Pre Trip Jitters

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Where's my go-pro charger? Did I pack enough underwear? Where am I going to put my toiletries kit? Is this too heavy? How will I portage with so much crap?

If you've ever taken a trip you recognize the anxiety of packing for the trip.  Whether its business, vacation, a cruise, etc. anybody packing goes through some sort of packing anxiety.  Anyone that has done an excursion into the wilderness knows the additional anxiety of packing the proper equipment and food.  When you have to carry all your equipment and food, the weight becomes an issue. That's why people pay big dollars just so they can shave ounces off their gear. When the excursion covers large distances, re-supply becomes an additional consideration. 

Who the hell said these hiking dehydrated meals serve two? Why am I still hungry? How much would a case of beer weigh?

Another item that keeps coming to mind is the caloric consumption vs the daily burn rate. I am expecting a 3000 calorie burn daily, but the meals I have planned only account for 1000 to 1500 calories. My year long beer consumption program to store fat has had limited success. I will be starting this adventure at the high limit of what I consider healthy (195 lbs). Unfortunately, other trips have exposed that 10 lbs lower and I start to look unhealthy.  So apparently I have a narrow operational weight span. But not to worry, I have seen on Google Earth that there are a few breweries on the river.  They're usually good for high calorie beers. I will need to take a few power bars in case I hit the wall before my desired end location for the day.

How many waterproof bags will this kayak hold? How much harder is it going to be to paddle this kayak? 

Physical fitness is also a major consideration for wilderness excursions. I have been told that when people first start hiking the Appalachian Trail they are lucky to cover 10 to 12 miles per day.  By the end of the trail they are hiking over 20 miles per day.  I consider this immersion conditioning.  Sort of learning spanish in class, but not being fluent until you spend a year in a spanish speaking nation. Equally, my training has covered over 1/2 of a target day's paddle.  My hope is to be able to paddle double that within the first week and eventually hitting 300 percent of my current training distance (I might be counting on the current to help me an in-proportionately amount). 

If I can paddle 4.75 to 5 MPH on a lake, how much faster will I be with the current?

It is my opinion that people that attempt excursions such as the Appalachian Train, Pacific Coast Trail, or any major distance is wired differently.  These people are incurable optimists (I'm no expert and am just overgeneralizing my thoughts). I too suffer from hyper-optimism.  Most of the videos I've seen the people paddling complete the Mississippi between 55 and 65 days.  I have convinced myself that I can finish the river in 45 days. The pre-trip anxiety has me questioning my reasoning. The saving grace is that I can take as long as I want and not worry about being back home for any appointments.  So it will be a test of physical vs psychological strength to make sure my brain doesn't push my body into a bad situation.

How does that go? Red on Yellow, kill a fellow? When is the mating season for alligators? Can a Bull Shark confuse a kayak for any animal? 

 

After coming to terms with all the different items I can control, there comes the uncontrollable items of a trip, the weather, and wild animals. Recognizing the potential for danger is key. Stay away from alligators and their nests, stay out of the water at dusk or dawn, their feeding/hunting time. Coral snakes are more scared of me, so they need to stay away from me. Bull sharks attack in murky waters near the mouth of rivers and estuaries. I'm not getting in the water. The biggest fear is going to be other humans. Every year, it seems, I read where another paddler has had his gear stolen.  In other videos I've seen/heard where strange boats have spotlighted campsites. I hope to set up camp far enough into the woods that I'm not visible from the river overnight. 

How far away will I be able to see a funnel cloud? Why is that lake still frozen?

Weather is often unpredictable and can be deadly. I have experienced sudden thunderstorms with gale force winds (rode the storm out on the side of the river far enough from trees, but close enough I wasn't the tallest thing around). Being that the Mississippi is in the mid-west, I will have my marine radio with weather channels so I can monitor the weather. If possible, I will find guarded off river areas in case of sudden storms. And why is Lake Winnibigoshish still frozen? That's going to be a very long paddle to circumnavigate via the unthawed edge.

Oh well, ready or not, here I come!