near Huntsville Alabama and just found out I'm trespassing on military property. It's 5:45 and a gentleman walked up and very nicely asked if I was here for the fishing derby. We started talking and well, go figure, I'm on hte Redstone Military Arsenal. Evidently, NASA owns part of this too. Something to do with missles. I don't ask too many questions at this point. Its peaceful with bird chirping and fish splashing while the sun is just rising up river from me.
Made it through Guntersville yesterday. Again, the morning, I kicked butt. Lots of big, open water to cross, but the wind wasn't an issue. The afternoon, in the heat, I slowed, but still managed to make 33 miles. Beautiful section from a couple miles above the dam, to where I stopped about 10 miles below the dam. Moved into some pine forests and later, on the river passed some huge cliff faces. This section, below the dam was definitely more scenic than below Watts Bar, Chickamauga and Nickajack. Nicajack was by far the most unscenic yet. Laid on a big flat rock,in the shade for anhour and actually fell asleep for awhile.
I pulled into a marina about 3 miles upstream for the night. The marina store was closed but still bought a Dr Pepper out of the machine there. You don't know how good that was. One of the workers came by with a key and went inside while I was fixing dinner on the dock.. Spoke to him about sleeping there and he pointed over to the transient dock. Cost was 15 bucks so I paid and paddled over. I was just getting my things out when the door to the big boat next to me opened and I met Ron Wilkerson. After talking for all of 2 minutes, he offered me his boat to sleep on for the night. Another good semaritan! Again, I was blessed. A/C and a stocked fridge. He offered a cold water and to the roof deck we went. We talked for a bout an our before it was time for to go shower and get some sleep. Nice guy obviously,but what amazes me are peoples good will. I've expereienced this level of kindness rarely, but it's usually when traveling. For some reason, people tend to open up, lend ahand and somehow move out of their everyday, hectic pace for awhile. When they see someone roughing it, people tend to want to help. That to me is priceless. Thank you Ron for your generosity.
Highlight of yesterday...2 bald eagles. Saw them above Guntersville. Lucky to get s photo of them. Playlist was a comilation from Garageband.com artists. If you haven't gone there, check it out. Great music from rising, unknown artists. Huge selection with a lot of free downloads. Also, a plug fo audible.com. Listening to books on tape has been a great time passer. Ken Follets follow up to Pillars of the Earth is one the Zune today.
Off to put in more miles in the continuing heat. Hope for some clouds and wind like yesterday. Not a big wind, but just enought to keep the air moving.
Last thing, thanks to Cat, Marc, Deb, and Peter for your donations. It really keeps the spirits up when I see someone has donated. Coming from you guys,it means even more. Thanks!

Great Interview Joe..thanks

2009-06-23T08:37:00.002-04:00

Ok, maybe I'm getting smarter about this whole thing. At least for now anyways. Yesterday temperatures rose once again to record levels. The day before was absolutely no fun and as I said, it hurt. So instead of pushing through and down river, I decided to take a long break mid day and paddle in the morning and late afternnon. After about 13 miles, I found the Goose Pond Marina. Great place to relax and rechaqrge all my electronics. Cool breezes blowing through the covered picnic area allowed me to relax, read and take a nap even. Got there around 11:15 and stayed until around 5 pm. Didn't cover as many miles but it made life easier. Covered 24 miles and that was just fine.
Received Joe Jacobi's interview video blog of our time together in Chattanooga. Have to say, great job Joe. Thanks for the opportunity to spend some time with you and talk about this project.

Day 10 morning break

2009-06-22T08:25:00.004-04:00

Had an opportunity to post during a quick rest stop to stretch. I really like mornings when the miles are so much easier. Listening to the Zune this morning and trying to go a little slower and smoother. Yesterday afternoon hurt. Pulled in about 7 pm to the sound of fish jumping and an osprey warning me away from her nest. Not only was I hot and tired, but my upper back/neck just can't seem to loosen up. I end up paddling for about 5 minutes and have to stop and stretch a little. Then it's on again. Trying to not move my neck side to side and concentrate on relaxing my shoulders and not hunching helps, but the burn and tightness continues. I keep hoping it won't get worse. Every morning, I get up and it feels pretty good, so thats a good sign. Might have to slow down and even take some time off. Also, my forearm started feeling some tightness too. The top, going into my hand/thumb. A little tendonitist I'm sure. Doesn't hurt, just isn't right. Ibuprofen, water and rest is probably what is needed. I'll see where today takes me and how it all holds up. 8 miles so far and, as I said, it feels good so far this morning.
So, the important stuff. What did I eat last night? First, found my beef jerky I had dehydrated before I left. Awesome discovery. Ate about 4 sticks of that. For dinner I had couscous with chik peas, a little dried tomato and onion, and mixed veggies. Not bad at all. Couldnt eat it all so the fish had theirs too. For dessert, Chocolate pudding and coffee. By that time I was ready to lay down. Read for a bit.."Angels and Demons" First time is several days I had the energy to do that. Went to sleep around 10 pm. Up again this morning at 4:30 and felt great.
Since I'm in Alabama now, I actually got up at 3:30...ouch. I'm not changing my watch. Don't think my brain could handle that early, even thought the body is feeling good wtih it.
Playlists this morning...started off with some Coldplay - Parachutes. Then listened to Debra Arlyn...a Oregon artist who I found on Garageband.com. Check that out. She's pretty good. Lastly, the Doors. Great losing myself in Riders on the Storm for awhile.
Need to stretch so I'll try to post laster tonight. Another 95 degree day and 100 heat index awaits.

Sad Day

2009-06-21T19:47:00.003-04:00

It was a sad day today. I learned this morning of the passing of a friend, David Ennis. David intersected my life in many ways. First, his son, Chris, worked with me at NOC in instruction. Talented paddler and all around great guy. I can tell you Chris got this way through the guidance of his parents. David was a great father..encouraging, mentoring and setting wonderful examples of service, friendship and responsibilty. Long time board member at NOC, he also became NOC's President for a couple tough years. He did so with poise and consideration.
After his stint at President, we took our dogs out birdhunting a few times. It was actually more of a walking and hiking exercise, but I enjoyed out talks about the outdoors. We'd talk dogs, fishing and just about everything in between. A passionate bonefisherman, he would tell me his Bahamas trips with great enthusiasm. I would have really like to have had a chance to go with him.
Later, I would see him at school. David started a local Big Brother program. He and Donna would show up every now and then to spend time with one of our kids. Mostly just having fun at whatever the kid wanted to do, but it was invaluable and greatly needed/wanted by those students.
I'm not going to post much about the trip today. Suffice it to day that it was long and hot. Today was more about remembering my times with David and wishing his family peace in their grief. In closing, please remember to live each day as it's your last. Do something you always wanted...do it with your family and love them. Time is precious. Peace.

100 degree Fathers Day

2009-06-21T05:15:00.005-04:00

Made it below Nickajack dam, but wow...hot and slow. Took care of myself with lots of water and paddlingin the shade of the overhanging branches. Also stopped for a couple hours in the heat of the day.
Not writing much thismorningas I want to get a start and was too tired last night to do much except check email.
Thought the pic would brighten everyones day. After 6 different places I finally found one. Thank you Sullivans! It made my morning.

Chattanooga Joe

2009-06-20T08:09:00.002-04:00

First, excuse the spelling as I'm not taking the battery and time to check before I post. I'm good to even be posting as it takes about an hour at least to get all in order and write. Hope you understand and take points off.
Yesterday the highlight was meeting up with Joe Jacobi, olympic gold medalist, paddler extraordinaire and all around great guy. He's taught me a lot aboutusing social media to promote and draw interest toward just about anything.
We met about 10 am above Chicamauga dam and locked through toward Chattanooga. We paddled about 5 miles or so to downtown having a great time talking about all kinds of things. Everything from the state of paddling to how the trip is going. Some of you whoknow Joe, know he is a social media fiend. Twittering, postiing on FB, taking photos, commenting and responding is a constant. Pretty cool to see how connected heis and what interest that generates. We stopped into Rock Creek outfitters for bit. I've been having some issues with my sandals and TEVA has been working hard to get a pair overnighted to me through Rock Creek Sadly they hadn't come in, but Andrew...a man I would have working for me in a heart beat is still working on getting them to me. He even has offered to drive them down river at some point and pass them off to me if they come in on Monday. Over and above the call of duty for sure. Rock Creek needs to give this guy a raise, and TEVA needs to give him a pair of shoes for his herculean efforts.
Anyway, Joe said some great things about the project and gave some great support to my spirit. His family was there too, which was great to see. He also got me thinking about this project and the message it's sending. My goal is to raise money for scholarships, but its definitelymore than that. Swain County Schools Foundation has made a great start in providing scholarships, but it's realy going to measured by the success of our students who go to college and finish successfully.
Four years ago I tood a position at our local community college as Director of GEAR UP. A federal grant program designed to get middle and high school students on a colllege path that leads to completion. Some of these students would enter college,but drop out after the first year to return to work. One of my goals was to create programs that inspire interest and passion for something that leads to a career. For instance, Robotics was a program we brought to the area. Offering interesting programs like this,I beleive, lead to passionate, headlong desires to continue on into college. So, how does this project fit into that? A big obstacle to following that path is confidence and experience. This project, I hope, is an example of going out and goal oriented, passionate direction. An example of, even if its difficult, don't quite, because the end result isn't as far as itlooks. Just like college. If a students is passionate about something, and with the right support, maybe, just maybe, theywill complete those two or four year programs.
Joe and his partner Scott were great examples of that very thing. Training for years for the chance to compete in the Olympics, theynot only competed, but won the biggest prize of their lives. It changed their lives forever from that point on.
So, Joe, you keep poswting and twittering and talkiing to anyone who listens. Keep teaching the idea of not letting the world come to you, but go out, find a passion and follow it until you reach whatever goal it is. You go bro! I'm with you trying to do the same. Find a passion everyone and pursue it. you never know were it may lead. The only reward for me would be the appreciation of someone who might be reading this and pursued their goals to the fullest. Now that would be cool. I wish Swain County Schools Foundation the best in their goal of assisting those accomplishments.
Off the soap box now.
At thismoment I just finished breakfast and am standing on the banks of the Tennesse, south of Chattanooga. I'm watching fisherman just about 15 yards away who are probabalywondering what the heck this guy with the compueter and kayak is doing. After Chatt. I paddled on and finished the day with 28 miles under my belt. Again, as I was starting to wind down the day and look for a suitable camping spot, there was a group of folks right at Suck Creek. They wre bar-b-queing chicken and having a good time. I stopped to talk to them cuz thehad a dog likemine...a weimeraner. One thing led to another and they offered me a big dinner of chicken potato salad, and rice and beans. Killer rice and beans. An evening of talking and asking questions again and next thing you k now it was 10:30 and I was sleeping under theirr picnic area with a fan going to keep the bugs off. Being an apartment complex, it had alot of diffferent people, but the waterfront was the hangout with people coming and going all night. When I say allnight, I mean all night. At around 1:30, the radion was turned on..they didn't know or didnt care that I was trying to sleep. I just went back to sleep,but kept waking up all night due to the music. At 4:30 when I woke up, I turned it off and started to get ready to leave. When I went to my boat, there was the couple who turned on the music, still locked in an embrace, sitting next to the boat. I hadn't met them last night and said a quick hello. Not a word from them. Maybe I was disturbing something...who knows, but II quickly packed and headed down river in the dark.
Today I'n on Nicka Jack and feeling tired. My neck muscle is still tightening up so a lot of stops and stretching are the order of the day. I'll let you know. In the meantime, enjoy the photos.

Harrison Bay Comfort

2009-06-19T09:40:00.004-04:00

Just a few quick notes this morning. Meeting Joe in a couple minutes, but I first wanted to send prayers and thoughts to the Ennis's. David is sick..doing ok and stable, but sick. I'm really thinking and praying for him and his family

Ok, it seems the picnic table made some people feel sorry for me...Leigh...but, it was the best nights sleep so far. Last night, my accommodations were even better. Stayed about a 60's era, mahogany/teack trimmed Chris Craft. The cabin below with A/C was offered to me for the night by Mike and Taylor...absolutely great and kindhearted people. Boat people siince they live on their boats in the marina. The evening at Harrison State Park was peaceful and comfortable...Leigh. I also met Dina and her daughter Goose who treated me to dinner and hospitality. The restaraunt reminded me of some of the places that that Food Network show, Diners Dives and Drive-inns would be. Great food and only about 30 yards frmo where I slept.
More to come later, but wanted to say thanks to those wonderful people at Harrison Bay Marina. They really made my stay there worthremembering. Hope to see you again soon
I think I see Joe...need to go. I'll post more later. Until then, I'm loving reading the messages to me from all areas of my life. Its great to have the support from all corners...thanks

Recharging to Sale Creek

2009-06-18T08:10:00.002-04:00

\

Short entry thismorning. Yesterday did 20 miles with 8 in the morning. Stopped at Blue Water Marina for needed electronics recharging, me recharging and good conversation with the guy who runs the place. The place was like a throw back to the 70's with shower house and a front porch with a porch swing and ceiling fan. Loved it. Thunderstorms were in the area but had passed by around 4 pm. I headed off again, not really knowing how far I'd go. Twelve miles down I found Sale Creek Marina. It was filled wiht sail boats of all kinds. A few had full time residents, obviously living there instead of renting a house. Met Arte, the owner, a nice, grey haired gentleman with an accent I couldnt quite place. He said no problem to sleepiing there. Had a picnic table under a roof and a ceiling fan to keep a breeze going and the bugs away. NICE.
Dinner was some of my own Chili I had dehydrated which turned out quite goood. After talking with Arte, and 2 boys who were staying with him, about sailing and boats for awhile, it was off to shower and sleep. My second shower of the day. Luxury!
Late start this morning on my way to Chattanooga. Its about 25 miles. Still have a nagging muscle in my back that shoots pain if I turn the wrong way while paddling. You know, that muscle between the shoulder blades...(trapezius, rhomboid and erector spinai)..DrPilch would be proud. Hope it will loosen up soon.
All for now. Its 8 30 and starting to heat up. Oh, in the pics you'll see these may fly like bugs. When I paddle next to the docks and some trees, they literally swarm all over me. Startled me the first time. Harmless, but big. Glad they don't bite. Enjoy

