Epic Adventures


  • Haruki Murakami says,
    "Everybody has to be somewhere..."

    So I am off to be somewhere.

    Link to my current 2024 inReach Map
    Link to my early 2024 inReach Map
    Link to the 2023 MoRT & MsRT Map

    Garmin's inReach Map above includes a method to send me a message by satillite, though it is not real-time messaging; more ten-minute-ish like.

    Links:
    You can see what I be seening on: facebook.



  • 2024 - Recap of 2023 no map

    May 1, 2024 by: Warren

    Marking one of year of traveling that started on the Missouri River in Ft Benton Montana May 26th 2023 and ended last Monday.

    Best recollection sez that I have since traveled 3,300 miles by kayak on the Missouri, Mississippi, Coosa, and Alabama Rivers; hiked 200 miles of Florida’s panhandle on the FT; and hiked 660 miles through Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennesse (again) on the Pinhoti, Benton MacKaye and Appalachian Trails.

    Ending in Damascus Virginia during my 5th time at Trail Days. (2008-hike, ’09-bike, ’10-bike, ’22-hike, and ’24)

    I’ll need to do some map making to determine the total nights not in my tent but there were not many.

    There were some easy days of paddling with moving water; some windy days, btw, wind is never a paddler’s friend; tough days paddling in the sun on shadeless rivers during summer heat; challenging late evenings of looking for campsites; amazing evenings of just sitting on miles-long beaches watching towboats pushing barges on the river; a stretch of crazy short 6-miles days hiking with Diane; long stretches of not speaking or even seeing seeing anyone for days; very tough days carrying an overloaded backpack between resupply opportunities; tough 3000-foot climbs followed by more difficult descents; nights of concerns about my choice of campsites because of heavy rains; missed opportunities to get more-high calorie food stuff, leading to a couple of ’this is not good’ events; had some seriously difficult self-portages around damn dams; had a few rides around dams - sometimes by interested strangers, sometimes by well known River Angels; met several authors who have wrote books about their adventure while traveling the same paths as I had; several nice stays at downriver ACE campgrounds; an undeserved but great few days at Tobacco Gardens; was given a tour of Greenville Ms which included a swag bag and two free meals; endured a record setting heatwave in Ft Levenworth made survivable by a river angel with a BIG FAN; met a few men that by comparison - I have done nothing; met US Marines that proudly served and still wear the title; met other vets that required prompting as to ’which?’; and many many encounters with dirt road people that unselfishly offered help when help was needed - especially, a farmer and his wife who exceeds all descriptions of the good people of Heartland American, and an old friend who travelled hundreds of miles to shuttle me between my Mississippi and Coosa river adventures.

    Life is Good.. and like the passing towboat captain says about me at about the 2:30 minute-mark in the linked video below.

    I be. . . ’Living the Dream’

    2023 - Big Vessels vr Tiny Boat youTube Video
    https://youtu.be/frbKJAIogts?feature=shared

    • 2023 - Missouri & Mississippi Rivers, Again! no map

    October 15, 2023 by: Warren

    There are a few paddlers that paddle the BIG rivers each year. Eight to 12 will complete the 2200-mile Missouri River - starting in western Montana and ending at the Arches at St Louis. Slightly more, maybe 20 or so, will paddle the Mississippi River. That trip is 2200 miles broken in two parts: the Upper and the Lower; segmented at the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi near Cario - 190 miles below St Louis. Few of the Missouri paddlers will continue down the Mississippi, perhaps one or two. The combined trip is more than 3800 miles, making it the fourth longest river in the world.

    This year I started at Ft Benton MT and pulled out at Natchez MS - 2900 miles, 125 days. Low water and erosions controls (lining the river sides with rock) made the camping on the Missouri difficult. While the record setting low water on the Mississippi provided seemingly endless beaches - great for camping, poor for crowding the tows and paddlers into narrow twists and turns.

    With the intention to continue paddling to the Keys and hopefully beyond, I have stopped in Alabama to do a bit of walking - sitting on one's butt for 4 months will certainly weaken the legs.

  • 2022 - North by Northeast map

    Feburary 15, 2022 by: Warren

    Having too much free time and better than average health leads one to make curious decisions. So, at 71, not sick since childhood, and able to carry thirty-five pounds for several hours a day, off I went to see the world. Starting at Heflin on the Alabama Pinhoti Trail - 78 miles, completed. Then 168 miles on Georgia's Pinhoti and 127 miles of the Benton MacKaye found me at mile 370 and in Fontana Village NC on March 27.

    After a weekend of unscheduled rest - thanks to the women at the Resort's front desk I continued north by northeast.

    After 200 days on the trail I grew tired of camping and eating cold meals. 200 days had put me at AT mile 1756 (of 2195) and quick math sez: I had 1591 miles on the AT and 370 miles of the AL/GA Pinhoti and Benton McKaye trails.

