At 23, Kyle Parker paddled all 682km of the Wisconsin River in a blur of muscle fatigue and no sleep. Coming in at 5 days, 19 hours, and 22 minutes, he set the fastest known time for the route in a solo canoe.
Parker wants to take his time for his new project, which will begin in just under a month.
“Today, we travel by all sorts of modes, often opting for the easiest and fastest we can find,” he writes on his blog. “I am looking forward to slowing down to just a few miles an hour and really getting under the skin of the country.”
Kyle Parker during his 2024 trip down the Wisconsin River. Photo: Dylan Durst
The U.S. from ‘tip to tip’
Parker’s big dream is to traverse the country from northwestern Washington to southeastern Florida. He expects the trip to take six to eight months.
The route encompasses the frigid, deep waters of Puget Sound, hundreds of kilometers of rivers across the continental United States, the warm waves of the Gulf of Mexico, and even a few days on the western seaboard of the Atlantic Ocean.
He will have to contend with more than just choppy water and fierce currents. Usual canoe routes feature regular portages over dams when the interruption of the river requires carrying the canoe. But Parker will have to portage hundreds of miles over highways and, on one occasion, the continental divide.
“But it’s not just about the scenery or the wildlife, or even the excitement of being absolutely miserable,” Parker writes. “It’s also about the people I’ll meet and the stories I’ll uncover. I want to connect with locals…and experience the culture of each place I visit.”
Parker’s projected route across the US. Photo: Kyle Parker
Carrying on Stachovak’s legacy
This kind of expedition is unusual but not unheard of. In 2009, Parker’s fellow Great Lakes native Jake Stachovak completed the 9,237km Great Loop by kayak. The Great Loop starts in Portage, Wisconsin, and ends in Portage, Wisconsin, with a brief detour to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2022, Stachovak passed away to cancer at the age of 46.
Now his widow has supplied 24-year-old Kyle Parker with a portage cart, water bag, radio, and a pink cup holder that all belonged to Stachovak.
Legendary long-distance kayaker Jake Stachovak. Photo: Michael Paul Franklin
Parker has support from local paddling stores, too. Ethan Scheiwe, the manager of Madison’s Rutabaga Paddlesports and one of Parker’s sponsors, told the Wisconsin State Journal, “It’s a very daunting trip, but Kyle is the right person for it. If he does this, it will be the National Geographic adventure of the year. It’s that kind of trip.”
Parker sets out on May 1. You can follow the adventure on his blog.