A Cultural Divide and Playlists

2009-06-17T11:07:00.002-04:00

A day of miles and a day of recharging. Day 4 was epic, but smooth. Contradictory I guess, but here's how it went.
The morning started out dark. I woke up at, what I thought was 5:30. Made my coffee and loaded up. On the water fairly quickly I was feeling real good. No vitamin I (Ibuprofen)and I started to paddle downriver in the dark. Hmmm, a little darker than I expected. I looked at the watch and it didn't say 6:00. It said 5:00. Cool! That just means I can make the miles earlier when its cool and get down earlier too. I didn't know at the time I would put in 40 miles and be out for 13 hrs. The morning was great. Plugged the Zune into my ears and quickly headed across Watts Bar Lake. A big, open lake. Hardly a boat, or house to be seen all morning. Listening to Alan Parsons' Eye in the Sky, Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill, and Slowing it down later with some Cowboy Junkies, the morning turned into noon. I had made 20 miles by lunch and was still feeling good.
Forgot to mention food. No moonpies yet..sorry. Instead, 2 packs of Grits with Bacon and 3 strips of Bacon. I didn't need to cook the bacon. It comes pre-cooked and packaged. No refridge needed, and, it tastes awesome. Definte comfort food.
Lunch was PB&J, gorp and a gatorade that some fisherman threw to me. The kindness of people as I go along this journey reinforces what I believe about most people. No matter where, there are always people willing to help and support.
The afternooon heated up with temps in the low to mid 90's. The pace slowed, but I could see the steam rising from the dam at Watts Bar. Made the dam at around 2:30, locked through and was glad to get out of it. It smelled soooobad. In front of gates, there were about 10 dead carp, bloatet in the sun. Auuurrggh.
Below the dam, life was a little better, but there was nothing around, except the smell. This time, it was the smell of cows. A lot of cows and a lot of cow smell. Finally after 4 miles or so, no more cow smell...just fish smell.
Once past Watts Bar, the cultural tide had turned. Tellico Lake was filled with modest to very nice houses and boat houses. Watts Bar had some weekend retreats and huge, huge spreads with huge houses. Now, nothing. Nothing except catfishermen. I defintely crossed a cultural threshhold.
The miles were still going slow, but i wanted to keep going. Still felt alright. Stopped for lunch below the dam and moved on still seeing nothing.
About 8 miles down I met a couple fishermen at a boat ramp. Asking them if there was anything like a marina down river, they looked at me funny. A marina? Heck no,but there is a Fish Camp about 2 miles down. As I paddled away, I asked over my shoulder if they had food. "Yeah, and BEER TOO!" Alright. I could use one of the those. So, I paddled on.
Well, 4 miles later and still nothing on the horizon. So, I paddle on. Another couple miles and still nothing. A big bend ahead so maybe there? I had just about given up and started loooking fora place to camp. I made a couple phone calls and low and behold, a faded sign about a 1/4 mile away. I steered toward it and saw a boat dock with a Gas sign. I was exhausted and very hungry. Turned off the GPS and saw it had just turned 40 miles. I was done.
Went inside to a 60'era campground office, restaraunt and bar. About 8 locals were at the watering trough and in I walk with laptop and smelly clothes. Ordered a hamburger all the way and a cold beer while I sat down to log in. The computer only had 30 minutes left so all I could do is update the Trip Tracker. But, it was a conversation starter. Before I knew it, Kris Berra, grand Niece of Yogi Berra had given me a 10 dollar donation and started asking questions. Before long, all the friendly locals of Cottonport, TN had asked questions about the project with me writing down the blog address. I could tell they were quite proud of ole Cottonport http://cottonportlanding.com/ .
Overall, a full belly, revived spirit and good conversation. Thank you Cottonport.
Crept out of Cottonport and headed about 1/4 mile down river to find a spot top sleep. Comfortable spot over lookiing the river and gorgeous sunset. I slept ok,but was very sore and tired. Too tired and hot to fall asleep quickly. Finally a very small breeze came up and I drifted off.
Today is an easy day. I'm at the Blue Water Marina about 8 miles below Cottonport resting and recharging me and my electronics. Its about 28 miles to Chickmagua Dam where I'll be meeting Joe Jacobi on friday. I'm ahead of schedule and glad for it.
Signing off for now. Thanks for reading this far and following along. I'm enjoying it.

A Great Blue Heron Morning

2009-06-15T19:46:00.002-04:00

Ok, I'm heart broken. I typed a great write up for today, but when I went to publish, my connection had been dropped. All my writing gone. But, nothing to do, but redo.
nd I gfe
You get the readers digest version though

Today was a Great Blue Heron day. Literally hundreds all day would pop up in fron of me. Osprey too seemed to be in abundance. Mile this morning came easy and I felt stronger. Lower back was better, but my mid back was talking to me. My lats and triceps as well. The 3rd day is always when the body starts talking back to me. From here it should be easiier and the body getsused to the routine.
I made 12 or so miles before 10 am. Stopped and bought some hamburger buns for my PB&J. Poke my boat into a little cover in the town of Lenoir. Three men in a boat were trying to catch shad...or bait as they would call it. They said to paddle up that little canal and I'd get there in a couple hundred yards. Up I went, right through town, past the ball fields and tennis courts and to the culvert. I got out of the boat the sure enough, the store. Turned around and paddled back and I was on my way.
The afternoon was hot. I was starting to slow down so into the water I went. It was a good swim and gave my body a chance to stretch out and cool down. Refreshed and feeling stronger, I was off. The afternoon had long straights and wide shorelines. I don't like em as much. I like to look and see whats around the bend. With straights, you have to paddle a ways to see whats around the bend. So, I hammer out the first half and then they are only half as long. Works for me anyway.
Interesting math here. If I paddle at about 60 strokes a minute and average 4 miles an hour, how many strokes do I paddle in a day if I paddle 30 miles? First person to tell me gets a free Gold Medal Billy Bar!
Dodged a thunderstorm later in the day while approaching Kingston. Sought refuge in a very nice boat house. It gave me time to recharge a few things and rest some. The house it belonged to was up through the woods just a little ways and I could hear voices every now and then when the rain slowed. Anyway, I was poking around and realized they had a fridge...with beer. Ok, delimna. No, I didn't take the beer. Thought that wouldn't be the right thing to do. I need all the good karma and I don't think the good Lord would be smiling on me if I did that. So, instead, I left a note thanking them for the refuge and told them a little about the trip. Who knows, maybe they're reading this. If so, you might want to lock up that fridge!
After that I had one other storm, but hung out under a bridge till it passed. Passed the town of Kingston which from the river, looked like a golf course, but I did see a couple deer. They were looking at me like they were wondering what the heck I was. Kinda like the Spanish Conquistadors and their horses, but I was in the boat.
Past the town, I stopped for the night. Great campsite and good dinner of Cashew Curry with Couscous. Another wonderful meal by Hawk Vittles. Thank God I found them. My foood is ok, but his is great out here.
If you like the writings and haven't donated yet, I urge you to consider it. Remember, not only is it tax deductible, but it goes directly to students scholarships.
G-nite all...

2009-06-14T21:04:00.001-04:00

Day 1 and 2 in my Wake

2009-06-14T20:18:00.003-04:00

Ok, first, let me tell everyone that the Trip Tracker feature isn't in real time. I have to update my location and everything. I just put it on so as soon as I get done with this, I'll figure out how to update it. Its a great feature so hopefully I'll be able to figure it out.

Now, Day 1 and 2 are behind me. Right now, I'm sitting in my chair overlooking a deserted stretch of the Tennessee River about 8 miles down from Ft Loudon Dam. Internet works, coffee in hand and I just finished talking to the family. Life is good at the moment.

Launch day was way surreal for me. I'm not a big fan of pomp and circumstance and wouuld prefer to slip away quietly. That being said, I really do appreciate all those that woke up early to see me off. It was a beyond great to see my Mom and brother come up the night before to send e off. Jeff, Eric, Tim, Amy, Scott...all thank you. It was difficult to see Callie shed some tears and feel her arms squeeze me with her hugs. Rye, stoic and pensive, I think wasn't sure what to do. I've talked to them several times and all is good for now.

First day, paddled across Lake Fontana which seemed more like work than adventuring. Mainly because I've paddled it all before and secondly because I needed to be at the end of the lake by 4 pm. Susan needed to pick me up to get me around the dam and didn't want to drive curvy..way curvy roads in the dark. As it was, I made it by around 2 pm, maybe even a little earlier. She and kids helped me load and unload on the otherside. The only downside was Callie throwing up all over inside my car...bright red bug juice and chips I believe. Once around the dam and driven to below Chilhowee, I loaded and set off with a full boat. Handled differently, but once up to speed, the extra 140 lbs wasn't much different. Campsite the first night was farther down than anticipated due to a generator for irrigation was right in the spot I'd planned on. No worries. A few miles down and found a good, grassy spot on the edge of the woods. Camp made, dinner of salmon fettucini alfredo with veggies and a little reading. Sleep by 9:15 or so.

Today I was up around 6:15,made coffee, loaded and took off. Planned on breakfast at Ft Loudon, about 8 miles down. Highlight of the meals were the Hawk Vittles Grits with Bacon, egg and parmesan. Wow, good! Cloudy, muggy day with glass like water and a solid 14 easy miles til lunch.

It was before lunch I met Chris and Grady. Chris was a delightful 50 yr old women and Grady was an obviously well brought up 15 yr old. They were puttering around in a little motor boat with their 2 dogs. They saw the graphics on the side of the boat ( courtesy of Getcha Graphics - Bryson City ) and were curious about the trip. We spent a good 5 or so minutes talking about the where's and whys of it. Great talking with them. They mentioned they may donate so good for them.

After lunch at a marina somewhere on Lake Tellico, I set off again. My back was a little stiff and the day was warmer, hence a little slower. Even still, I made it to the dam which was further than I expected. The afternoon was filled with boat traffic and monstrous houses with more monstrous boat houses. Lots of development and not near as nice of a lake as Fontana. The Ft Loudon dam and locks is the first locks I've ever gone through. The first of many on the trips so I was curious what that would be like. I pulled up to the entrance looking a little silly in my little red boat. After looking around for a sign, or something I hear over the loudspeaker, "Red Kayak, this is the lockmaster, I've got eyes on you. Are you wanting through?" I waved my hand and looked at the gates to the lock which were closed. He said he had a big boat coming through and to hold my position. I waited for about 10 minutes and the gates started opening. A big cruiser slowly made its way past me. I could almost see the smirk of the captain as he passed. I thought it was pretty cool.
I paddled in, the gates closed and tied off the the number 4 cleet. He told me to do that too. Nice guy. Came out to talk a bit and asked about the trip. He seemed like thought it was a pretty cool idea. Unlike most people I tell who seem to open their eyes a little wider and go, "what...all the way to where?"
Anyway, made it through and found some more life and energy on the other side. Paddled another 8 miles or so on the Tennesee River..yee haw. Hardly any boats, great scenery and more like what I enjoy paddliing. Stopped for a coke and moon pie at a little country store on the side where 2 guys were catfishing. Got the coke, no moonpie though. Had to settle for a little debbie oatmeal cake.
Dinner an hour later of chicken and rice with roasted chicken gravy and raisin/nuts. Not bad and more than I could eat.
Camp was more of an issue. I could find many places to camp, but when large cruisers come by, they throw up a huge wake that crashes against the shore. To stop for the night, I need to either pull the boat completely up out of the water, or find a cove to pull into. Tonight, I found a great, grassy and low spot with a concrete warf at waters edge. Typing from it right now as the sun is setting and my coffee in hand. Enjoy the photos, more tomorrow hopefully.

It's a Start

2009-06-13T04:46:00.003-04:00

It's 5 am and the family is here to see me off. It's a little surreal to finally be starting on this journey. I began this project in September with no idea what was in store or where it would lead. The paddling trip has been secondary to this point, but now it is here. It's been a fairly successful project no matter the outcome from here. The money raised is modest and my hope is for more people to step up and help. I've said before that we're not curing cancer here, but maybe we're doing something more. Maybe this scholarship money can help fund someone who will go on to great things. Maybe we're investing in someone who will?
Raising scholarship funds has been one part. Telling the story of my father and the legacy he left behind has been the other aspect. Definite success there. How appropriate to be starting the trip on Father's Day weekend. My dad was a modest man, but his story of service through his Air Force and teaching careers has set an example of perseverance and goal accomplishments that set a high standard for others. The project has hopefully conveyed that well. Hearing from those who knew him and those who served in similar positions is an inspiration.
Now it's time to switch gears and start telling another story. 30 days from NC to Alabama is no small feat. At times my body will be tested and other times, my spirit. I'm confident with friends, family and God's support that I'll be successful. Over the next month I look forward to telling this story.
Thank you to all who have supported me and the project. It not only means a lot to me, but to those students who will benefit from your support. I'll be talking a lot about our fair community to all who will listen and gladly tell them of the generousness and warmth of all of you.
I'll post in a couple days, once my internet connection comes back on-line. Thanks for being there.