    And then, at age 72, I was good with that so I went home.

  • 2020 - Idaho Centennial Trail, Section Hike

    June 25, 2020 by: Warren

    The 900-mile Idaho Centennial Trail (ICT) is a scenic trail through Idaho. It winds its way through various ecosystems from high desert, canyons, mountains, and high plains. June was too early for a Spring hike thru the mountains, so we FINISHED doing the 160 desert-miles and are holding up until the CCP Virus attacks Idaho or until the snow melt-off lessen the dangers of stream crossings. OR... as it turned out, until Diane fully recovers from her knee surgery.

    Read more about the: ICT or See The Map

  • 2020 - Pacific Crest Trail, retry

    August April 4, 2020 by: Warren

    Something about Mike’s Place, snow, SARS-CoVid 2, and a fortunate set of circumstances goes . Perhaps I write it later, but probably not. I’m only 69, I not afraid of dying. However being sick on the trail and far far from home isn’t my idea of a fun hike. And there’s a chance that getting off of a trail during a ‘lock down’ isn’t the adventure that one seeks, espeacially during a plague if you are depending on someone to feed the pet fox(s). No more

  • 2019 - Pacific Crest Trail

    August 28, 2019 by: Warren

    After several twists & turns and lengthy travel by taxi, plane, bus, train, and bus… and a morning hitch because of a snowy overnight in southern California that delayed the morning bus …and a brief one-mile road-walk, we managed to reach the PCT trailhead at the US/Mexican border on Friday morning, February 22. After a convoluted 125-mile northbound hike dodging the snow and ice-cold rain we found ourselves heading into even more snow yet. Clearly, with an unusual two-month late winter with 150% of the December snowfall in February, we and the other early-2019 starters needed a better plan. Read more

  • 2018 - Upper Mississippi River Paddle Trail map

    August 1, 2018 by: Warren

    Having paddled 950 miles of the Lower Mississippi between St Louis and Baton Rouge in the spring of '17 and not having many epic rivers remaining to test, we headed for the 1367-mile Upper Mississippi. Starting near the faux source, Lake Itasca, of the mighty Ms, we headed to a pull-out above St Louis. Hoped for more time so we could go further... the river is undammed below the Chain of Rocks. The first hundred miles were news to us - we perfer to keep planning to the minimum. Then things were as expected. Then the flooding began and the fun slipped away. Facebook

  • 2017 - FL's Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddle Trail map

    September 16, 2017 by: Warren

    A segmented paddling trip.
    2017-Part Three: May 6 - September 14, 2017. Following a u-haul portage between Baton Rouge LA and Spanish Fort AL, a re-launch in Mobile Bay and a paddle of Florida's Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddle Trail before being forced off of the water on Day 131 by Hurricane Irma at FCT Mile 1324, Cocoa FL. Read End Cap

  • 2017 - Lower Mississippi River map

    May 2, 2017 by: Warren

    A segmented paddling trip.
    2017-Part Two: March 9 - May 2, 2017. Launching in St Charles MO and paddling 950 miles of the Mississippi River in 52 days before pulling out in Baton Rouge due to continued flooding and a week of horrific winds. Click: Other paddlers decided quitting was wise too.

  • 2016 - Missouri River Trail Paddle Trail map

    December 5, 2016 by: Warren

    A segmented paddling trip.
    2016-Part One: June 20 - October 20, 2016. 122 days paddling 2,100 miles of the Missouri River and five of its great lakes, ending in St Charles MO. Capped with an end-to-end-to-end yo-yo of the famed Katy Trail; or '500 Miles using $100 Walmartainment bicycles...'

  • 2011/12 - FL's Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddle Trail map

    December 8, 2012 by: Warren

    A two part kayak trip paddling over 2300 miles. Part One: starting on the Tennessee River at Guntersville AL and stopping in Panacea FL after 74 days; Part Two: continuing from Panacea and ending in Savanah GA after 124 days. Read More

  • 2010 - an Epic Double-Crossing of the United States map

    December 8, 2010 by: Warren

    A 207 day, 10,000 mile bicycle ride thru 28 states, starting and ending in Alabama while spending only 3 nights indoors. Read More

  • 2009 - Alabama Scenic River Trail map

    December 8, 2009 by: Warren

    A 107 day Forrest Gump paddle of the longest in-one-state river trail - 647 miles; downriver(s) then upriver(s) then downriver some more. Read More

  • 2008 - Appalachian Trail - 2548 miles, Alabama to Maine map

    April 8, 2009 by: Warren

    Started March 17th 2008 on Alabama's Pinhoti Trail, then Georgia's Pinhoti, then a seciton of the Benton MacKaye and finally connecting to the A.T. in Fontana Village 350 miles later. Ending in Maine in October and then seven weeks bicycling another 1700 miles to homeless-sweet-homeless. Read More