Canoe odyssey just begun from NW-most to SE-most points in USA

[Glenn MacGrady]

"For summer 2025, [Kyle] Parker quit his job to paddle across the continental United States from the northwesternmost point at Cape Flattery, Washington to the southeasternmost point at Miami, Florida. He departed on the journey on April 29, 2025."

"Parker’s route will take him from the Salish Sea in Washington State up to the Columbia River, over the Continental Divide and onto the Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers and eventually along the coast of Alabama and all the way to Florida. Approximately 250 of these miles before the Missouri River alone are portaging, including a 150-mile portage of the Continental Divide."

24-Year-Old To Canoe Across America

On September 11, 2024 Kyle Parker set a speed record in solo canoeing the Wisconsin River, paddling the 430-mile river in just five days, 19 hours and 57

paddlingmag.com

Follow Kyle's progress at: Live Tracker Link

Kyle will be paddling a Swift 17.8 Cruiser pack canoe. It is outfitted with custom foot/rudder pedals, a SealLine Smart Track rudder, and a sail mast. Bill Swift demonstrates the actual canoe in this video:

 

[memaquay]

That's it, the only difference between a canoe and a kayak now is the size of the deck. Nice work Swift, not.

 

[Robin]

There should be a law against adding foot pedals, rudder and a floor mounted seat to a canoe, then paint it Chestnut grey and name it a Cruiser

 

[Gamma1214]

Certainly not my preference of boat either but at least his logo suggests he uses canoe paddles. Personally, I'm more curious about the route:

The write-up says he's paddling the Ohio & Tennessee Rivers. So he's paddling up the Tennessee and then portaging another Continental Divide to get into the Alabama River? Interesting.

I'm also curious about how he'll manage the logistics of camping without trespassing. The further East he goes, the less public land there is available. I've toyed with the idea of paddling the Allegheny all the way to New Orleans and there just doesn't appear to be enough camping options to make it feasible.

 

[MyKneesHurt]

^I never finished the James in Virginia for the same reason.

I wish the guy luck, whatever boat he's paddling. I wish I had the gumption and time to do something like that.

 

[Odyssey]

re: the boat.
Our daughter and hubby bought a new suv. I was given a ride in it to go fetch some Thai take-out for a family dinner. It has a full digital display and interactive screen the size of my laptop at home. "Everything's customizable, everything." I was afraid to ask just what that meant. Even the faux leather felt better than the real thing. Here I thought our own fairly old suv with awd and a cd deck that actually works was state of the art. Well, it was, 20 years ago. Times have changed.
It all looks like evolution to me. And I assume there'll be a suburban middleclass moneyed crowd who'll splash out for this teched up dumbed down version of canoeing into the future. Someday if we live long enough we grey hairs won't (want to) recognize boats our gkids and their youngsters are calling canoes. Blurring the lines between previous definitions of watercraft is certainly ingenious and will spawn new ideas forward, but not everyone will go along for the ride. Hopefully there'll still be some older original specimens around to appreciate.
re: the trip.
Looks like just another plastic trophy on the shelf kinda thing. The internet social noise is full of 'em, "acomplishments".
But Kyle sounds like he's willing to put heart-felt curiosity over instragrammable hubris, at least one can hope. It's a big world out there filled with small irreplaceable moments. I wish him well in their discovery.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

That's it, the only difference between a canoe and a kayak now is the size of the deck.

We've discussed this many times, and what are now called pack canoes have been made in the USA and Canada for more than 150 years by Henry Rushton and others, many with decks. Because the hulls and seating positions of canoes and kayaks can be minimally different to identical, I've also said many times, consistent with the USCA definitions, that the only difference between canoeing and kayaking is the use of single blade vs. double blade paddles.

Regardless of the terminology, I would suspect that most people who solo using double blades in pack canoes and other canoes consider themselves to be canoeing.

Certainly not my preference of boat either but at least his logo suggests he uses canoe paddles.

