I officially began my journey on June 19th, 2010, but the idea had been germinating for over a year. John Guider and his book The River Inside planted the seed. I first became aware of John’s adventure while living in Tennessee, where I had been kayaking the always beautiful, sometimes exciting rivers in the area for about five years. The book chronicles John’s solo canoe journey from his backyard in Franklin TN to New Orleans via the Mississippi River. www.johnguider.com The thought of going away, alone, camping and paddling really resonated with me, especially since I was at such a crossroads in my life with a milestone birthday approaching.
Hi Cathy, We met at your presentation in NJ. I so admire what you did! The NFCT has been on my list of things to do for the past 2 years but I would like to think that this is the year it might happen. In your comments at the end of your presentation you said that you would not mind doing it again with a bunch of women. I certainly would love to travel with you. I have extensive outdoor experience and consider myself to be very easy going. I have a lot of endurance and can roll with stuff pretty easy. Been canoeing and kayaking for a long time and have good white water skills.
Did you have many days when you were wind bound?
Thanks for your reply.
Henrietta
Hi Henrietta,
I was only totally wind bound for 1 day and had to get off the water early a couple of afternoons on some big lakes. I tried to get a very early start on the larger lakes. That helped for the most part.
Probably going to paddle some more in Maine the last 2 weeks in June but nothing else definite planned. Feel free to contact me, http://www.cathymumford@gmail.com, I may be open to some other dates and states!
Hi Cathy,
I’ve just finished reading your blog. I’m planning to do my own through paddle in June/July, and I was wondering if you had any advice to offer as a fellow woman kayaking solo. Did you feel safe-aside from that one night with the men and pitt bulls? How much food did you carry at any one time? What make/model is your kayak? I’m researching to see if I need to get a smaller/lighter one, as mine is 60ish pounds.
I’m not sure if you still check this blog, but if you see this message, I’d absolutely love to hear from you and get your advice.
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn,
Glad to hear you are doing the trail, you are in for a treat.
To answer your question about feeling safe, I never had any other problems, quite the opposite. I did take a few precautions, for example, only a few close friends knew where I was or planed to be, I did not announce on FB or the NFCT website. When in populated areas I tried to dress in a way that was pretty unisex. I rarely told anyone I was traveling alone, all though sometimes it was pretty obvious.
Contact me anytime. Would love to share more details as well as hear more about your plans!
cathymumford@gmail.com