: I will make this simple for you. I used a Waters Dancing Lightning
: 17 (17" long, 24 1/2" beam) to paddle 2200-kms along
: the North Saskatchewan River here in Canada. The kayak held
: enough gear and equipment to keep me going for a maximum of
: 30-35 days unsupported. The gear included all camping needs,
: cooking needs, water needs (Sweetwater filter), and emergency
: equipment including GPS, maps, spare paddle, wilderness first
: aid kit, kayak repair kit, flares, camera, bear bangers, bear
: spray, extra ropes...you name it, I probably had it with
: me...even a kayak cart for portaging around dams. I never had a
: problem as far as safety went. The loaded kayak handled rough
: water extremely well and was easy to maneuver when necessary.
: Any well designed kayak will do this for you. Bear in mind the
: WD Lightning 17 has lots of storage space front and back. I also
: tucked my water proof electronics case in the cockpit in front
: of my feet...there was just enough space for it there. With a
: loaded kayak you won't get good speed over a sustained period no
: matter what you do...you just get too tired to care about speed.
: In the end, you will spend more time maintaining a slow steady
: pace over a long period of time...that is how you can reduce the
: number of days that you are on the water.

: A few years back I dreamed of paddling the Mississippi...good to
: hear that someone is looking at making that trip happen. I
: figure that some day I will indeed do the trip now that my
: cross-Canada tour is completed. I hope that if you do get this
: trip a happening, you will take lots of pictures and do one heck
: of a write-up: I will be watching for it.

: Robert N Pruden

I was telling Stephen the other day (he's sorta local) that a friend of mine a number of years back made that trip sorta, but started way out in Montana on the Missouri River and ended up in New Orleans. Much longer trip as I remember. I always wanted to start out in Pennsylvania and go down the Ohio River then to the Mississippi.

Bill H.