Kyle's IG account shows him paddling the canoe with a single blade paddle, but also seems to show that he has a double blade backup as part of his gear. That makes eminent sense for a 6-8 month mammoth expedition in which he will be paddling in very big waters including hundreds of miles in the ocean.

https://www.instagram.com/parker.paddles/

 

[Odyssey]

Swift is just putting training wheels on this custom craft. Kyle is mounting a mast to the fore thwart too, for a sail.
If this type of expedition tripper prefers to spend more sponsor money and less time with skills then this is definitely the way to go.
This trip will be invaluable to boat builders like Swift in seeing how the various mods perform.
Definitions are pointless when you colour outside the lines.

 

[Alan Gage]

I think the boat and setup look great and I don't see anything uncanoey about it. It seems well suited for the intended trip which will involve a lot of wind.

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I think the boat and setup look great and I don't see anything uncanoey about it. It seems well suited for the intended trip which will involve a lot of wind.

Exactly.

The founder of the British Royal Canoe Club in 1866 and the American Canoe Association in 1880 was a (ta da!) Scottish lawyer named John MacGregor, who famously paddled his Rob Roy canoe all over Europe in the mid-19th century. It looked like this:



As for modern and world-famous expedition canoes with integrated decks and/or add-on spray covers, plus rudders and sails, does anyone want to tell this guy he's not a canoeist:

 

[Odyssey]

I do. He's a paddler, not a canoeist, using a sailing kayak thingamabob. (I say potatoes...)
And yes, it looks perfect for that kinda thing. Why would you over simplify gear, equipment, and craft when you could add more layers of comfort and performance? Not everyone is into the Kon-Tiki thing. Customize up or customize down, for however you trip, and your purpose.
It's been established by Glenn et al that "canoe" is a conveniently (mis)interpreted word to suit whomever for whatever wherever.
But so's I don't compel Glenn to come out of retirement I'll let sleeping dogs lie. ha

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I do. He's a paddler, not a canoeist

So Verlen Kruger, who paddled more miles than anyone in recorded history, was not a canoeist. Okay.

using a sailing kayak thingamabob.

Wit aside, that's an ambiguous term. What one word would you use to describe Verlen Kruger's watercraft, variously manufactured by Sawyer (Loon), Mad River (Monarch) and then Kruger himself (Sea Wind)?

It's been established by Glenn et al that "canoe" is a conveniently (mis)interpreted word to suit whomever for whatever wherever.

I don't establish anything. I simply point out the historical fact that, world-wide, most watercraft that are called canoes don't necessarily mirror the design developed in birch bark by native populations in a relatively small geographical area of the USA and Canada. Dugouts, decked crafts, skin-on-frames, sit-on-tops, outriggers, dragon boats, and all sorts of canoe design variations are common in different parts of all continents.

Oh, I suppose it can then be pointed out that the word "canoe" is itself ambiguous. Yes, that's true. And this site can celebrate all the designs, and all the variations thereof, and all the various uses of the differing canoe designs, and hence all the ambiguous ways of "tripping" in "canoes." That's how I see it, and that's why we have separate forums for different "canoeing" interests and associated activities.

The only thing that isn't ambiguous is that this site, like all discussion forums, would inevitably die without a solid and consistent critical mass of contributing thread starters and posters, actively formulating and pushing a wide range of topical discussions.

 

[Odyssey]

Wit aside, that's an ambiguous term. What one word would you use to describe Verlen Kruger's watercraft, variously manufactured by Sawyer (Loon), Mad River (Monarch) and then Kruger himself (Sea Wind)? Kayak. Simple, except for you desperate types.
Blah blah blah... "the word "canoe" is itself ambiguous. Yes, that's true." There ya go.

 

[Tryin']

Geez, who pissed in your wheaties? Thats two back-to-back threads I have read with your replies showing a distinct lack of decorum. The old men yelling at clouds meeting is elsewhere.

 

[tketcham]

And here I thought the question "what is a canoe" had unambiguously been answered in this thread:

https://www.canoetripping.net/threads/what-is-a-canoe.128510/

What is a canoe? Whatever the heck you think it is since there will never be consensus.