Planning a Record-Setting Expedition

 

Planning a Record-Setting Expedition

a Carolina Paddler article

by Alton Chewning

∞ What Ilia Smirnov was preparing for is difficult to categorize. A multi-week expedition? Yes. A wilderness adventure?  Yes and no. A race? It definitely was about going fast, a race against clock and calendar.

We could call it a Speed Run. An attempt to paddle a section of river faster than any solo paddler has ever done. The target?  Paddle the entire Mississippi River from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Mile Zero in lower Louisiana, 2300 miles. The goals?  To start, to finish, to go faster than the existing Fastest Known Time, 55 days.

For many of us a big adventure is a day or two spent paddling a new river. A few of us go on multi-day trips on familiar waters. The logistics are daunting enough, the gear needs are complicated. Some hardy paddlers tackle rivers in complete wilderness, where cell phones don’t work and the only help is self-derived.

Ilia was not in complete wilderness. although the upper Mississippi certainly can be wild and apart from much human contact. Other parts of the Mississippi are crawling with humanity and the mechanized moving of freight from one point to another. It’s not wilderness but it is definitely strange and  beyond an individual’s ability to fully grasp.

Preparation is the critical mental work of an expedition. This is the time a trekker can make decisions that will support later success. The actual journey combines mental flexibility with physical stamina. For example, Ilia had to be ready for the various weather conditions he would face over five weeks, for bitter cold on icy northern lakes and for tropical storms in steamy southern Louisiana.

Ilia’s preparation had these requirements:

-Have his body ready to paddle 15 hours a day in a variety of conditions.

-Have the necessary food to fuel himself during this time.

-Use the most suitable boat and accessories to go fast and be safe and reliable.

-Have the necessary devices to navigate his path, to anticipate weather and hazards and to communicate with others.

-Have the support, at homebase, and on the road, to provide him with the supplies, logistics and encouragement he needed.

-To document his progress through video recordings and eyewitness contacts. The Guinness World Record authorities were very stringent in wanting verification of his progress over the 2300 miles.

-Prepare himself mentally and “psychically”, for the demands of a month of non-stop solo paddling through challenging circumstances.

In this article, we’ll share much of what went into Ilia’s planning. The one preparation we won’t cover was perhaps his most difficult: Preparing his mind and spirit for the boredom, fatigue and danger that laid ahead. We’ll save the discussion of his mental challenges for another article.

Paddling and Camping Gear

The biggest question was the best boat to use. It had to be designed for a single paddler, to be fast, to be relatively lightweight and to have enough storage room to carry basic camping gear, a couple of days worth of food, medical supplies and various other items. The boat would need to be sufficiently seaworthy to handle storms, large waves created by commercial barges and the varying currents the river offered.

Not surprisingly, Ilia thought first of speed. Going fast meant a long boat.18 feet was the sweet spot of length versus maneuverability. He first tried a surf ski. The surf ski was fast but it didn’t offer the protection from the elements Ilia would need for days spents in the sun and waves. And after a few hours it was uncomfortable.

Ilia next spent several weeks training with an Epic 18x racing kayak.The boat is narrow and trim, like an arrow shooting through the water. The Epic has a hull speed of perhaps eight miles per hour and room to pack compact gear. But it was uncomfortable for hours and hours of paddling each day. Maintaining the same position in the narrowly beamed boat, locked into the same butt and leg posture, became excruciating after several hours.

With advice from knowledgeable friends and the generous help of another paddler, Ilia was able to try a different boat, an 18 ft. carbon fiber Wenonah Voyager canoe with a 28 inch beam. He could paddle from his knees or he could paddle from a seat. “The elevated seat changed the relationship between my hips and lower back and made a significant difference. I could sit with my legs extended or I could kneel. It is what allowed me to remain in the boat for as many hours as I did each day.”