Connections Established

2009-06-08T19:33:00.003-04:00

Shazaam! Connection established. I've been blogging about all the different connections this project has realized since it's start in October. Today, a different kind of connection was realized. My mobile broadband connection was established using Millenicom's USB setup. Amazingly easy to install and setup. I ordered on Friday, it came today and within 10 minutes, I was up and running. I'll now be able to communicate along the trip with photos, email, blogging and twitter. My wife will be happy and hopefully all that are following along with be too. By the way, it's our 13th Anniversary today. We'll do a little celebration on Thursday since she's at work in Atlanta at the moment.

News on preparations. I organized and packed my food last night. I'm carrying all of my food needs for the trip and think that my calorie range of 3,000-3,500 should carry me through. I've planned on a week long menu that I'll repeat. For dinners, I'll be switching between Mac n Cheese with Sausage, Fettuccine with Salmon, Cranberry Chicken and Rice with nuts, Chili, Couscous and Shepard's Pie. I've also interspersed some of Hawk Vittles dishes such as Bison Stew, Hot Italian Sausage and Pasta and North African Stew. Breakfasts include Oatmeal, Cranola, Biscuits and Country Ham as well as some supplemental Hawk Vittles hashbrowns. Lunches are chicken and salmon salads, PB&J, summer sausage/cheese/salami and crackers. I've got a few extra meals to throw a little variation into the mix. In total, my food weighs out at 72 pounds. That's about 2.2 lbs per day which is the range I was looking for.

I put my last reminder and request for support out to all the Swain Co. School staff today. I've received a few donations from fellow teachers and want to say thanks to all who have shown their support through their donations and kind words. Just to say it again, Swain County Schools Foundation was established to provide scholarships to Swain students and grants to teachers in Swain County. As a teacher, I can't think of another organization, or foundation that helps our education community so directly. Please consider this in making your donation decisions.

Lastly, Don Shoopman wrote a great article, actually two articles about the trip and the project. It took up a page and a half in the Daily Iberian, the local paper from New Iberia, LA. New Iberia is the town where I graduated high school and my dad taught. It was also the original destination when I first came up with the idea for this endeavor. Thank you Don for such a great job. Also, thanks to the many friends from New Iberia that contacted me, donated and showed their support. You all don't know how much that means to me, as well as my family and community here.

Launch is Saturday at 7 am from below Wesser Falls at NOC. If anyone wants to join me for some of the first leg, come on down. After that, I'll see you on the water.

Problem or Opportunity - No internet connection solution yet.

2009-06-03T22:13:00.004-04:00

Today the plan was to go to AT&T and get the sim card set up for the USB Mercury device I'm planning on using with the netbook on the trip. Plans never go as planned right? I should start from the beginning of the plan. Way back in November I was looking at major carriers and figuring out how to get service during the trip. In looking at the coverage areas needed for the trip, I realized Verizon, my current phone provider, wouldn't have the same coverage as AT&T. ATT had much better for Alabama. So, in researching I went on the web and looked at the page for the Mercury, a cool little USB device that just plugs in and boom...your on the internet. Great, simple, easy and good coverage. Looks like the ticket.
I went to visit my brother and mom in Atlanta and stopped in at the local ATT store to ask about the idea and see what they thought. I spoke with a very nice sale rep who confirmed what the web page seemed to say. Yes, you can get it and pay by the month...$60. Ok..looks like its set and done, no worries.
Today, the plan died. First, I had to find an ATT store near me. About 40 miles away in Waynesville, the google map showed a store. Turns out that store is no longer and the Radio Shack is the only ATT store. Ok, I'll go talk to them. Within 2 minutes, I knew these were not the brightest bulbs in the shack so I quickly asked them where the nearest full size store was. They quickly told me Asheville. Fine, I'll drive another 40 minutes to that store.
Starting to get hungry and already tired, I drive onto Patten Ave where they said it was. Drive that road 3 times before I called my wife and asked for directions cuz I couldn't find it. Getting long winded so I'll shorten it up. More hungry, a little frustrated and hot, I found it.
I told the sales rep what I needed and she almost laughed. Truly, she almost laughed. I could see her lips curl up a little at the corners as if to say, "what do you think we are? We would never sell anything without a 2 year committment..how could you even think that?"
I told her that the website showed options of buying the Mercury device with and without a 2 yr committment. No where does it say a committment is required. No where that I could find. She almost laughed again and told me she had worked there for some number of years and she had never heard of that.
I left....
I was glad I left...
I wasn't happy.

Now I have a problem. Randy Pausch, the professor of the "Last Lecture" who died this past year was the eternal optimist. Before he died I listened to one of his speeches about turning problems into opportunity. Not sure if it was the Last Lecture or not, but here's a clip of one of them. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcYv5x6gZTA) At this point, I'm taking that tack. I'm talking with my brother, my hightek gadget geek brother, and will be going to Atlanta to see him this weekend. We'll figure something out. I'm also contacting several smaller companies that may be able to provide even better service. Who knows, maybe one will sponsor the project and turn this liability into a advantage? Who knows what the world holds tomorrow, but I do know that at this point, it will work out in some way. All we got to do is trust and do what we can.
More later.

Ready?

2009-06-02T22:08:00.002-04:00

The "Ready?" is something I'm being asked these days so I thought I'd write a little about it, but first I want to talk about some connections made again.
It's been great hearing from New Iberia and the friends of my youth. Don Shoopman, the editor for the Daily Iberian evidently wrote a great story about the trip and project. I haven't seen it, but 3 different people have told me they are sending me a copy. Again, this project has been about connecting people from all over the map who have been touched in some way by the stories being told. Received an email from Craig G, a long time friend from way back in 9th grade. He lived across the coulee from me. For those not from Louisiana, a coulee is a a big ditch with water in it. We use to camp, shoot BB guns and generally do what most 15-16 yr olds like to do. I haven't spoken to him sine I was about 20. Today, I had a phone call from Robert, or Rowbear, if you use the correct cajun french pronunciation. Robert and I raced marathon canoes together from 1976 - 1981. We went everywhere to race and had a blast. He and I spoke for a good half hour and it was like we were just catching up after a few years. We talked about my dad following us during a race on the White River in Arkansas. This race is a 3 day 120 mile relay event usually having 4 people with 2 racing at a time. My dad was there to provide cold drinks and support after each leg. Robert caught a ride with him on a couple legs while my partner and I were paddling. That meant a lot of long, dirt and dusty roads and some fast moving to get the next vantage point. Robert remembers my dad "drifting" around some of the turns on those dirt roads and having a blast. Now, my dad was a former Air Force pilot and liked to see what his machine could do. I'm sure he was having a good time with the boys in the back of the car. Great memory. Here's a picture of Robert and some of our other teacm members...thats me in the Blue and white trucker hat.

And another of us getting our gatorade out of my dad's trunk.

Now, back in Bryson City...am I ready? I'm as ready as I can be. Food needs a little organizing and I'll do a pre-pack check, but I'm pretty much there. The only other bit is to go to the ATT store and get my USB 3G connection set up. Should go smooth, but most of you know how computers can be at times. Please be smooth!
Only thing left to do is to get my brothers tent and make a stop in Atlanta to see Mom. Besides are you ready, I'm also getting the "are you nervous". Not nervous at all. More like anxious to get work/school finished and move on to this project I've been working on since October. I'm curious more than anything. Curious about what I'll see...about how my body will hold up over the course of the trip...curious about the weather. Ready to get on with it!

One more thing to add. Roz Savage has started on the second leg of her Roz Rows the Pacific. She wrote something I read at the beginning of this project that has stuck with me. Sometime, I go back and read it just to reinforce my thinking and purpose. I believe it readily supplies me with clear thoughts on what and why I'm doing this project. I've been a little testy lately and I think it's in part due to the anticipation of launch. Reading this definitely helps settle that part of me down. Here it is again:

I AM WHAT I AM By Roz Savage
http://RozSavage.blogspot.com

As I was rowing across the Atlantic I had plenty of time to think about life, its purpose and meaning, and to figure out what could be learned from my ocean experience that would be useful to me in the future. I jotted down these insights in the back of my logbook. On my return home, the Sunday Times (the top-circulating Sunday broadsheet in the UK) asked me to produce a list of life-learned philosophies to share with their readers. The article appeared on 23 April 2006.

People cut out the article and put it on their refrigerator or in their wallet or on their pinboard. They told me how my words had helped them through tough times or gave them the courage to try something new. They wrote to tell me how I had inspired them. Here is what I wrote.

I Am What I Am
o Don't waste mental energy asking yourself if you CAN do something. Just do it. You'll surprise yourself. I did.

o Be clear about your objectives. Ignore others, stay true to yourself and measure success only against your own criteria. I was last to finish the race - big deal. I went out there to learn about myself, and I did.

o The only constant in life is change. So don't get depressed by the bad times, and don't get over-excited by good ones. Accept that things are exactly as they are, and even bad times have something to teach us.

o Life can be magical, but magic only gets you so far. Then you need discipline, determination and dedication to see it through.

o Hope can hurt. The danger is that you hope for too much and set yourself up for disappointment. Be optimistic but realistic. Nothing is ever as good or as bad as you expect it to be.

o Be mindful of the link between present action and desired future outcome. Ask yourself: if I repeat today's actions 365 times, will I be where I want to be in a year?

o Decision-making: act in faith, not fear, and don't worry about making a 'wrong' decision - the way you implement it is more important than the decision itself.

o Be your own best friend. The more you rely on other people, the less control you have over your destiny.

o Be proud of your own obituary: a few years ago I wrote two versions of my obituary, the one I wanted and the one I was heading for. They were very different. I realized I needed to make some big changes if I was going to look back and be proud of my life. I am making those changes, and now I have a life worth living.

Press Release: Julie @ Willowworks

2009-05-26T22:24:00.002-04:00

http://www.prlog.org/10243727-son-to-paddle-1100-miles-in-honor-of-new-iberia-military-and-nish-educator-hero-the-late-kl-hester.html
Son to Paddle 1100 Miles in Honor of New Iberia Military and NISH Educator Hero, the late K.L Hester

A big thanks to Julie Thorner of Willowworks Marketing for the help in writing and sending out the press release. Hopefully the New Iberia, LA paper, the Daily Iberian will pick it up, along with others who find it interesting.
New Iberia is where I grew up and my dad taught high school so my hope is to get some exposure and connect with many of our old friends and colleagues.

On the paddling and prep front, all is going well. Food packing and dehydrating is coming along. Hawk Vittles meals arrived and look like they will be awesome. I've got a few meals and additions still to get ready but I feel a lot better about my food situation. Planning on between 3,000 - 3,500 calories a day. There should be places along the way to supplement with bread and such too. My wife is a bit worried about me eating enough and I try to reassure her. I'm not a big guy...weigh about 145 on a good day so I can't afford to not eat enough. Bought water purification drops and a new filter cartridge for my Sweetwater filter. Lost my new sunglasses..found em. Did manage to get out for a few hours this past weekend with absolutely beautiful weather. Made me hope that the mild weather holds for a bit longer. So, at this point I feel pretty good about the prep. Starting to get antsy about getting the show on the water.
7 am, Saturday, June 13th!
Last thing....DONATE! Its easy and is not only painless, it makes you feel good!

Communities Coming Together

2009-05-22T21:31:00.004-04:00

My daughter Callie, smiling behind her paddle while on the Chattooga River a few weeks ago.

I went for a couple hour paddle this afternoon/evening. It was a great afternoon with calm water, little wind and some time for reflecting on the status of the project. I put in on the Tuckaseegee arm of Lake Fontana and was glad to see the lake is filling. Last year it didn't get to this point at all and with recent rains it seems that the Nantahala, the Tuckaseegee and the Little Tennessee have all been pumping it up. Saw a couple students of mine as I was coming back in. A classmate of my son was there with her mom and dad. She was anxiously waiting to try out their new jetskis. Another who is a first grader fishing with his dad and grandpa. Much like my dad and many others, they were helping make their kids dreams come true. For some, catching a fish may not sound like a big dream, but to a first grader..wow, it can be the world. As I was driving away I was thinking these are the kids this project is helping. As I watch them grow up over the coming years and hopefully find success, maybe some of that success will be in part because of the support and donations of people who are supporting this project. My mom and dad gave me the tools and resources to make my dreams come true and for that I am thankful.

A BIG THANKS to a couple people this week...Gold Medalist and Olympic TV and venue commentator Joe Jacobi whose support and encouragement has been constant, appreciated and inspiring to the project. His tech/communication skills have given me a model and formats to talk about this project. Read more about what Joe is up to these days by clicking on the link above.
Also, Matt Delcambre from New Iberia, LA. Matt is a long time friend and former paddling team mate. We used to race marathon canoes way back when I was in high school. Those experiences led me to this life. Successful computer programming guru and married to another good friend, Alexis. Last I saw Matt and Alexis I was leading a Louisiana seakayaking trip for NOC. We were just south of New Iberia and on our last day of paddling the swamps and bayous of south Louisiana. I had just finished preparing lunch for my guests and we were sitting down to enjoy our meal. This big truck stops and out pop Matt and Alexis. They had seen our NOC van and knew it had to be me. Just another small world moment in the world of paddling.
Also, thanks to Bunny Johns. Past president of NOC, current president of Bryson City Rotary and paddling mentor. Bunny gave me my first teaching job of any kind. It was through NOC that I truly learned to teach and Bunny was the first to give me that chance. Her support for this means a lot.
Others have donated and I wish I could expound on all of them and why their support means so much, but I would be writing a book instead of a blog post. The donations from all parts of my life and the communities that surround it are what make this project so interesting to me.

One of the more interesting groups are the veterans that I have connected and learned from. This week I received an email on the status of The National Vietnam War Museum's exhibit that my father's Vietnam film footage is being used for. Here's some of the particulars.

Colette Lemmon's "TRIBUTE: Expressions of Loss and Remembrance by Vietnam Veterans" will be presented at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy Street, Fort Worth, TX. (Check http://www.nationalvnwarmuseum.org/news.htm more info on the event.)

