Sartell grads kayaking Mississippi to Gulf of Mexico

by Tracy Lee Karner

news@thenewsleaders.com

Almost 25 friends and relatives gathered on the shores of the Mississippi River in Rice on June 10 to say farewell and good luck to two Sartell High School graduates kayaking from Itasca in Minnesota to the mouth of the Mississippi at the Gulf of Mexico.

On a trip that combines science, film-making and fun, David Rossow of Rice, Dustin Schramel of Sartell and a friend began their journey on May 9 at the Mississippi headwaters. They paddled and portaged a kayak and a canoe, traveling 400 miles in 19 days.

The website MississippiRiverAdventures.com reports “a raindrop falling in Lake Itasca would arrive at the Gulf of Mexico in about 90 days.” Rossow and Schramel hope their journey will take no longer than 65 days.

On day 19, they paused on May 27 for two weeks at the Rice home of Rossow’s grandparents, Fred and Delphine Sexton. An emergency had made it impossible for their friend to continue the journey, forcing them to downsize.

“They had to go from a canoe and a kayak to two kayaks,” said Patti, Rossow’s mother. “They needed to buy a kayak and then re-figure all their stuff, so it would fit into two kayaks.”

Patti was excited about the next 2,000 miles of Rossow’s and Schramel’s travels.

“Up north they were out of range so much,” Patti said. “And the weather was so cold, getting down to 30 degrees a lot. It made us so nervous because there were three-four-five days between [hearing from them].”

According to a post on their Facebook page “Nature Appreciation Adventures,” days one through four of their journey were “wet and cold. Nothing but rain.” After that, it got “brutally cold.”

“One fight you will never win is against nature,” Rossow posted. “You can only be prepared to fight through it.”

They took midday breaks to build fires, so they could warm up and dry off.

They contended with high winds, drenching waves, and numb feet, legs and hands crossing Cass Lake. Another paddler in the region at the same time ended up in the hospital with hypothermia, Schramel’s mother Kelli said.

Rossow and Schramel are not only willing but eager to endure discomfort and potential danger. They said they both love nature and they enjoy adventure. They also said they want to promote the need to protect the environment.

By showing the beauty of nature, Rossow said he hopes his photography and films will make a difference. If more people are inspired to experience nature adventures, the number of people devoted to protecting the natural world might increase.

In December, Schramel will graduate with a degree in wildlife biology from St. Cloud State University. Throughout the trip, he’ll collect water samples.

“I’m going to map out the whole Mississippi River through GIS [geographical information system],” he said. “For each little data point, I’ve got them all logged down to the nearest degree-minute-second, and all the [scientific sampling] information will be written down for each point.”

Perhaps his data will help scientists and conservationists address environmental problems like invasive species such as Asian carp and milfoil on the Mississippi, and the Dead Zone in the Gulf where life cannot exist because there is too little oxygen in the water.

Five and six years ago, when the men were in high school and imagining the voyage, they said they weren’t thinking about nature and science. They simply felt the urge to see what’s out there.

“We did a lot of canoeing on the Mississippi,” Rossow said. “And we just wanted to conquer the whole Mississippi instead of only doing this small little part.”

On the morning of their send-off from Rice, it was a sunny day and nearly 80 degrees. But the 21-year-old men still had almost 2,000 miles to travel.

“I have mixed feelings,” said Rossow’s grandmother Delphine Sexton. “I’m very proud of their ability to focus on something that is good for all of us. But I’m a little bit scared because it’s unknown to me. I just hope they can be safe.”

Schramel’s parents, Jody and Kelli, mentioned the weather forecast for the day included thunderstorms and lightning, but the kayakers hoped to avoid mosquitoes, the poisonous brown recluse spider and water moccasins.

What they can’t avoid is weather. Their journey will have taken them through extremes of cold, hail, wind, rain and heat.

“They’ll hit everything from 20 degrees to 110,” Jody Schramel said.

When 10 a.m. approached, the men transported their kayaks about 50 yards down the grassy slope to the river’s edge. (Their kayaks are rigged with portage wheels so they can pull, rather than carry, their loads.)

“Looking a little top-heavy there, David. You’re jiggling!” Patti Rossow said. Then quieter, “If he gets a wave he’s going over.”

Rossow’s kayak was sitting low in the water. He is carrying videography/photography equipment, including a drone, all in waterproof floating cases.

And again his mother called across the water, “David! How are you going to strap your phone in, so it doesn’t go in the water?”

“It’s waterproof!” Rossow answered.

“No. I mean so it doesn’t sink!”

Rossow shrugged while his mother shook her head and smiled. And then the two men paddled downriver.

But their friends and family weren’t finished with the sendoff. Summer Rossow, David’s sister, readied the pontoon for a ride for 15 friends and family members, but by then, Rossow and Schramel were parallel to a downstream island and fading from view.

She took off carefully and one of the younger children said, “Faster! We’ll never catch them!”

The pontoon caught up to the kayakers about 10 minutes later. Almost everyone pulled out cell phones and tablets to take photos because Rossow and Schramel may not complete their journey until the middle or end of July.

“It’s the great Minnesota long goodbye!” David said, laughing. “You just can’t leave.”

At 4:45 that afternoon, Rossow updated his Facebook page. “Now getting to St. Cloud after getting pushed off the river by lightning and portaging through the hot humid sun!”

Friends and family will be staying in touch with the adventurers through Facebook and Instagram, but those thinking of making a similar voyage, or people who are simply interested in the duo’s progress, can follow them on Facebook or Instagram, and search “Nature Appreciation Adventures.”