It was nearly a death blow to them they were just about done. I am so glad they thought to call me and that we could find it. They are great guys and there was no way I was going to let it turn out that way! Honestly I was surprised, not what I expected from our northern towns
I didn't realize Cass Lake was part of the Mississippi river. Weird. We rented a pontoon boat - way back in the day - on Cass Lake I think. Oops - that was the Cass Lake Chain of Nine Lakes. I was young so I had to ask my Mom to get the location. thanks. OH it is the SAME lake - cool.
Hey Dawgs i was going to respond to your other comment on life jackets but couldnt find the comment again. I have never owned a purpose built kayak life jacket so if you look for one make sure it has a high back on it where the pad does not hit your seat back. I like the inflatable ones for comfort but you always run the risk that the go off for no reason (uncommon but happens) or they malfunction. Let me know if you would like to go into it further
@@escapewithjay thank you for your reply. I had accidentally deleted it. I don't know what happened. I wore mine all the time when I first started 2 years ago, but i find myself taking it off some now. I promised my wife I would always wear one, but I take it off sometimes because it starts hurting my back. I wanted to get another's opinion about it. I had noticed you wear one and at other times do not. I was curious if you decide to wear it based on water conditions. Thanks again:)
lol! glad to hear it! i would have sent ya a link had i known.. there should be a playlist "my great escape" starts at ep 0 and will play through till the end
@@Dobrinich thanks man, i appreciate that! ive worked hard over the years learning the editing processes, i am pretty happy with the way the river trips turned out on this series! and as you know at this stage in the game its all for free :^)
The truth is it was always kinda fun to have to deal with the weather. It really brings the reality of the situation front and center. the knowledge that there is no where to go you just have to take what you are given!
I started at 190 lbs and ended at ~165lbs. I actually felt really good all the way down to about Natchez, MS. it was around that point where my muscles started to wane due to the lack of calories. Other than that it was the best I have ever felt!
Hey Jay, I have a Paddle North kayak that has a fin at the bottom. I'm hoping to head up north soon and would like to try the early stages of the river but not lose my fin. Any suggestions?
Hey Steven, if you value the bottom of your boat then you wont want to start at the headwaters but perhaps before/after cass lake as that is when the river tends to maintain a "deeper" channel. are you a member of the mississippi river paddlers group? if no and you are planning on paddling the mississippi they are an amazing resource and might know something about fins that I dont know... i hope that helps to some degree, ask anything anytime ill do my best to answer!
Just binge watched your entire trip. Took me less time lol. I would like to do this someday. What gps app did you use on your phone? Looking forward to seeing more of your trips
Hi Liberty! Im glad you liked the series! I primarily used google maps and twoards the end if i had service i would take screen shots of the river ahead. I would use strava to track mileage and my garmin gps to track over all progress. If you are serious about doing the river get on the Mississippi river paddlers page on facebook. An absolutely amazing resource! If you would like to see the gps track get me your email and ill send you a link and the password. Later!
My wife was kind enough to stay in the area after i left itasca. she met me at coffee pot landing with my bigger kayak which is better suited for longer distance camping trips... i actually changed boats 3 times along the way as you will see when i reach hastings, mn... its the luxury of starting in the state you live in!
That storm footage is amazing
yeah it was a great relief knowing we had a good camp site for that night
So terrible that Minnesota treated your river friends that way in Bemidji! Glad to see you found it in short order!
It was nearly a death blow to them they were just about done. I am so glad they thought to call me and that we could find it. They are great guys and there was no way I was going to let it turn out that way! Honestly I was surprised, not what I expected from our northern towns
@@escapewithjay this economy makes people desperate.
I didn't realize Cass Lake was part of the Mississippi river. Weird. We rented a pontoon boat - way back in the day - on Cass Lake I think. Oops - that was the Cass Lake Chain of Nine Lakes. I was young so I had to ask my Mom to get the location. thanks. OH it is the SAME lake - cool.
Yeah Cass is pretty big but one of my favorite lakes on the upper river
I like the paddling partners, that would pretty cool to have people join you on and off along the way!
the company was nice, crazy to think the length of the entire river and i came across 3 different paddling "groups"
@@escapewithjay That is awesome!