Among the exhibits and in the "Bearing Witness" gallery, a 12-minute DVD will present two of Jonathan Myers ballads, "'Willie' Wilbanks' One-Man War" and "A Death in the Dak Na Valley," which describe the last missions of MOH recipient Hilliard A. "Willie" Wilbanks (KIA 24 Feb 67) and fellow-Kontum FAC Arthur J. Abramoff (KIA 20 Jan 67), respectively. Background will include O-1 FAC film footage (per Jim Meade/'65 and Bill Hester, son of K.L. Hester/'68), along with photos and other images.
Performing are Dick Jonas & Irv LeVine. Jonas is known as "America's Foremost Military Aviation Song Writer and Balladeer." He has produced nineteen albums of his kind of music, and published two books — RBAAB: The Red-Blooded, All-American Boy and PTF: Passing the Flame. See http://cdbaby.com/cd/dickjonas1 for more info.

If your in the Fort Worth Area, check it out.

I want to thank all the communities that have come together to support this project. From my neighbors here in Bryson City, my co-workers in the school system to the river community of friends; it's been absolutely great to see these different communities that surround me come together in support of this project. Also, my friends from New Iberia, LA, where I went to high school and where my dad taught. It's been great to reconnect and see your support. It is very much appreciated.

For those who haven't donated, please consider doing so. Remember, your contribution is tax deductible and is an investment in our kids future. Thanks

Hawk Vittles on Board. I bet I won't be complaining about the food

2009-05-18T20:07:00.004-04:00

Short post to let everyone know that Mr. William Redhawk, former chef and gourmet trail food business owner of Hawk Vittles is helping out with the project. Menu items like North African Stew, Hot Italian Sausage and Pasta and Bison Stew, I was thrilled to have his support. Check out his offerings and give some a try. I'll be posting my thoughts and reviews along the way. From recommendations and his ingredients, my guess is I'll be looking forward to those Hawk Vittles Days! Thank you Redhawk!

30 Days and another Otter or Two

2009-05-11T21:39:00.009-04:00

First, a short video of some paddling earlier this Spring. I thought some of you would like to see what the boat and some of our great lakes look like. Firt part has some footage at Ft Loudon, TN. The second bit has some footage of Lake Fontana taken a couple weeks ago on a late afternoon paddle from Cable Cove to Hazel Creek. After that, there a a few photos from our Spring Break trip to paddle a couple Florida Springs. Callie and Rye paddled their new boats and had a blast and we all realized what a great place Florida is to paddle.

Also, a day spent on the Chattooga Section II. The Chattooga, to both my wife and I, is like our second home. I met Susan there while guiding and helping manage the NOC outpost there. Showing our kids the special beauty and challenges afforded by this National Wild and Scenic river is a priority for us. They had a hoot and kept wanting bigger rapids. Guess that's a good sign.

Busy lately with family time and other obligations such as coaching my daughters soccer team and work, but I've wanted to post an update of where I am in the project. Over the last month I've received some great community support and donations from several friends and co-workers with many more pledges. Thanks to all who have shown their support. In particular, The Bryson City Womens Club, the Zelinkas, Sally B, Trish P, Leann W and the McLeods. Also, Ingles, our local grocery store helped out with a major part of the food needs for the trip. Manager David Raper...thank you.

More than anything, I'm in a bit of a lull, sort of like the calm before the storm. I haven't paddled a lot, but managed to get a couple times. I've been running through things I need before I leave and going over everything else in my mind. My preparations tend to be lists to start with and then a constant flow thoughts about my trip needs, problem solving and anticipation. Mental lists and checklists that provide a running commentary of thoughts. I know that Jeff, my co-teacher probably wonders what I'm doing half the time, but I'm usually going over some mental checklist or strategy of problem solving. Some are about how to pack while others might be going over my menu items and counting calories. From my guiding days, this is the same thing I would do to prepare for one of our Ad Trav trips to Chile, or some other far off place. My approach is similar and in the past, it always worked well so why change it.

Lastly, please consider donating. The money raised is an investment in our students, our community and our teachers. The Swain County Schools Foundation not only provides scholarships, they provide mini-grants to teachers for worthwhile projects. The first students I started teaching in Swain County are due to graduate next year. I would love to help make their path a little easier. Remember, 2 ways to donate. 1) a check to "Swain County Schools Foundations" and send it me. 2) Paypal using the link above.

Cause Driven Athleticism

2009-04-03T18:11:00.004-04:00

This week I want to say thank you to my friends on Facebook and in Swain and Bryson City who have supported this through their donations. As mentioned, I'm now working on the fundraising aspects of the project and ask all of you who are planning to support the project through your donations, to do so now. Also, thanks to the Smoky Mountain Times for their great article on the project. It was good to hear a few of my students mention it today in school. It is these students who will benefit from this project. Please take a moment to invest in our future and theirs with your support.

"We all have our set of skills to make real change in the world."

Last October, as I was starting to put this idea together in some sort of concrete fashion, I was talking with a long time friend and one of my earliest paddling mentors about the project. It was a good conversation, but he said something that surprised me. He didn't understand the connection of the paddling trip to the cause it supports. He gladly supports the cause and would make a donation, but the actual trip didn't seem to be connected to the cause. How are scholarships connected to paddling? It was a good question, or comment and led me to think through the connection of the athletic effort to the cause. Since that time, I've asked myself the same thing many times. It is such a long (both time and distance) effort, why couldn't I just ask for donation support? I wouldn't be away from the family and friends as long and my time prior to launch could be spent on fund-raising instead of finding sponsorships, logistics and trip preparation. Here's what I've thought through in regards to "Cause Driven Athleticism" and why they enrich all of our lives in such meaningful ways.

First, the cause is something worth promoting and the athletic endeavor helps bring attention to it. Some projects support causes that are locally important, while others are national, or international. For instance, look at Lance Armstrong. Perhaps the greatest cause driven athlete today with his Live Strong concept. Without his 7 Tour de France wins, how much would he have raised for cancer research? I have no idea, but his idea of combining athletics with a truly worthy cause sparked a lot of worthwhile attention and fund-raising for sure.

Secondly, people love to listen to a good story. Stories of adventure, of overcoming obstacles, or stories of super human effort. Again, it's a promotion thing, but the story of doing something that few people in the world would/could do is captivating. If you can bring a good story to the cause, people will support the cause.

Next, the athletic component allows networks to be created and strengthened. Through this project, I've met, supported, phoned, emailed, twittered, facebooked and corresponded with a ton of other athletes about the project, or sponsorship, or logistical help. The ability to talk and listen has been astronomically enlarged with todays media. The communication is enriched by the athletics and hence the message of the cause is enriched.

Lastly, cause driven athleticism works because people care and support others who put a huge effort into finishing something good. If the cause is a good cause and if the athletic effort is great, people tend to root for you. For instance, a first time marathon runners effort and training to finish is huge. For most, the object is not to win, but finish. It takes great effort and people can understand and relate to accomplishing goals through great effort. Again, the huge effort required to reach the goals of the project are matched with the effort required for the athletic side of the project.

Here are a few of the Cause Driven Paddling Athletes that I've met along the path of this project.

1. Brad Ludden: A world-renown kayaker who was on the 2008 Cosmos Bachelor of the Year list, has taken his celebrity and athleticism to lay a foundation of philanthropic endeavors. He founded “First Descents”, a charitable organization that puts on kayaking camps for young adults with cancer. He knew his sport could give that powerful sense of life, success and confidence to people who had lost so much to cancer.
www.firstdescents.org
He has his own blog that speaks about other cause driven athletes, some paddlers, some not. Either way they are amazing causes and athletes: http://www.athletesgiving.org/

2. Joe Forrester is attempting a solo kayak descent of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to raise awareness of Parkinson's Disease. Launching in late May 2009, he will be traveling from Montana to New Orleans to raise $20,000 for the National Parkinson Foundation. I've spoken to Joe a couple times and look forward to following his story and trip.
http://www.paddlingforparkinsons.com/pfp/index.aspx

3. Montana resident Norman Miller completed his Wake of Discovery Expedition's 3600-mile westward journey in September 2004. Following in Lewis and Clarks paddle strokes and footsteps, he departed in March of 2004to paddle solo the length of the Missouri River to Montana. From there he backpacked over the continental divide to the Columbia River watershed where he once again took to his paddle for the final leg to the Pacific Ocean which he arrived almost 6 months later. He paddled with support from American Rivers and in support of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation

4. Team River Runner (TRR) was initially established to help active duty military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan who were recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. TRR gives military veterans and their family members an opportunity to find health, healing, and new challenges through whitewater boating and other paddling sports. The benefits of TRR have as much to do with social support, finding emotional strength and re-creating personal identity as they do with athletic activity. Wounded service members have endured many months of surgeries, physical therapy, prosthetic fittings, and other life adjustments. Against this backdrop, those who are able welcome a chance to pick up a new challenge, and get out of the daily routine of a hospital for a day. All are attracted to whitewater kayaking because it offers an exciting way to recover their health, strength, and connection to nature.
Check out Troy Crawford's story. He bravely served our country in the middle east and in doing so was severely wounded. After a lengthy recovery, Troy discovered the sport of kayaking. It allowed him to fill many of the voids in his life after his injury and also became an avenue for him to give back to other wounded soldiers. Troy is now a certified whitewater kayak instructor and teaches for Team River Runner.
http://www.teamriverrunner.org

5. I've written about Roz Savage before and I follow her twitter and Facebook updates as well. Rowing across the Pacific? Crazy? Follow her and you'll see a truly driven athlete promoting her cause. http://www.rozsavage.com/

Chilhowee to Ft Loudon:Spring is here - Time to put in some miles

2009-03-22T21:15:00.003-04:00

First of all, I want to thank all the Rotary Club members who listened, asked questions and were most welcoming as I presented the project to them. I really enjoyed talking about the project and welcome your support. Also, the Womens Club of Brsyon City for their incredible pie and questions. I really enjoyed listening as much as I did talking about it. Thank you.
Both of these groups were on my agenda last Thursday, and while a little nervous, I think they went well. In particular, thanks to Bunny Johns, Julie Thorner and Sandy Perrigo for their invitation to come speak. I look forward to returning with a slide show after the trip is complete.

Secondly, Last weeks Smoky Mountain Times had a great article about Michael Shuler who is a part of our high schools Jr. ROTC program. He has been selected to attend a prestigious Air Force Camp this summer and I couldn't be less surprised. Why do I mention him? Mike was one of my 5th graders when I taught 5th grade math and science. He was without a doubt, the best math student I taught. His drive and curiosity to understand a problem and finally defeat it was great fun to teach. One time I gave him and the class a problem and later that week I received a similar, but more complicated problem in a class i was taking at Western Carolina University. I mentioned it to them and Mike wanted the problem. He begged for the problem, so I gave it to him and the class. I challenged them to find the answer to this very complicated and almost riddle like problem. Something about monkeys and bananas I think. Anyway, they worked on it during lunch...during recess...any other time they could spend a few minutes talking and figuring. Finally at the end of the week, Mike and his group came up to me and showed me their solution. Big smiles on their faces. I looked at it for a little while and told them, nope...that not quite it. They accepted it and went back to working on it. That night, I went home and started thinking through their reasoning and solution. Wouldn't you know it, they had it right. They had just figured out a different way to do it. One I hadn't thought of. Mike looked like he had swallowed the canary after I told him this. The reason I tell this little story is that Mike is the type of student I would like to see receiving this scholarship. Now if Mike, or one of Mike's friends are reading this, I'm not awarding any scholarships yet. I do applaud his accomplishments and know that he would make an outstanding engineer. At the end of the article (wish I could find it on-line), he says he would like to go into space. I believe he can do it too...and I hope he does.

The slide show above is a few shots from this weekend. Spring has started to pop out with the Redbuds starting to show. I'm working on menu and food needs realize I need to put some time into this aspect. I was hungry after the 20 miles and want to make sure I've put the time into this very important aspect of planning.
A couple great items I had a chance to use.
1. The NRS Medium waterproof duffel was absolutely priceless. Compared to my old top loading NRS bag, the duffel was so easy to put in the boat, find and get things when I needed and the waterproof zipper is "da bomb". Thank you NRS for making such a great product. Any paddling trip would appreciate using this bag.
2. My TEVA Open Toachies are THE MOST COMFORTABLE SANDAL. Period! The sole feels well formed to my foot, soft and hang on to anything I step on in the water. Wish I had them 10 years ago. I could easily and comfortably play basketball in them. The Mountain Scuffs are about as comfortable, but as a camp shoe. The ease of putting them on and taking them off and hiking around is wonderful. A welcome respit. Thank you Peter Warren for the support.

Last, thanks to all my Louisiana friends and family for their donations. We are at $2700 right now and a lot of that is from there. I'm looking forward to talking and writing to more Swain/Bryson City folks and hopefully they will choose to support the project with as much enthusiasm. Remember, all donations go to the Swain County Schools Foundation. Any checks, please make out to them.

New Iberia Connecting and Fund-Rasing in Focus

2009-03-08T21:54:00.009-04:00

Fellow New Iberia, LA native and paddler Tommy Decuir landing a clean line on the Green River, NC. I took this photo about 13 years ago..give or take a few years. We both followed our calling to the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Western NC to make Bryson City our home and paddling a major part of our lives.

