I have calculated my Mississippi River mileage conservatively at 2323 miles.
This is calculated using the MN/Dept. of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers river map mileage. I have added for my miles across Lake Itasca (4.5 miles) and for the longer route I took across the three large northern Minnesota lakes (2.1 miles) along with the route I took at the river delta.
I did not add for: the city harbors I paddled into; two short sections I paddled twice; irregular routes common to stand up paddling; or routes taken to avoid tows and their wakes. My actual mileage was likely 1-2% higher if there was a way to accurately record all of these items .
I hope this answers everyone’s questions. Thank you all for the amazing support!
September 1, 2011 at 4:08 pm
You’ve done a great trip. Well done! For what it’s worth here’s the view of someone totally outside the SUP community:
I think people really will be interested in the journey and the story. If you start bickering with someone else over distances and world records I think you endanger diminishing both your achievements, and risking that the argument becomes the story. When, really, it is the story that should be the story! It’s a good ‘un!
Cheers
Al