The canoe had downsides. The larger volume and taller form, coupled with the higher paddler seating, caused the canoe to catch more wind than a kayak, especially headwinds.  “Rarely did I have a tailwind.” One day, Ilia paddled beside a kayaker in an 18′ foot boat. The kayak soon left the canoe in its wake.

Ilia originally planned on alternating between paddles, a single canoe blade when crouched on his knees, a double kayak blade when his butt was on the seat. The double blade proved faster by at least a half mile per hour. Smirnov: “It also gave more versatility in controlling the boat, particularly in windy and turbulent conditions.” The downside was the runoff from the double blade paddle, despite its drip rings, kept Ilia soaking wet.

Regarding paddle technique, Ilia focused on short strokes with a higher cadence, about 60 strokes per minute. Lengthening the stroke didn’t gain much power for the added effort. At 60 strokes per minute for 15 hours a day, Ilia estimated he threw between 1.5 and 1.7 million strokes during his journey.

The canoe weighed about 35 lbs. The gear and supplies added 50-60 lbs.. Ilia weighs about 160. In all, the payload was roughly 250lbs. Ilia said his boat speed varied greatly, but averaged about 4 miles per hour. We’ll talk more about conditions later.

The boat had three spray skirts (bow, middle, stern) to prevent water from entering the canoe. They worked well. Ilia usually went without the middle skirt, leaving more open space for eating, adjusting electronics and ventilation.

Ilia considered having a battery bilge pump but after testing he decided not to carry an electric or manual pump. He did have a bailer, made from a milk jug, and a sponge. The bailer was never used, the sponge, frequently.

“Much less water accumulated inside the canoe than I expected.”

The canoe had a rudder. While this may seem extraneous to many purists, Ilia said, “It was nearly essential for this trip. It allowed the canoe to track much straighter and reduced the amount of corrective paddling required.”

When kneeling, he could no longer control the rudder with his feet. Sometimes he raised the rudder, other times he left it deployed in a neutral position.

The Mississippi, like many large-volume rivers, often spun unusual eddies and currents. With the rudder engaged, the currents would slide the canoe off line. “Eventually I discovered that, in those situations, it was easier to manage the boat without the rudder deployed.

The on-board repair kit included heavy duty duct tape, multitool, rope, tent pole repair materials, back-up paddle, spare fuses for electronics.and many other small items.

Ilia carried a tent, sleeping bag, pad and a small pillow. He used it every day except for one night near the end of the trip, when the conditions forced him to sleep in the canoe.

The camping routine was simple. As the fifteenth hour was passing, Ilia looked for a level place to camp. This was difficult, due to the steep banks and channelized nature of the Mississippi. He would stick one arm or leg out of his bag to brace himself. Maybe lay half way on the upper edge of the sleeping pad. Or just give up and roll downhill against the tent.

In general, Smirnov felt his gear preparation and equipment selection was solid. There was very little extraneous gear. Items needed for certain sections, such as the dry suit, were handed off to Anna Morgan, the primary support person, when no longer needed.

Diet and Health

During early practice and preparation, Ilia determined he would need roughly 5000 calories a day to sustain his effort. This takes into account the 15 hour paddling schedule he adhered to and the 9 hours of down time: setting up camp, eating, cleaning and nursing his body and making notes in a log. Sleep occupied 5 hours per night.

Hydration was accomplished with treated water and generous fruit consumption. “I monitoed hydration by paying attention to both the frequency and color of my urine.” Urination was handled on-board, his one shore stop a day served for “number two”.

Ilia’s diet was broad. Anna prepared meals which Ilia consumed during his 15-minute lunch stop. The meals were a simple pairing of starch and a protein, for example rice with pork or pasta with chicken. Ilia also ate protein bars, jerky, peanut butter and jelly and many other foods. Anna was indispensable in providing a revolving menu of snacks, fruit and other desired items. Ilia carried a back-up cache of food in case Anna and he could not meet one day. This only occurred in the last few days of the trip.