The warm rays of Spring are arriving and with it comes the realization that Launch day for Paddling for a Purpose isn't too far off. Today marks 97 days until launch and with it a change in focus for the project. I've been blessed so far with the donor contributions that I've received, but as the trip draws near, my need to step up promotion and donations become more of a priority. To date, the project has raised a little over $2600 with many friends from far and near saying they will donate. Some have asked what my goal is and truthfully I don't have a number that upon reaching will make me say this has been successful. If I had to pick, I would say $10-20k would be a satisfying amount, but I can't help but think more is better. How much does a college education cost these days? As I start speaking to local groups about the project and as I take a more active role in fund-raising, that is the question I'll be asking. The Paddling for a Purpose Project is more of a promotional vehicle than anything else. A grass-roots way for me to use my talents and abilities to send a message and request. The project has 2 very simple objectives. The first is to raise funds to establish a scholarship. The second is to honor my dad's service as a father, as a member of the Air Force and as a career teacher. The second one is the easier of the two and tells a great story. The first objective is now my primary focus. Next week, I'll be speaking to a couple local groups about the project. I'm outlining my talking points, putting together a presentation and talking about dreams. I'm also asking those who have said they will contribute, to go ahead and do so. Tax time is here so instead of checking that box for campaign donations, click on the link above, or send a check made out to "Swain County Public School Foundation" and send it to the address above. Now is just as good as tomorrow for investing in our future.

I also wanted to give an update on how I'm getting the word out on the project. First, the project has been a learning process for me. Some struggles, some enlightenment and some mis-steps are part and parcel with the journey. One of the great things about this journey has been the people along the way. I've tried to embrace the tools of New Media and especially social networking tools. Paddling forums and newsgroups have been fun to write and interact through postings, but I have to say that Facebook, Blogspot and Twitter have been a lot more fun and worthy of my time. It's been a hoot! Facebook in particular has re-connected me to old friends and past classmates that just a couple years ago would not have been possible. First, my local friends invited me to see photos and then I started connecting with old paddling buddies and fellow guides/instructors etc from NOC. Those connections have reached out even further to friends from further back in years. Finally, over the last couple weeks, I've reconnected with high school friends and teachers. Sharing life stories, photos of kids and talking about the project has been wonderful. A thank you goes to Trudi, a high school friend and former cheerleader from NISH (New Iberia Senior High where I graduated from and dad taught), who has helped to pass along the project to New Iberia friends and fellow teachers who worked with my dad. I love where I live now, but there is a big part of me that is still in New Iberia. Re-connecting with all my New Iberia friends shows how generous of spirit they are.
Find the project on Facebook: Paddling for a Purpose - The K L Hester Scholarship Project
Follow me on Twitter: Paddlepurpose

Captain Hilliard Wilbanks, Medal of Honor Recipient

2009-02-22T14:56:00.005-05:00

Saturday I traveled a couple hours south to Cornelia Georgia for the Memorial Ceremony of Capt Hilliard Wilbanks. Capt Wilbanks was a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient for his actions in Vietnam. He was one of only two members of the Air Force awarded this honor and the only one who was awarded it posthumously. I didn't know the family, or anyone other than my brother who met me, but I wanted to attend and maybe learn a little about his life. The anniversary of his actions is Tuesday, February 24th. February 24th is also my birthday. My dad had been in Vietnam for 10 days and I was 5 years old. My father also passed away 5 minutes past midnight on February 25, 2008. What does all of this coincidence mean? I have no idea, but I do know that on my birthday, I won't be thinking so much about myself, but about those in my life that have given me opportunities, lessons and experiences that have made me richer. I will appreciate those that I have and hold dear. I will also appreciate those that I don't even know and probably will never meet, but who have given a little of themselves, or all of themselves so I can enjoy my life to it's fullest. My belief is that we all have something to offer and maybe through this project, we can all offer a little of ourselves and combined, we can offer a lot to someone else.

The key note speaker for the days events was Jonathan Myers, a classmate of Capt. Wilbanks at FAC school prior to leaving for Vietnam. His words were eloquent and informative, as well adding to my understanding of the mission and objectives of the FAC pilot in Vietnam. An interesting footnote is that my Dad's footage posted in a prior post will be accompanying Jonathan's words in an exhibit for the National Vietnam War Museum. I was very glad to meet him.
The O-1 fly-overs were performed by members of the International Birddog Association. Members flying were: Dave Jester, Sam Dawson, Breece Nesbitt, Clayton Kerr, Dave Forrest and Charles Race. I big thanks to all of them.

My Otter Friends

2009-02-09T23:08:00.008-05:00

I went out for a short paddle on Saturday and got a chance to spend some time with these guys. The day was warm, in the 60's, but windy. I paddled down to a spot where I had seen about a thousand geese and duck in December. Saturday there were fewer ducks, but I did see something new. A couple river otters playing by the water. I spent about 30 minutes watching and taking photos and thoroughly having a hoot at their antics. I took this video after seeing them from a couple hundred yards away. At first I thought they were a single beaver. To get a better view, I crept along the wooded edge, staying out of sight until I drew even with the raised bank where I thought they (it) were playing. I drew even with them and crept up to the crest where I thought they were. Sure enough, there they were about 20 yards away. I believe it may have been a mating pair...you see the video and tell me what you think. I'm no Marlin Perkins, but the movements suggest a little amorous attention trying to be given. They finally saw me and took off into the water. They didn't disappear, but swam back the way I had crept. There they parked again on the dirt bank and rolled, played and nipped at each other. I walked in plain view of them until I was about 30 yards away. They were fine as long as I kept that distance which was fine for me. A great day of watching a couple of my favorite river creatures at play.

Rising Costs of the Future

2009-02-04T22:29:00.007-05:00

Thought I'd continue along the same theme as last post with the importance of investing in our future. Now that Obama has taken office, our economy is tanking and jobs are being cut, I wanted to share a little more bleak news...and give some hope and optimism along the way.

By the way, the photos are a couple that I have of my dad teaching. The top one is of him early in his teaching career. When he retired from the Air Force, he took a position in New Iberia, LA as a Jr ROTC Squadron Commander. I was entering the 9th grade and to all my friends, he was Colonel Hester...or The Colonel. Many kids wouldn't want their dad teaching at the same school, but all my friends and I really liked having him around. The bottom one , I believe is when he was in Roswell, New Mexico working on the Atlas Missile Project. It really shows how much he enjoyed kids. This project was critical at the time due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. With Russian missiles pointed in our direction, their team was responsible for getting the systems on-line and ready. They were able to accomplish this on time, but it was a tense period for all involved.

I read a couple articles this last week or so that painted a stark picture of college financial aids availability during this economic crunch.
One from Yahoo, ( College Financial Aid System Facing Stiff Test ), outlines the challenges kids and families are going to be facing in the near future. Not only are loans and grants going to be more difficult to get, but the number of people needing the aid is rising. Obviously cash strapped government agencies and private foundations and businesses are finding it difficult to find the money for this aid, but according to the article, there is more than a 10% increase in requests. Private student loans have been hit as well. Last year there were 60 companies offering these. 39 have stopped lending to students.
There is some good news, or at least it's not as bad as it could be. There is money out there and the government is broadening federal loans and looking at more increase next year. Check out
Collegeboard.com for more info and direction. Here in North Carolina, all high school students and parents should look at www.cfnc.org/ The College Foundation of North Carolina. You can check out, compare, and apply to all 110 colleges in North Carolina, including Community Colleges.

The other article covers the importance of funding education and how our country depends on our investment toward it.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/john-farrell/2008/12/3/the-rising-cost-of-college-is-a-good-reason-to-spread-the-wealth.html?s_cid=related-links:TOP
In my opinion, it is absolutely on the mark. Politics aside, we are not a nation that due to our bloodlines, have a intellectual edge over the rest of the world. No offense to my parents or grandparents, but it's not just their status as Americans, but it was their education that made us a great, productive, creative and driven country. But today, our success isn't a sure thing. The article provides some short and concise reasons for investing in our future through education. Please read and tell me what you think. As the author writes, "their young uns are getting smarter than our young uns" Accordingly, the author also quotes Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican in similar economic times, who believed that the wealthy had an obligation to state because he benefited from the state. "The American way is to favor new blood-not old money." My hope is that we can raise enough to fund some new blood for our future.

3 Things

2009-01-21T21:24:00.005-05:00

Started todays post out with a nice winter paddling photo. Mine had snow on it most of this week.

Three things have been swirling around in my head these days. I've been putting off writing this as I didn't quite know how to put it all into some semblance of relative importance and order. So, I have decided to not try to put it together into something and just let it be what it is. Actually let them be what they are.
1. First news item. Swain County Schools is having to discontinue the SASMT (School of Applied Science, Math and Technology), Freshman Academy and Soph Academy. Care of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation money, the school system has had an incredibly progressive approach to excellence in academics. The idea of creating a school within a school that stresses cooperative and project based learning that addresses real world problem solving skills. It has been an awesome experience and opportunity for many students. I mean, who would not want their kids to be involved in these projects and learning opportunities? Read more about the closure here:
http://www.thesmokymountaintimes.com/articles/2009/01/15/news/news02.txt
While I understand the reasons, I believe that this is the start of more cutbacks and funding issues to affect, not only education, but many programs. It's also why many people, including myself, believe now is the perfect time to focus on infrastructure funding and investment in the foundation of our future. What, or who is the foundation of our future? The essence of our foundation are our students of today. These students are the ones who will lead us tomorrow. They are the ones who will bring their spirit, their ingenuity and their hard work to the problems of today. If we don't invest in their future, we are cutting ourselves off from the potential of tomorrow. These cuts signal that we absolutely have to help finance that investment through education. So.... HELP INVEST IN OUR FUTURE>>>SUPPORT LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS THROUGH GIVING!
2. Hmmm...what was number 2 and 3? After I started writing about the need for scholarship investment, I got worked up and forgot about number 2 and 3.
Ok.. I remember. This sort of backs up the first, but on a more personal level. All the teachers in our system received an email from our Superintendent, Mr Bob Marr. Basically, he was giving us a heads up about what budget shortfalls we can expect for the future. Remember #1? Well, this is a part of that beginning of cutbacks I was talking about. Basically, no raises for this coming year, an increase of up to 32% in health care costs, and reversion of up to 7% of the state, and county budgets. Oh, and new employees may not be able to get health care. Not looking bright is it? So, INVEST IN OUR FUTURE>>>SUPPORT LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS THROUGH GIVING! I know it's hard right now, but we have to continue to support our high school graduates and their effort to continue their education. If we don't support this foundation, what will we have left to build on tomorrow? Do it now.
3. This one is easy and not as depressing. I was finally working with my GPS and mapping software this weekend. I needed to start planning my daily paddles, what miles to cover, where to camp and other things along the way. What I realized was that the trip is a bit shorter than I had originally planned. My first calculations had the trip to Mobile being over 1,000 miles, but shorter than 1,100. I believe I had it around 1,070 or close to that. After doing the daily plots with mileage on the Topo maps, I am at 944 miles total. That starts at the headwaters of the Little Tennesse in Georgia and goes to Mobile, Al. It also covers the leg of the Nantahala River entering Fontana. I'll be paddling the Little Tennessee River portion starting in Georgia during the Spring prior to the official launch from Bryson City. Anyway, the difference really doesn't make much of a difference and should give me a little more wiggle room on any delays. I still plan to paddle about 30 - 36 miles a day. I know also that I will have days where I can't cover that amount due to delays getting through locks and dams, weather, or any other unforeseen matter that befalls me.

Now, after writing this, what do all three of these have in common? I can only think of one aspect. All three involve numbers getting smaller. Sad on 2 accounts, ok on one.

National Vietnam War Museum Requests Video

2009-01-08T22:09:00.005-05:00

I had a great email today. It really fit into what the goals of this project is about. The project has 2 main goals. First, to honor my Dad's life and service to his family, community and country. Secondly, to raise funds and establish a scholarship for students to pursue careers in either eduction, or engineering. The email today truly met the first one...to honor my Dad's life and his service to country. Collette Lemmon from the National Vietnam War Museum contacted me about using some of my Dad's film from Vietnam. He took the film (Not video back then, but Super 8mm) while flying as a Forward Air Controller (read earlier blog posts to see more about what a FAC is) with the 19th T.A.S.S., or Tactical Air Support Squadron. The museum is putting together a DVD/video as part of an exhibit. I've included the raw, unedited video and the text of the email.

Dear Bill,
We (the National Vietnam War Museum) are putting together an exhibit of
personal & unconventional memorials created by Vietnam veterans for
those
friends & colleagues lost in Southeast Asia to open in Fort Worth this
June. Among the memorials we are presenting are 2 song elegies written &
song by FAC Jonathan Myer (Kontum Province 66-67) for KIA FAC's Arthur
Abramoff & Hilliard Wilbanks. Jonathan unfortunately has lost all but a
few of his photos from RVN & hasn't any useable video footage with which
to
illustrate his songs. We are having a short DVD produced for the
exhibit
that will include Jonathan's song tributes & some still photos of
Abramoff
& Wilbanks provided by their families. We were wondering if you would
be
willing to allow us to use some of the footage your father shot from his
0-1 in the DVD as it would help visitors to the exhibit to better
understand the landscape & setting in which the FAC's were operating &
in
which Abramoff & Wilbanks lost their lives. We would of course credit
your dad & yourself in the DVD & any printed materials we produce for
the
exhibit. You can visit the museum's website at:
www.nationalvnwarmuseum.org if you wish to know more about us. I look
forward to hearing from you. Thanks much, Colette Lemmon, Curatorial
Consultant, National Vietnam War Museum

Capt Wilbanks was the only FAC to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. To read his story, click here:
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5579

Naturally I was surprised and honored for them to ask. I can't think of anything that my Dad would like more than to see something he did go toward honoring his brothers in arms and their families.

It's interesting the places this project has led me. The meetings of people who know nothing of Bryson City, or very little and are willing to donate to the purpose. The others who have a distant connection, but again, support the purpose. Now to be able to reach out and touch others with the fruits of this project is wonderful. I'll keep things posted here as I get more info.

