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Join as we paddle from the Boundary Waters to Washington DC

December 1, 2014 By Dave Freeman

Paddle to DC map

We’re excited to paddle to Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, which established the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, America’s most popular wilderness area.

On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, which set aside an initial 9.1 million acres of wildlands, including the one million acre Boundary Waters, for the use and benefit of the American people. Over the past 50 years, Congress has added over 100 million acres to this unique land preservation system.

We’re also paddling to protect the Boundary Waters – the proposed sulfide-ore mines in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness would cause acid mine drainage, threatening the pristine waters of the BWCA with sulfuric acid and other contaminants, as well as the livelihood of the 18,000 people who work in the thriving recreation and tourism industry in Northern Minnesota.

We hope you will follow along through www.PaddletoDC.org .

Filed Under: Paddle to DC, Rio Roosevelt Centennial Expedition, Uncategorized

Retracing Roosevelt’s journey

June 24, 2014 By Amy Freeman

By Jason Zabokrtsky

 

On February 27, 1914, President Roosevelt started down the River of Doubt into the unknown with a team of twenty-two Brazilians and Americans. These photos show his team at the river’s headwaters at the start of the epic expedition. Roosevelt is in the center of the photo wearing a pith helmet.image

Dave and Paul have reached this historic area and are paddling the river’s headwaters.

Brazil’s legendary explorer, Colonel Rondon, discovered these mysterious headwaters while establishing a remote telegraph line. The telegraph line and rough bridge have long since disappeared into the rain forest.image

As Roosevelt wrote in his diary, “we had seven canoes, all of them dugouts. One was small, one was cranky, and two were old, waterlogged, and leaky. The other three were good.”

Times have changed. Dave and Paul are paddling a technologically-advanced folding canoe that is relatively nimble in rapids. At a fraction of the weight of the hollowed-out tree trunk canoes, it may be conveniently portaged around rapids.

Photos used with permission of Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Filed Under: Rio Roosevelt Centennial Expedition, Uncategorized Tagged With: headwaters, Rondon, Roosevelt, telegraph line

The Rio Roosevelt is filled with surprises

June 8, 2014 By Dave Freeman

After pulling off the river early to escape the heat of the day, we stopped at an old farmstead. Here we were greeted warmly by its sole inhabitant, Jose, and settled in for the day. When Jose commented that this old farmstead was the only one on this stretch of river, we checked our GPS. Much to our surprise, it confirmed that our latitude matched that of the farmstead where Rondon & Roosevelt had camped 100 years before. We had stumbled upon historic ground!

As we marveled at this discovery, Tonico heightened the intrigue by commenting that he’d noticed an old table tucked in the brush by the riverside with initials carved in it that matched those of Theodore Roosevelt’s son, Kermit, who accompanied him on the 1914 expedition. We raced down to check. Sure enough, “KR” was clearly etched in the tabletop. Adding to the fun was an ancient hand-carved canoe paddle we found partially buried in the riverbank near the table. Left behind by Roosevelt’s team? No, it turns out Tonico scratched the initials in the table as a good-natured prank.

The mysterious paddle and table with KR scratched in by Tonico.

The mysterious paddle and table with KR scratched in by Tonico.

To make up for the day we spent in the forest and to escape the heat we loaded our canoes at 10 pm on Friday night and spent 10 hours floating and paddling 55 km. At dawn we reached the Inferno Rapids and, like Roosevelt, we hired some locals from the remote fishing camp at the base of the rapids to help us around the 3 meter falls and smaller rapids just downstream.20140608150818

We are camped at the base of a beautiful rapids about 3 miles below the Inferno Rapids. We are enjoying our first rest day since we started paddling 10 days ago. Shade trees are sprinkled around the beach, making it a perfect place to rest and recharge.

We have about 100 miles left to go before we reach the mouth of the Rio Roosevelt. Our last major obstacle is a 10-mile stretch of rapids 60 miles downstream. People have been telling us about the large rapids near the end for a long time. Soon we will experience them for ourselves. Roosevelt took 2 days to navigate the rapids. I hope we will be able to navigate them quickly as well. The Roosevelt has become a large and powerful river now. The Inferno Rapids was a real eye-opener. It is hard to comprehend that the water was 20 feet higher two months ago, but the dried aquatic plants on the rocks makes it clear how high the water routinely gets during the rainy season.

Dave stands below Inferno Rapids.

Dave stands below Inferno Rapids.

Filed Under: Rio Roosevelt Centennial Expedition, Uncategorized Tagged With: Inferno Rapids, Kermit Roosevelt, paddle, Theodore Roosevelt

Traveling to the Rio Roosevelt Headwaters

May 26, 2014 By Dave Freeman

We are doing well and have about 400 miles left to drive to get to the Rio Roosevelt.

While driving, our group got separated and we are staying in hotels about 50 miles apart.  My computer and communication supplies are in the other vehicle and so I can’t upload our usual Notes from the Trail.  I’ll provide a more detailed update later today or Tuesday.

We are already seeing a bunch of animals, especially birds. We saw a flock of 10 to 15 Blue and Gold Macaws today.

Filed Under: Rio Roosevelt Centennial Expedition, Uncategorized Tagged With: Rio Roosevelt

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