Ilia: “The main objective was simply getting enough calories into my system. I viewed food as fuel.”  To accomplish this, Ilia was eating constantly. The continual grazing als0 helped in balancing electrolytes. Ilia never experienced muscle cramps.

The success of this high caloric regimen lay in preparation. “The biggest challenge was training my digestive system to process food while I was actively paddling.”  Sminov did this by eating frequently while he paddled during training. “Within a matter of weeks, during long paddling days, I was able to comfortably digest several hundred calories per hour.”

Ilia said he carried a large medical kit, 98% of which he didn’t use.

Smirnov prefers not to use sun block and tried to minimize his sun exposure by full body clothing and a hat. He used bug spray sparingly, choosing to stay in his tent once on-shore. Bugs were not much of a problem until the lower Mississippi.

Along with setting up camp and preparing supper, the evening hours were the time for treating “river wounds”.  “My ankles were frequently sore from kneeling and keeping them stretched for long periods. My knees had similar issues. I treated these with topical cream. My butt and crotch were sore from prolonged sitting. I tried various treatments to reduce irritation. Keeping the skin hydrated was the best practice.”

As mentioned above, Ilia was wet most of the day from sweat and river water. His extremities, hands and feet, suffered most. This was most acute when conditions didn’t allow him to dry out for extended periods.

Little water accumulated in the boat. “I ended up wearing Crocs for a large part of the trip. I normally never wear Crocs, but they turned out to be extremely practical in this environment.”

Smirnov didn’t wear gloves. “They tend to retain moisture and in an already wet environment, I like to keep my hands as dry as possible.” The one exception was in Minnesota. A “river angel” gave him a pair of mittens, invaluable in the constant freezing water and frigid air.” Otherwise, he paddled with bare hands.

“My hands held up much better than I expected.” They did require maintenance, using heavy lotions, to soften the skin and prevent cracking. “The AquaBound Tetra paddle I used is very easy on the hands. It feels a little tacky, rubbery and soft, never sliding, and very welcoming in my hands.”

“By the final week of the the trip, the accumulated effects of constant paddling, water exposure and general wear were starting to catch up with me. Around two weeks before finishing, I noticed things beginning to deteriorate. Even so, my hands held up enough to get me through the final day.”

Electronics and Communications

Ilia carried a cell phone, a marine radio, a GPS handheld device, a GPS smart watch and a Garmin InReach-2 emergency beacon. He also had an AIS device to allow him to track larger boats–their position, identity, speed and other data.

Some electronics worked better than others. The marine radio worked well and was used to communicate with barge and lock operators. On the lower Mississippi, Ilia found the tug boats and other commercial support boats were less communicative.

The cell phone worked well for recording daily video, placing calls amd texts and listening to audio books and music. South of St. Louis, cell signals were more infrequent. As a navigation device the cell phone wasn’t ideal. The small size and constant splashing made the screen frequently difficult to see. Early in the trip the phone took a dousing and quit working. Anna found a technician to take it apart and dry it out and it finished the trip.

Despite the phone’s limitations Ilia relied on it more after the confluence with the Ohio River. Navigation became more dependent on electronic charts. The navigation app Ilia used allowed him to stay in the faster moving water of the main channel.

The AIS device was more problematic. “I was never able to fully connect the AIS to the application I planned to use. I was not able to use the software to monitor barge traffic in real time.”

The power for all of these devices was supplied by large battery packs. Ilia had several and each day Anna and he would trade out new packs for spent packs for her to charge.  The canoe came with its own battery system which powered lights and the AIS system.

As Ilia interacted with more and more workboats and tugboats, communication became difficult. Their captains didn’t often respond to the radio and they criss-crossed the river in more unpredictable paths. Ilia asked Anna to buy him an air horn. He never blew the horn and isn’t sure how well it would have attracted their attention but it gave him another option.