Merry Christmas...Bending Branches Paddles are in

2008-12-28T22:32:00.009-05:00

Merry Christmas to all and an especially heartfelt thanks to Bending Branches for sending the paddles. I had the opportunity to use them today and wow, was I ever pleased. I wanted a paddle that was as near to my Dagger bent-shaft (thanks Steve Scarborough) as I could find. The Sunbu rst XL 14 was the ticket. A carbon shaft with an absolutely beautiful wood blade, and all weighing in at only 17 oz. Of course the first thing I do when it arrived was compare it to my Dagger. Pretty much the same paddle shape with the BB being slightly narrower at the shoulders and about an inch longer overall. This paddle is truly a combination of form and function and I couldn't wait to get on the water with it. So, yesterday I headed out to paddle and scout the last of the chain of lakes below Fontana Dam. Earlier I had paddled the Cheoh and Calderwood, so I wanted to paddle Chilhowhee and the Little Tennessee River as it heads toward Knoxville.

The photos above are from the Little Tennessee starting at Chilhowhee Dam and heading north.

The weather was warm, t-shirt day with some clouds and temps in the mid to high 50's. Wind was a bit blustery, but not bad. I couldn't figure out where to put in below Calderwood Dam that was easy, so I drove down Hwy 129 until I found the first pull-off near the lake. My first impression of that section of lake was ....ugly! Lots of junk around with tires, car parts and concrete pieces as well as broken glass. It kills me when I see junk like this in rivers and lakes. I just hope we've learned and continue to learn how to deal with all of our junk, besides throwing it in the rivers and streams we hold so dear. Anyway, the paddle from there to the Chilhowhee dam is only about 6 miles so about an hour and half later I reached the dam. My first impressions of the BB Sunburst were nothing but pleasurable paddling. It felt light, strong and responsive. Definitely something I could hold onto and use for a long days paddling.

Once I reached the dam, I had to carry around it. I wanted to do this to see how long it would take and how much energy to get all my stuff around it. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't that much fun. Above the dam I made it in 2 trips with the boat and a bag, then my other dry bag, pelican case and paddles. I had to carry up a gradual gravel incline about 150 yrds. On the other side, it was a steep, grassy/muddy slide with a few rocks along the way. Holding the grab loop with the heaviest dry bag on my back, I was able to do it in 2 trips going straight down. The water was moving below the dam and since it was the Little Tennessee I was free of the dams. I really wanted to just keep going once I started. Thinking about this summer I was wondering what my emotions would be at this point. Probably it will be the second day of paddling so my guess is I'll be just tired of the dams.

One thing I did find out was I have a big problem with the Calderwood Dam. No way can I carry around it. The most remote dam of the 4 I have to go around, the shear walls around it won't let me carry it. I'll call Alcoa and see if they can help, otherwise, I'm not sure what I'll do.

Paddling along the Little T the rest of the afternoon was fantastic. Paddling along huge sandbars on the river left side while houses, churches and the road were on the river rightside, I wondered how much civilization I would see as I make my way to the Gulf. I think I paddled another 2.5 hours before I thought about stopping for the night. I saw a little cove and pulled in for the night. A great choice because it happened to be right next to a wetland fed by the river and was gorgeously beautiful with the sun starting to drop. I was greeted by a caucophony of ducks and geese feeding and flying and doing what ducks and geese do. I hadn't seen, nor heard anything like that since I last visited south Louisiana. Hundreds of them, but all hidden in the tall grass, or on the otherside where I couldn't see them well. Once darkness started to fall, I'd see flights take off in groups. In all I saw Canadian Geese, Wood ducks, Mallards, Bufflehead ducks, Great Blue Herons and even some sort of seagull. A very nice evening. Tired, I went to sleep shortly after dark and listening to the weather report. The report called for high winds and rain starting the next morning.

The winds started as promised at about 9 pm. Big blowing gusts all night had me waking up every 2 hours or so. Still, I slept well and woke rested, but to rain...and at 4 am. I slept a bit for the next hour and finally was roused completely by the drip, drip of my tent. My 18 yr old tent has seen it's last days I believe. It wasn't completely leaking,but enough that I packed, ate a PB&J and was on the water by 6:O'Dark Thirty. I had planned to paddle the10-12 miles to Ft Loudon, but only managed to make about 8 more miles before turning around. The rain and wind were getting darker and nastier. I wasn't sure how bad it was going to get and didn't want to have to retrace my path if I was putting that much effort into getting anywhere. It's one thing to head in only one direction and work hard. Your still getting somewhere. It's quite another to work hard in one direction and know your going to have to work just as hard to come back the same way. Somehow it seems pointless. I doubt Lance Armstrong would feel that way, but in comparison, I'm a wimp and it felt like a lot of work for not much return. After turning back, I was hit with a huge headwind and driving rain. I paddle furiously for about 30 minutes and managed to round the next bend where the winds were at least crossways to me, instead of head on. Luckily, after another 15 minutes they calmed and the rain turned to light drizzle. After that, the winds were a non-factor and the rain was hardly noticable. At 10:30 I stopped to make some hot coffee and thought about eating, but didn't really need it. The oatmeal cookies I ate at 4 am and the PB&J at 5 were holding well. From then on, it was steady paddling back to the car. In all, I paddled for maybe 9-10 hours and covered what looked like about 30 miles total. It felt good to check a few of my packing, loading and camping systems..all need some work, but aren't too bad. Negatives...I had forgotten my coffee mug and my tent leaked. Positives...my paddles are perfect and the boat was still way comfortable and fast. At one point, just below the dam, I was doing about 7 mph with the current. On the average I was cruising at 5 - 5.5 mph. Things look good.

A Cold Jocassee Saturday

2008-12-16T21:57:00.003-05:00

Last week, my boat for the trip arrived! I was stoked to get the message on my cell...it was in Asheville ready to be picked up. My first impression was that it was huge. You've got to remember, I've been paddling my marathon C-1 for the last year. Being built for speed, it's lines are slim, narrow and graceful. Of course, this was with the new boat wrapped in umpteen layers of plastic and foam, so my true impression would have to wait until I got home and unwrapped it and later, when I had a chance to paddle it.
Once home, the Xmas tree was priority. I had to get it on it's stand and upright, or my kids were going to riot. That took about an hour...it's a 12 footer. Another hour to figure out how to unwrap the boat and wow...it's a bright, shiny red and pretty unique in it's lines. Saturday was supposed to be warmer with temps in the mid 50's. I had seen a discussion on Paddling.net about a group going to Lake Jocassee this weekend so I put in to go. Turns out it was only myself and Rick, a professor from Emory. We agreed to meet at the parking lot and put-in at 9 am. I was pretty psyched, but watching the weather temps. I drove down friday and slept in the van. With the temps bottoming out at 27, I was comfortable, but glad for the coffee that morning.
Rick showed up and we both scouted out from the shore. Winds blowing 10-15 mph, foot high whitecaps and it was blowing right at us. It was still 27. We were still going. Rick put on his dry-suit and I had my dry-top and Patagonia paddle pants with a couple layers underneath. I was warm, but wondering how the boat would do with the wind and waves. Since it's a hybrid; able to be paddled as a kayak and a canoe, I decided the kayak paddle with give me a little better chance if I needed it. Turns out no need to worry. The boat handled the wind and waves just fine. Very stable, comfortable and surprisingly fast. Rick has some sort of skinny sea-kayak that easily held it's speed, but I was able to keep up without a problem. The bow never dipped under any of the waves, the deck was dry and with pogies on my hands, the wind and weather didn't really affect us at all. We cruised. We paddled for about 2.5 hours at a moderately easy pace and 8 miles later hit the beach near Laurel Falls and had lunch. The winds died after about 45 minutes and it was superb paddling the rest of the day. On the way back, I opted for the bent-shaft canoe paddle. This is were I was surprised. It felt like I was completely fresh using a canoe stroke. The boat's seat is adjustable, but didn't need it. My GPS has a speed indicator and with the kayak paddle, it showed we would be cruising easily at around 4.6 - 5.2 mph. Checking our speed with me using the canoe paddle, we were doing a very close 4.6 - 5 mph. I have to say the canoe paddle felt very nice. Rick, thanks for the great day. Clipper, thanks for the boat. My first impression is that it will do the job very nicely and with style.

Here's a letter I sent to a friend and follower of this adventure. We've been corresponding throughout the last few weeks about the Sea-1. I wrote my first impressions to him and it turned out to be an accurate review so I'm reprinting it here.

"Hey Steve,
The boat arrived and I had a chance to paddle it last weekend. It was cold by our standards with the temp at 27 degrees when we put in. We were paddling on Lake Jocassee in SC; a beautiful, cystal water lake. The wind was blowing in our faces ata bout 10-15 mph so I opted to first try her with a kayak paddle. The seat was on the middle setting of 3. The spray deck went on easiliy with snaps all around. I threw in lunch and water and off we went. First thing I noticed, was the leg room. Plenty of room to sit with legs crossed, stretch out, or just sit with your knees up. A great thing, and well thought out, were those thigh braces on each side of the opening. My knees fit comfortably into them and fit snugly. My knees were able to feel the boat in a way that felt similar to a decked seakayak. But again, I didn't even notice them the rest of the day. I do believe I could roll the boat if I tried, but that probably speaks more to my whitewater background.

As we shoved off, I was wondering how the boat would handle the wind, especially since it was kicking up foot high waves that were rolling toward us. I had no need to worry. The boat easily rode over them with minimal splash over the bow and none touched me. The boat tracked easily and straight and we were able to keep a very good pace as we crossed the big open bay for the first 45 minutes. After that the wind died and we were able to cruise. I had my gps with me and could monitor speed. We were making good time at about 4.6 - 5.2 mph at a comfortable pace. Not leisurely, but a making time pace while we paddled. We had an 8 mile paddle to the backside of the lake and made it in about 2.5 hrs with us looking around, stopping to talk a bit and coasting some. After the turn, I switched to canoe paddle. My bent shaft felt great in my hands after the kayak paddle. Even with a slight headwind we were still managing 4.5 - 5 mph....just a tick slower.
All in all, I was impressed with everything about the boat. Comparing it to my Jensen 18 ft marathon racer it wasn't as fast, but way more comfortable. My racing seat is a bucket sliding seat. After 5 hours in the Jensen, my rear end is usually sore from sitting. I didn't feel any soreness from the Sea-1. That was the biggest surprise to me. The ability to change my position, change my paddle and still keep comfortable throughout a days paddle will be a welcome change.

One more thing, the boat looks to be very well made and is beautiful to look at."

Paddling for a Purpose Welcomes Teva

2008-12-07T19:32:00.006-05:00

This week, I decided to add a video of a morning when I was working in Chile. This was probably one of the most frustrating moments that I ever experienced as a guide; and let me tell you, we had quite a few. Bob Beazley and I were on the 2nd day of a Chile Week of Rivers Kayak trip when the rains came. Our driver, from northern Chile had never seen rain...truly he had never seen rain since where he lived, it never rained. Anyway, I had told him to get the vans and equipment to the top of the road if he saw it was going to rain that night. It rained while we all slept. Next morning, we couldn't get the van, truck or equipment out. Our driver, Lucio said he woke up and heard it raining, but he thought he was dreaming so he went back to sleep. Chilean logic I guess :) . There we were with 10 guests who were getting restless...had paid a lot of money to go paddling that day...and were stuck in the rain and mud. They could only watch as we tried to figure out what to do. I haven't ever felt that helpless and frustrated. While being one of the most frustrating experienced guiding, it also turned out to be a high point for the guests. Just goes to show you that when it seems like your at your lowest, it matters most in how you deal with it. The video is our answer to being in the middle of nowhere and needing a tow-truck. Don't ask me how I was able to communicate with the poor farmer about needing to borrow his 2 ox to pull our van and truck up the hill. Also, the shovel in my hands isn't really a shovel...it's one part of a 2 piece paddle scooping 2 inches of mud off the hard clay roadbed. Enjoy.

On the project news front. This should be an exciting week for me. Kinda like Christmas early. First some good news in adding another project sponsor on board. Teva, maker of extra0rdinary sandals and shoes, as well as hats is helping out with some great footwear. Most of my gear has aged it's needing to be replaced. Actually, just about all of it is at least 8 years old...most of it older and well used. In order for this project to be successful, I knew that I needed to replace a lot of little things. Well, a lot of little things eat of the trip budget quickly. Every sponsor that has jumped aboard has been wonderful and much appreciated. Teva is sending me a sandal for paddling., the Open Toachi, and another pair for camp, the Mountain Scuff. Each should do the trick and provide some great protection and comfort along the way. Also, the sun is a huge worry for me, especially as I make my way south toward Mobile. For that, I'll be wearing their Desert River Rat hat, complete with full cape in back to ward off the sun.

Thursday, my Clipper Sea-1 should be coming in by Roadway. Keeping my fingers crossed since I'll be looking forward to a Saturday paddle on Lake Jocassee with some Paddling.net friends. Right now, it's in Chicago so I'm hopeful. Again, the folks at Clipper (Great Western Canoeing) have been great at communicating and helping the process along. Hopefully I'll be able to give my first thoughts on it after my paddle on Saturday. Weather...another finger crosser is predicted to be in the 50's. I can only hope all goes as planned.

Also, since I'm on the subject of sponsors. Bending Branches is also going to provide a kayak paddle, as well as the bent-shaft Premium canoe paddle. Much thanks! Since the Sea-1 is a hybrid, it can be paddled as a canoe, or a kayak with a simple seat adjustment. That was one of the selling points for me. I can paddle using a canoe paddle for long periods and not have my shoulders and back tighten and ache. But, the kayak paddle will be faster for the times when I need it. The paddles are both carbon shaft with the canoe paddle sporting a wooden blade and weighing in at 15 ounces. The Breeze Kayak paddle should perform stellarly. Carbon shaft and offered in 3 blade styles, I chose the Evening blade, 2 piece construction with a telescoping ferrule to choose any angle of off-set and length between 225-240 cm. Maybe they'll come in this week and I can give them a go along with the boat.

