The fourth leg of the Expedition 1000 project will get underway on June 20th, with adventurer Dave Cornthwaite setting out to run the length of the Mississippi River on a Stand-Up Paddleboard. The journey is expected to take approximately 85 days to complete, covering more than 2400 miles between Lake Itasca, located in Minnesota, and the Gulf of Mexico.
I've written about Dave and Expedition 1000 on more than one occasion in the past. He is hoping to raise £1,000,000 for charity by completing 25 separate adventures, each measuring at least 1000 miles in length, using a different form of non-motorized transportation. He has already skateboarded across Australia, covering 3638 miles on that journey alone. Cornthwaite has also paddled the length of that country's Murry River, covering another 1479 miles, and most recently he completed a tandem bike ride from Vancouver to Las Vegas, which tallied up another 1400 miles. The SUP expedition on the Mississippi is simply his next big adventure, and one that he hopes will bring awareness about he ecological challenges that the river now faces.
If successful, this will not only be one step closer to completing Expedition 1000, it'll also be a world record for the longest distance covered on a Stand-Up Paddleboard. Along the way, Dave is encouraging others to come out and join him on the water. But if you aren't able to join in on the fun on a personal level, you'll also be able to follow along on his progress both on his Facebook page and Dave's twitter feed as well.
Good luck Dave! Enjoy the paddle and say hello to my friend and family along the Mississippi in Iowa when you go past!