Triple Crown travelers visit River City

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Earlier this month, two bearded travelers landed in the River City as a stopping point on their journey to paddle the entire Mississippi River.

Tyler Ross and Quinn Blackburn have accomplished quite the adventures in their lifetimes. From biking from Seattle to Key West, hiking the Appalachian Trail, conquering the Pacific Crest Trail, and marching the Continental Divide Trail, the adventure seekers are not new to the sport.

However, there was one new feat the pair wanted to accomplish, paddling from the source of the Mighty Mississippi to it’s mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. The friends met in 2010 while hiking the Appalachian Trail. The thrill seekers soon realized they had similar goals and have gone on adventures together ever since.

Ross began a blog to document the experiences. In his first entry, he says, “We were contemplating a new version of the ‘Triple Crown.’ In our circles, the ‘Triple Crown’ refers to completing the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail. We completed those and had also bicycled across the country, so we got to dreaming while we were on the last trip. What if a new version of the Triple Crown was completing at least one of each of the following: cross country hike, cross country bicycle, and cross country paddle? It didn’t take much research to realize that the Mississippi River is the longest single river in the country. So the plan was set.”

Ross chose a canoe as his vessel while Blackburn is in a paddleboat. The pair began the journey at official headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca in Minnesota. Ross noted a monument at the site which reads, “Here, 1,475 feet above the ocean, the Mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way, 2,552 miles to the Gulf Of Mexico.” 

Ross’ blog contains many stories of their adventures and he even goes so far as to say the mosquitos are worse in Minnesota than in the south. For more details on their adventures visit Ross’s site here.

If the schedule maintains, the pair should land in New Orleans just in time for Halloween this Friday, Oct. 31.

As to why they wanted to attempt the feat? Both had the same answer. Just to prove that they could.