The Story of Christine and a Project Update

2008-12-02T21:14:00.005-05:00

Just an interesting adventure pic to start the post. Th pic is of Christine from a trip in Chile in 1991 that I did with Shane Benedict and Bob Beazley. She's a 1967 Chevy Impala that we traveled in for 3 months and had more stories than you could imagine. Click here to read a little about it. http://mysite.verizon.net/resxsdht/id3.html
Forgive the formatting as I haven't been able to figure out all the workings of the site builder Verizon has, but hope you enjoy the writing.

Where are we now? Well, I can say we are farther along than I thought we would be, but not nearly as far as I'd like. Now that's said, what's been accomplished and what's happening?

First, Paddling for a Purpose has generated interest and support across several communities. Leading that has been the paddling community with their support and sponsorship. Four quality companies have stepped up to sponsor this project; Nantahala Outdoor Center, Clipper Canoes, Bending Branches Paddles and Astral Buoyancy. Thank you very much.

Also, the response from paddling friends, past co-workers and others in the industry has been great. In particular, Joe Jacobi and Wayne Dickert, both paddling friends and past Olympians have asked if they could join me for a portion and others have asked about it as well. That means a tremendous amount to me so thanks. Mostly being a whitewater crowd, most of my friends say, "cool project" and offer their support. However, these two guys are always up for any kind of paddling and are some our sports premier spokesmen. They are pretty much always up for a paddle of any kind. I look forward to paddling with them and others along the way.

I also put out an email announcement to all the school personnel. The response was great with several teachers and admins contacting me with their support and are excited about the project. There will undoubtedly be more support as we get closer. Summer seems like a long way off at the moment, and with Christmas and the economy, it's not the best time to solicit donations. I'm looking forward to engaging the local community even more as I get closer to the launch.

The last few posts have been directed toward the veterans my father served with. The response has been very touching and rewarding. Hearing from those that served on the same base in Vietnam and in the same outfit he flew with has been worth all of this. Their stories are simply amazing. A self-published book detailing personally told stories from their experiences is for sale. Its titled, "Cleared Hot" and available here:http://www.lulu.com/content/2813093
The book contains 232 real-life stories submitted by USAF and allied pilots who participated in the Vietnam war as Forward Air Controllers, those who flew with them, those who supported them on the ground, and, in some cases, those on the ground whom they supported.

Technology and equipment wise I'm doing well. Sponsors have been able to support boat, paddles, PFD, and some other small items I'll need. I Ebayed my fathers Bose CD/Radio and bought an Acer One laptop for the trip. At about 10 inches X 7 inches and weighing about 2.5 pounds, it should fit the bill well. I'm going to be asking AT&T to help with a broadband anywhere USB card. Otherwise my brother has a plan I can use, but the cost will still be more than I'd like. Keeping my fingers crossed on that. Also have my GPS and topo maps al ready to go. I won't rely on GPS, but use maps and compass mostly. The GPS is in case I'm not exactly sure where I am. Hate when that happens. Oh...also my weather and VHS radio for info and communication are all set to go.

My last 2 pieces of sponsorship needs are camping gear and food. My camping gear is needing some help. After years in Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica and Vietnam, as well as personal trips around here in the Smokies, it's not in the best shape. Sleeping pad, tent, cookware, knife and water filter are going to be either repaired, or replaced. I'll be looking at sponsorship for this end of things once Christmas has passed.

Now, food is one of those questions a lot of people are asking about. "What will you be eating?" How will you cook it?" To answer, I'll be eating lots of easy to cook, high calorie meals. Probably rotate about 5 different recipes using dehydrated meats, pasta, rice and grains. Breakfasts will probably be oatmeal, or fruit/grain mix. Cliff Bars, P-nut butter, honey dried fruits and foil packets of chicken will be lunches. I'll also have some dried veggies and other stuff to throw in the pot for dinner. I'm am looking for a sponsor for that end as well. Again, after the Christmas rush has passed is when I'll be starting to plan meals and such.

Veterans Day Remembered - My Father: Veteran and Teacher

2008-11-08T11:38:00.004-05:00

For those of you reading this for the first time...Welcome. The Paddling for a Purpose Project started through the inspiration and efforts of Steve Claxton, Community Schools Coordinator for Swain County Schools. His project, "Bike Across America" had similar goals. Through his vision, I have decided to embark on a similar project. Both of these projects primary goal is to raise funds to create scholarships through the Swain County Schools Foundation. His is in honor of his mother, Phyllis Claxton. This project is in honor of my father, Keete L. Hester, a veteran of the Air Force, as well as a career public school teacher.

Paddling for a Purpose is my effort to raise scholarship funds through an 1,100 mile solo paddling expedition from Bryson City, NC to Mobile, AL. I'll launch in mid June 2009 and 30 days later end my journey in the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile Bay. This project has 2 simple goals.

Establish a scholarship in my father's name for Swain County students to pursue degrees in education, or engineering.
Honor the contributions of my father to his family, his country and his professions.

Please take time to read earlier posts and give your support through your donation and/or comments. All support is greatly appreciated. One of the great aspects of this is that 100% of the funds donated will go directly to Swain County Schools Foundation and student scholarships.

This post is dedicated to our veterans. I created the slide-show above from family photos to outline my father as a veteran and his life of service. Starting with photos of him as a Naval Academy Midshipman, class of 1952, the slides show his career as an Air Force Officer and later as a High School JROTC Commander. The Naval Academy, Class of 52, had a couple famous members that you may know. James Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 fame, as well as Thomas Stafford of Apollo 10 were fellow classmates of his. After his Naval Academy days, he entered the Air Force and started his flight training. His flight school photos depict his early flight training days in Mississippi and time spent serving as part of the Atlas Missile Defense team. Next are photos of him with his SC-47, a Long Range Recovery Squadron based in Libya. Those are followed by a video image from his time in Vietnam as a FAC, or Forward Air Controller. This film was taken by him of a fellow FAC. The final photos are of his time as a JROTC teacher and his squadron. To him, education was paramount. A graduate of the Naval Academy and earning master degrees in aerospace engineering and mathematics education, he believed in the public school system and served it well. He finished his teaching career in Louisiana teaching high school math.

Please take time to honor, remember and acknowledge the sacrifices our veterans, and their families, have made to serve us. My father spent his life in service to his family, his community and his country. On Tuesday, we all get the opportunity to honor their service to us and say "Thanks".

For more information on FAC's, please read the earlier posts. Most people have no idea of the role they served in Vietnam, or the challenges and dangers they faced for their country. Their stories are simply amazing.

New Maps, New Support

2008-10-23T21:41:00.013-04:00

The project keeps moving along. Len has put together even more maps and information about the route, and it looks awesome. Click on the images above and you can see the entire route for the Tennessee River portion and the Tenn-Tom/Tombigbee portion. Included on the pages are links and information about the locks, dams, reservoirs, camping and a ton of other interesting stuff. Unbelievable amount of info. There are now navigational maps, google maps and topo maps of the route.

A couple other support additions to the project as well. The coolest one is an organization of former pilots of the Vietnam war. The FAC Association has agreed to put the scholarship project in their next newsletter coming out in Jan 09. If you haven't read about the FAC's and what their mission was during the war, please take a look at this link.
http://www.fac-assoc.org/history/history01.html
There are other links about the plane they flew and other info on one of my previous posts. To have their support is an honor.

Also, Phillip Curry threw some support my way for the project. Founder and maker of not one, but two PFD/Bouyancy device companies. His previous company was bought out by Patagonia and now Phillip started and owns Astral Bouyancy www.astralbuoyancy.com. I'll be trying out their new PFD, the V-8 and I'm sure telling all my friends what an awesome product it is.

Lastly, some equipment needs have been met. I've been able to buy a VHF radio and a GPS. I'm sure the radio will be perfect. I'll have to figure out the GPS to see if it's a fit. I still have some other needs. My air mattress currently has about 5 minutes of inflation so that needs to be replaced. I'm still working on a laptop that will work for the trip and an internet connection. I won't be able to use wifi...not many places have that out in the middle of nowhere, but an internet anywhere card should work. I'm sure other needs will come up as I go.

ok...only more thing. I've been waiting to announce this to the community, but wanted to wait until I had more info in place. The election and financial issues are also taking center stage. Some, when hearing about it, have been asking why I haven't released this to the school and community. These are the reasons I haven't. I will, but right now I feel people's priorities are elsewhere. Once some of the dust settles, I'll be putting out press releases to the school and community around here and those my father was involved in.

Go Navy and Complete Route Maps for the trip are posted

2008-10-19T21:34:00.004-04:00

The photo is in honor of the Naval Academy's Homecoming game against Pitt. As mentioned, my dad graduated from the Naval Academy in 1952. Also, most know that the only Navy football game that really counts is against Army. Go Navy!

Complete route maps are up thanks to Len! Wow, what a great job! Click the links on the left. Scroll down just below the sponsors and you'll see them. Included are navigation maps of the Tennessee River portion and the complete Tenn-Tom Waterway and Tombigbee River to Mobile. Included in the Tenn-Tom maps is some great info on the locks and history of the waterway. This took an incredible amount of work so my hat and my thanks goes out to Len.

On other fronts, I'm still working on sponsorships for the equipment needs of the trip. Bending Branches came on board, along with The Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and Clipper. I'm currently emailing several other organizations and businesses with requests as well. I've just started working to get a laptop. I need it for the trip to post daily updates on the blog, message boards, photos and anything else I can think of. My current 8 yr old, Dell Inspiron holds a charge for about 5 minutes and is ancient. It won't make it to Fontana Dam, much less the trip. I'm also needing to talk with Verizon about getting an internet card, or a solution of some sort to get internet access anywhere I may be. The laptop I'm looking at is the MSI Wind. A netbook that is cheap, light, small and looks like it will fit the price bill at about $400. The Dell Mini 9 would be the next pick. At a little over 2 lbs and small size, either would be a perfect fit...no pun intended. I think the Dell goes for about $350. If anyone knows a business, or wants to personally sponsor that part of the project, they would get major mention, blog and boat space for advertising.

Last note before I go. I'm talking with NOC to put together a send-off of some type. Maybe we'll have a group of donors paddle with me on a leg the first day leaving from NOC. After the trip, we'll do something as well. I'd like to see a dinner, presentation by me of the trip with slideshow/video presentation, along with a silent auction...or something! Either way, NOC will put it on their calendar and website once we get the dates and ideas figured out. Thank You NOC!

Aerial images using Google Earth

2008-10-07T20:48:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine called me today. I don't know him well. He doesn't live in NC and never met my father before, but he wanted to help. He was in Vietnam a couple years before my dad and was a Forward Observer. They worked closely with the FAC's, which my father was during his service in Vietnam (See earlier post). Anyway, he created aerial images of my route using Google Earth. He's going to post the entire route so everyone can see what it looks like from the air. If you haven't used it, Google Earth is a pretty powerful piece of software that free and easy to use. You can see fairly detailed images of any place on earth. Lots of eye candy and fun stuff to see. Take a look at the images and tell me what you think.
Paddling for a Purpose Route
This project is truly about connecting. Connecting bright students that need some help getting to college. Connecting educators with a project that can allow students continue their great work toward great goals. Connecting veterans to a legacy that they can believe in and share with others. Finally, this project connects people in a meaningful and heartfelt way. The funds raised through this project will allow all of us to see a student have an opportunity to reach a life changing goal. That will be the ultimate connection.

Needs for the project and a great morning paddle

2008-10-04T22:39:00.008-04:00

Yesterday I went for a short paddle and spent the night on Lake Cheoah. The lake is the second lake that I will paddle on the trip. I wanted to check them out and see what the portage possibilities are. Lake Fontana will be my starting point and the first 25 miles of paddling will take me to Fontana dam, the largest dam in NC. Below that is Lake Cheoah, which is about 10 miles long and ends in another dam. This dam was made famous by the movie "The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford. I wanted to see the dams and what I'll need to do about getting around them. Fontana dam will be easy...my wife will drive me around it since it's close and a it's huge dam. To portage, you'd have to carry several miles of highway. Not your everyday portage. The dam at Cheoah won't be bad; just steep. Anyway, after a good night sleep, I woke up to a chilly morning, but still managed to get on the water about 7:30. Fall is just starting and the leaves are showing some color. The water was glass smooth and absolutely calm and wonderfully clear. As I left the cove where I camped the night, I rounded the bend and the sun was just starting to hit the sides of the mountains around me. Slight rose colored clouds, some mist and the cool, calm air was exactly what I was looking for. Soooo peaceful. Also, these lakes are hard to access and no motorboats. I had the entire lake all to myself. I ended up paddling for about 3 hours and had a great morning. Looking forward to just continuing on next summer and seeing what's in store for the next 1,070 miles.

I've been putting a needs list together in my head lately. What do I have and what will I need. I don't want to spend if I don't have to,but there are a few things that I absolutely need. I'm hoping that I can keep these purchases to a minimum as I'm spending my own money, or using sponsored products. I'm planning on all money donated going to the scholarship.
Here's a short list of things I know I'll need.

Handheld VHF radio -
maps - TVA and Corp of Engineers, as well as road maps for the area.
Food - How much? What to buy so I don't get bored with meals and high enough calories.
New Paddle(s) - My Dagger wood bentshaft is great..just want something lighter. Also kayak paddle for making time as long as my shoulder holds out. I want a Bending Branches, or a Zaveral, maybe I'll get it for Xmas, or sponsor help.
New Therma-rest. My old one has holes I can't find, and my other pad just doesn't cut it anymore.

I spoke with the Swain School Superintendent this past week. He enthusiastically gave his support. The Foundation and it's purpose is a big deal. I get psyched just thinking of the kids I've taught, the kids of our friends and how this might help one of them get over the financial hump to attend college. A dream coming to reality. For this county, and many of these kids, it could be a lifesaver.

