Iowans canoe across North America — upstream

Two CMC outdoor education graduates, along with four professional peers and friends, are currently enroute on a 9-month upstream canoe adventure from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle. We’ve been following their progress through their own blog and articles published in various media. The article below ran in USA Today.

A group of six outdoor enthusiasts, including two Iowa natives, row up the Mississippi River on Saturday, March 28, 2015, in La Crosse, Wis. A group of six outdoor enthusiasts, including two Iowa natives, row up the Mississippi River on Saturday, March 28, 2015, in La Crosse, Wis. The group began their journey in the Gulf of Mexico and are making their way northward to the Arctic Ocean. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)
A group of six outdoor enthusiasts, including two Iowa natives, row up the Mississippi River on Saturday, March 28, 2015, in La Crosse, The group began their journey in the Gulf of Mexico and are making their way to the Arctic Ocean. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

Water lapped the banks of the Mississippi River like a baby gently pushing bubbles around a bathtub.

With snow still clinging to the curbs of a nearby parking lot and nose-numbing 30-degree winds whipping wildly, only a few brave weather warriors jumped in boats and pushed from shore on a recent Saturday afternoon.

Despite its name, the Big Muddy was clear, almost pristine. The trees hugging its banks were so large their established roots grew outward and over the top of each other on a race toward the bank.

The only sound came from the crunch of leaves petrified by winter and revealed by spring. Click for full article