The lock operators on the upper Mississippi were a different matter. Each lockmaster has authority over who moves through the lock and when. Ilia spoke with each of the 26 lock operators. He was respectful and patient and found them all to be professional and helpful. Some were more engaging and he enjoyed their brief conversations.

Conditions

“I felt like I experienced three and a half seasons in a little over a month.” The trip began in Minnesota on May 1. It was cold. His dry suit would freeze overnight, the gaskets stiff.  “Every morning I started paddling at 5:00 am, while still dark. I usually paddled in daylight except for the early morning or occasional later day when I would get off the river at 10:30 or 11 pm.

In the early part of the trip several large lakes had to be crossed. Lake Winnibigoshish required a 16 mile straight line crossing. Most of the ice had broken up and sank at this point.

The river current was less than expected for the early part of the trip, due to low snowfall runoff. Often the current was neglible. Around St. Cloud the river moved well and made for enjoyable paddling. After arriving at the lock and dam section, progress slowed, with current averaging 1 to 2 miles per hour and the locks themselves taking time.

Near St. Louis, the Missouri River joins the Mississippi. The Missouri was running strong and for a short time Ilia was hitting a euphoric 11 miles per hour. The confluence with the Ohio River provided a steady flow at 8.5 mph. Near Baton Rouge the pace slowed to 7 miles per hour and at this point other factors came into play. Commercial traffic picked up and Ilia would have to cede the ideal channels to the barges and other large vessels. He couldn’t easily chase currents the way one would do on smaller rivers. Often, detours and dodges of bigger boats brought his speed down considerably.

Barges were one of the biggest safety concerns of the trip. “They are enormous and any collision–or worse, being pulled underneath one–would be catastrophic.” They are also surprisingly quiet so Ilia had to be very aware of his surroundings, especially watching for barges approaching from behind.

Sometimes multiple barges were coming at once, southbound and northbound. Ilia tried to keep up with the barge frequencies on his marine radio. “Communication was important to let them know I was here, but realistically a barge can not dodge a small boat. It was up to me to move out of their way and stay safe.”

Ilia saw many fishermen, particularly on the upper river, above Minneapolis. No one ever approached him but most were courteous and slowed down to reduce their wake. Very few recreational paddle boats ply the Mississippi. Smirnov encountered less than five in his 2300 miles.

In many ways the Lower Mississippi was the greatest “wilderness” of the trip. Accesses were few and sometimes 100 miles apart. Cell service was sparse. The vast majority of boat traffic were the large, unapproachable commercial vessels. Ilia felt alone in much of this watery desert.

Guinness World Records Certification

Guinness has an extensive set of requirements, dozens of pages. Some of the specifications apply to distance records, some to paddling attempts. The required documantation is extensive. Here are a few highlights.

-Video recording of the start and the finish of the attempt, each with two witnesses present.

-Collecting witness statements throughout the trip.

-Recording at least ten minutes of paddling video every day.

-Taking photographs, including selfies at significant locations.

-Maintaining records of purchases and other support activities.

There was no authority to call regarding specifics of documentation, with one exception. Mile Zero, at the very end of the expedition, is actually a buoy. When Ilia made it to the Mile Zero buoy, a storm was brewing and the currents didn’t allow him to get very close to the floating structure. Ilia called a person with knowledge of the area and the Guinness standards. That person assured Ilia the photos and witnesses present would be sufficient.

Ilia had 34 days on the river and one day off.  On that day, he visited a doctor to have tests done to help address  a chronic pain he was having. Guinness allows up to fourteen days to deal with emergencies, assuming the attempt starts at the same place after the break.

The new record holder receives global recognition and their name is entered into the Guinness Record database. The record breaker may purchase various certificates and medals from Guinness. There is no monetary award or expense reimbursement for the accomplishment.

Other benefits come to some record setters.  Sponsorships, endorsement deals, public speaking appearances, book or other media deals and merchandising. Ilia says his primary goal was the sense of accomplishment, of doing something requiring extraordinary effort and tenacity.