Lastly, Keep the comments, donations and encouragement coming. Sometimes this feels like throwing a party and no one is going to show up. If your planning on donating, please do so. You don't know the help it is to see any donation come in. If all you can afford right now is $20, send it. If you can't, spread the word...talk about the trip and help get people excited. Send them my email,, or tell them to find me on Facebook. I'd love to see them and talk to them.

Me and the Project

2008-10-01T22:56:00.006-04:00

I had a comment that it might be good if people knew more about me and my paddling background. Maybe with more info on my experience, they could decide if a trip like this would be successful. After all, 1,100 miles in 30 days is a lot to bite off.
Well, here's a little about me.
I started paddling marathon canoes when I was 14. See the pic...I know its bad. bit it's all I have from way back then. That's me in the white shorts, blue hat, red PFD in the stern. This was a 120 mile race over 3 days on the White River in Arkansas. We had a group of about 20 of us that raced everywhere we could. Usually most of our races where in the southeast, but my partner and I did make it to the USCA Nationals in Indiana in 1981 and placed 5th. I ended up racing until I was 19, but more importantly, these years gave me an incredible foundation for my paddling later in life. My last race I remember was the World's Fair Race in Knoxville TN where I raced in Olympic flatwater kayak. I came in 4th I think.
I started work with the Nantahala Outdoor Center in 1982. I was a guide, instructor and trip leader along with whatever else they needed me to be. Over the 20 years of work there I had huge adventures and opportunities. I led trips on all the southeastern rivers including the Chattooga - my home for many years. Through the 90's I had the great opportunity of leading our Chile trips on the Bio Bio river. After the river was dammed, my friend Bob Beazley and I moved from rafting into doing kayak trips only. I think I worked about 7 seasons in Chile and wouldn't trade those days with Beaz, Shane and Kelly for anything. While Chile was where I went to most, I also led trips in Costa Rica, Mexico and Vietnam. The Vietnam trip was one that I put together with a great idea and lots of trepidation. The trip ended up being an incredible seakayak touring trip with boat support. After the kayaking portion I put a northern highlands trek on the back end. Trying to get 4 folding two man kayaks from the states to Vietnam and back was not fun, but the trip was incredible. I put it together in 1999 and then went back in 2000. It was the first of it's kind that I knew of, but now is the staple of the adventure market for seakayaking and treking trips from the states.
I also had the pleasure of paddling with many of the world's best paddlers. I learned everything I know from paddling with, competing against, and sharing some of the best paddling anyone could have hoped for. Living for over 20 years as a paddler and making a living doing what I did was a blessing.

Today, I have a great wife and 2 incredible kids. My wife has joined me on numerous trips and is an incredible paddler in her own right. My two kids have their own boats and are learning about the fun of paddling too.

Now, how does all of this fit into this project. Well, I hope that it gives the project and trip some validity for people who don't know me and might be reading this. Instead of going, "Who is this crazy person who thinks he going how far?". they may read this and know that at least I have some experience doing this sort of thing.
Secondly, my life now is as a teacher. My dad was a teacher. I happened to be able to live this dream life because of my dad's support. Heck, he gave me $800 to go to Chile the first time in 1985. He dreamed of flying when he was growing up and I dreamed of paddling. Education is the key to living your dreams. He earned his through the Naval Academy, I through my education through others. Through this project, I'm confident that we can provide some student the opportunity to live their dream too.

You can help...just hit the "Donate" button. :)

Roz Savage Rowing across the Pacific, one stroke at a time.

2008-09-28T22:25:00.007-04:00

I wanted to share a story some of you may have read, or heard about. Roz Savage, a 41 yr old British woman who is rowing solo across the Pacific to raise awareness about environmental issues. While I'm not rowing solo over thousands of miles of open ocean, I am doing a few things similar to Roz. First, I'm trying something I've never attempted. I'm doing it solo. And finally, I'm on the water and in a boat. I know...it's not quite the same as rowing solo across the Pacific, but she does give me some great inspiration. One thing that is interesting about this project is when I talk to people. One of the first things they ask is, "Your going by yourself"? For those of you who wonder, yes, it's my preference to do this solo. First, it's easier to do it this way. There isn't any waiting for someone else's schedule or, having to slow down when they're tired. I also know that when I'm tired or need some food,I am not easy to be around. The freedom of being solo is pretty nice too. If I feel like I want to put some miles in at midnight, I can. I enjoy my own company so it's not a burden, but a great time for reflection and thought. Finally, its a challenge of an individual nature. Basically I'll follow someone else's pushing and motivation if they are there. I wouldn't have to be disciplined...I could be lazy. Doing it solo challenges me to be disciplined.

Anyway, Roz has reached Hawaii and is waiting for next summer to start her 2nd leg. Along the way Roz had storms, equipment failures, including her water distilling equipment failing. Her blog is full of adventure and reflection. In addition, I love her philosophy about this whole deal. Essentially it can be simplified to, "If I repeat what I did today 364 times, will I be where I want to be next year?" A great question!

Here's an article that appeared in the London Sunday Times about Roz's philosophy on life.
I Am What I Am
[Sunday Times, 23 April 2006]

o Don't waste mental energy asking yourself if you CAN do something. Just do it. You'll surprise yourself. I did.

o Be clear about your objectives. Ignore others, stay true to yourself and measure success only against your own criteria. I was last to finish the race - big deal. I went out there to learn about myself, and I did.

o The only constant in life is change. So don't get depressed by the bad times, and don't get over-excited by good ones. Accept that things are exactly as they are, and even bad times have something to teach us.

o Life can be magical, but magic only gets you so far. Then you need discipline, determination and dedication to see it through.

o Hope can hurt. The danger is that you hope for too much and set yourself up for disappointment. Be optimistic but realistic. Nothing is ever as good or as bad as you expect it to be.

o Be mindful of the link between present action and desired future outcome. Ask yourself: if I repeat today's actions 365 times, will I be where I want to be in a year?

o Decision-making: act in faith, not fear, and don't worry about making a 'wrong' decision - the way you implement it is more important than the decision itself.

o Be your own best friend. The more you rely on other people, the less control you have over your destiny.

o Be proud of your own obituary: a few years ago I wrote two versions of my obituary, the one I wanted and the one I was heading for. They were very different. I realized I needed to make some big changes if I was going to look back and be proud of my life. I am making those changes, and now I have a life worth living.

If your interested in reading more about Roz, here's a link to her website and blog.
http://www.rozsavage.com/

Clipper on Board...NOC too! The first On-line donation came in as well.

2008-09-25T22:19:00.007-04:00

This past week has been what I would call "the start" of good things with this project. Last week I met with NOC, the Nantahala Outdoor Center based in Bryson City, NC, about sponsorship and in particular help with getting a boat. After a great meeting talking about the project, NOC has committed to helping me with this project and help in getting a boat that meets the needs of the trip. For some, a boat... is a boat... is a boat. For others, a boats design is everything. Over the last 10 years or so, it seems like to paddle you need a quiver of boats. Specific boats to do specific types of paddling. Everything from whitewater creek paddling to calmwater seakayaking to whitewater freestyle to marathon flatwater paddling all have their unique boat designs available to do very specific things. I have many boats that are designed for lots of different purposes, but for this trip, I need a boat to carry lots of gear...30 days worth. It also has to be comfortable over lots of miles of sitting, offer some protection from the elements and finally, be fast enough to cover distances efficiently. Verlen Kruger couldn't find one to fit his needs so he built what he needed to cover the 28,000 miles he paddled criss-crossing North America in the 80's. I looked at what he used when I started to look for a boat design. I looked at Kruger Canoe's Seawind and the Clipper Canoe's Sea-1 and found those to be the best choices available to meet all my needs. The Sea-1 is lighter and looked like it was more readily available since there wasn't a wait-list a mile long.

After getting the support of NOC, I wrote Clipper an email and explained the project and my needs/preferences. Clipper is based out of Washington state and makes absolutely some of the best boats on the market including the Sea-1. Take a look at their video of a guy in their shop hitting the hull of a new boat with a hammer. Not a scratch, or dent, or crack showed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMnus9nZ34E

Today, I received a reply for the great folks at Clipper. They are going to sponsor my trip through the use of a Kevlar Sea-1 for this project!
Many thanks to NOC and Clipper Canoe for the help. Now, I just have to get the boat from Washington to NC.

Also, a huge thanks to my first on-line contributor. He knows who he is...it meant a lot to see that. THANKS

My Dad's Vietnam service...what is a FAC?

2008-09-10T22:51:00.004-04:00

I thought I'd post some information about what my dad did while a pilot in Vietnam. It was 1967-68 when he served and since I was only 6 I had no idea what he was doing. It was during a high school project that I found out what it meant to be a FAC in Vietnam.
His call sign was Sidewinder and he was stationed at a small base in Bien Hoa which is about 20 miles from Saigon. Here's a couple links that have a history, information, photo's and news about the FAC's and the 19th TASS.
http://www.squawk-flash.org/19th_tass/19th_tass.htm

http://www.fac-assoc.org/19%20TASS/19thTASS.htm

http://www.talkingproud.us/HistoryBirddog13.html

Who will this project help? Also, the brochure is posted.

2008-09-08T20:30:00.008-04:00

This weekend I spent working on edits and rewrites of parts of the brochure to be used to publicize and promote this scholarship project. As I was working on it, I was thinking about who this is really about. It's a little about my father, but more importantly it's about the students that this might benefit. I believe my dad would appreciate that aspect of this more than anything. We live in an area where college hasn't been an option for so many of our high school graduates. The need to work, the lack of funds, or just the lack of a family that has a college going culture. Many of the kids that this could help might be the very first in their family to attend college.
My last job was as the Director of GEAR UP with Southwestern Community College, a federally funded college access and awareness program. I worked with 4 school systems to develop and implement programs and activities that address these same issues. We started working with middle school students to envision and plan what they wanted to do in life. We introduced programs such as the First Lego Robotics that built an interest in math and engineering skills through building Lego Robots that can accomplish a series of competitive tasks. Check out their website: http://firstlegoleague.org/community/HomePage.aspx
It was amazing to watch these kids from all kinds of backgrounds get excited and excel with this project. My hope is that through these kinds of projects, these kids will become inspired to pursue a career in one of these areas.
The same hope runs through my mind on this project. Maybe, just maybe, this project will allow some student to pursue that excitement and go on to a successful college and career.
Here's the brochure so check it out.
paddling for a purpose.pdf

It's in PDF format which you can open using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Connecting

2008-09-01T22:07:00.002-04:00

Joined Facebook yesterday. Have to say....wow! Reconnecting with so many people has been just way too fun. This project is going to be alot of work, but what a hoot if I get to reconnect to some old friends.
This whole idea is Steve Claxton's fault...er idea. For those of you who don't know, Steve works in the Central Office of our school system and just completed a trans-america bike trip to establish a scholarship in his mothers name. He was very successful to say the least, but it was because of him that I started this idea. He told me that it was the people you meet along the way and how he was constantly surprised by the goodness and generosity of people. I have no idea how successful we will be in this endeavor, but I look forward to seeing where it goes.
Here's the link to Steve's trip for those of you who are interested. He's got some great journal entries and photos.
http://bikeacrossamericaclaxton.org/

What is the K.L. Hester Scholarship? - "Paddling for a Purpose"

2008-08-30T21:46:00.007-04:00

Welcome to the K. L. Hester Scholarship Project. It could also be called the Paddling for a Purpose Project, or the Swain to the Sea Expedition. What is this about?

A 1,100 mile solo-paddling journey in an effort to establish a scholarship in my father's name.

First, this is a site to chronicle and follow the effort of friends, family and others to establish a scholarship in my father's memory. This scholarship will be used to fund students dreams of a career in education or engineering through the Swain County Schools Foundation.

I created this idea with 2 main objectives

Establish a scholarship in my father's name for Swain County students to pursue degrees in education, or engineering.
Honor the contributions of my father to his family, his country and his professions.

About My Dad:
My father, Keete L. Hester, was not only an American military hero, he was my personal hero. He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1952 and later earned a Masters in Aerospace Engineering. Ever a patriot, he enjoyed a 20 year career in the Air Force which included flying as a Forward Air Control pilot in Vietnam as well as aerospace engineer on various defense systems. During his distinguished military service, he received many awards and medals, but if you asked him about them, he would just say he was doing the job that was asked of him. After retiring with the rank of Lt. Colonel in 1976, he was drawn to teaching our youth. A passionate educator, he was the Commander of a Jr. ROTC squadron and a high school math teacher. After earning an additional masters degree in math, he continued to teach for over 15 years. He was a beloved and well respected teacher by students, parents and faculty alike. His strong advocacy of the public schools system and his belief in empowering youth, allowed his students to excel and follow their dreams.

About the Journey:
In honor of my father, and in an effort to raise funds to establish a scholarship to benefit Swain County students, I will be paddling 1,100 miles from Bryson City, NC to Mobile, AL. Starting on the Little Tennessee River system to the Tennessee River near Ft Loudon, TN, then west until the river reaches northeastern Mississippi. At that point I will enter the Tenn-Tom Waterway and begin my southward journey. Later I will enter the Tombigbee River and continue south until I reach journey’s end in Mobile, Alabama. Covering 1,100 miles and averaging approximately 35 miles a day the trip will be completed in in about 30 days.

My hope is that through this journey friends, family and many others will come together to honor my Dad with a symbol of what his life stood for. Service to family, country and community were important to him and a scholarship in his memory would represent that very well.

Come back and check on how the preparations and efforts are going. I'll be posting updates as sponsors, donations and preparations continue. If you'd like to become a sponsor, please email me. If you would like to donate, use the Paypal button to the left. Thanks!