That sunset was amazing! is amazing omg you would not see anything like over here in the UK England look like may have to move
The UK huh!? thats awesome! always fun to have people outside of the USA watching
That sunset was amazing!
Its an amazing stretch of river!
I am so much loving these videos. At the end, I heard the mosquito in the microphone and my natural reaction was to swat 😆
Thanks Dawgs! Lol yeah i was glad the mic picked them up from time to time! Brings back all the memories of being on the menu >x^D
Hey Dawgs i was going to respond to your other comment on life jackets but couldnt find the comment again. I have never owned a purpose built kayak life jacket so if you look for one make sure it has a high back on it where the pad does not hit your seat back. I like the inflatable ones for comfort but you always run the risk that the go off for no reason (uncommon but happens) or they malfunction. Let me know if you would like to go into it further
@@escapewithjay thank you for your reply. I had accidentally deleted it. I don't know what happened. I wore mine all the time when I first started 2 years ago, but i find myself taking it off some now. I promised my wife I would always wear one, but I take it off sometimes because it starts hurting my back. I wanted to get another's opinion about it. I had noticed you wear one and at other times do not. I was curious if you decide to wear it based on water conditions. Thanks again:)
Those MOSQUITOS!! were insane!
yeah they were good enough to join me the entire trip
@@escapewithjay great campsite buddies!
Is there a "Paddle Fish" camp somewhere that features live interactions with the infamous threatened PaddleFish that is over 300 million years old?
@@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885 Not sure if there is a "Paddle Fish" camp but would be curious if there ever was one.
I finally Found the beginning of the episodes. I did see the 2018 videos. Can't seem to get enough lol!
lol! glad to hear it! i would have sent ya a link had i known.. there should be a playlist "my great escape" starts at ep 0 and will play through till the end
@@escapewithjay It is all good now. Definitely watching a lot of your other video's as well!
@@Dobrinich thanks man, i appreciate that! ive worked hard over the years learning the editing processes, i am pretty happy with the way the river trips turned out on this series! and as you know at this stage in the game its all for free :^)
@@escapewithjay yep one day might get some cash.
@@Dobrinich one can only hope ;^)
Gotta take that weather as God sends it! Lol I got hit with 4 storms in 2 days on last years trip and then heavy wind for the next 2 days.
The truth is it was always kinda fun to have to deal with the weather. It really brings the reality of the situation front and center. the knowledge that there is no where to go you just have to take what you are given!
How was this on your body? Did you loose a lot of weight from the constant paddling? Wake up sore/tired?
I started at 190 lbs and ended at ~165lbs. I actually felt really good all the way down to about Natchez, MS. it was around that point where my muscles started to wane due to the lack of calories. Other than that it was the best I have ever felt!
If that's the most northern point then the previous vids were NOT the Mississippi river? thanks
Just seeing your comment now, the Mississippi actually flows north for the first couple days before traveling east then back south
@@escapewithjay thanks for educating me!
@@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885 Sorry it took so long!
Hey Jay, I have a Paddle North kayak that has a fin at the bottom. I'm hoping to head up north soon and would like to try the early stages of the river but not lose my fin. Any suggestions?
Hey Steven, if you value the bottom of your boat then you wont want to start at the headwaters but perhaps before/after cass lake as that is when the river tends to maintain a "deeper" channel. are you a member of the mississippi river paddlers group? if no and you are planning on paddling the mississippi they are an amazing resource and might know something about fins that I dont know... i hope that helps to some degree, ask anything anytime ill do my best to answer!
Just binge watched your entire trip. Took me less time lol. I would like to do this someday. What gps app did you use on your phone? Looking forward to seeing more of your trips
Hi Liberty! Im glad you liked the series! I primarily used google maps and twoards the end if i had service i would take screen shots of the river ahead. I would use strava to track mileage and my garmin gps to track over all progress. If you are serious about doing the river get on the Mississippi river paddlers page on facebook. An absolutely amazing resource! If you would like to see the gps track get me your email and ill send you a link and the password.
Later!
Did you change kayaks?
My wife was kind enough to stay in the area after i left itasca. she met me at coffee pot landing with my bigger kayak which is better suited for longer distance camping trips... i actually changed boats 3 times along the way as you will see when i reach hastings, mn... its the luxury of starting in the state you live in!