Mississippi Solo Series #5 - I Fought a Homeless Man over a Cave

I’m an adventurer, thrill seeker, and life enthusiast with a shorter life expectancy than your mother’s cat - Follow my never-ending journey.

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Mississippi Solo Series - After friends and family label him a serial quitter, Henk sets off on a wild ride down the Mighty Mississippi as he paddles from Source to Sea to prove to himself and other that he can stick with something.

Read previous post in this series: Part 1 | Part 2| Part 3| Part 4

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At the end of a long day's paddle came the task of finding a suitable place to camp, and if there's one thing I've learnt in five years of sleeping in the outdoors; it's that you can't be picky.

Throughout my travels, every time I found a halfway decent place to camp, a voice in my head would sum up all the reasons why I'd be better off to dismiss it.

It's too close to the road. It's too close to a property. The space is too small, and the ground isn't level enough.

More often than not my search for greener grass caused me to end up with a campsite much worse than what I started with.

Here's me struggling at a muddy campsite because I didn't like the view from the previous spot.

I quickly learnt not to be too fussy about where I slept, and soon after I found myself sleeping on the river banks nearly every night. I enjoyed being by myself, sipping wine, and watching nature's television; fire.

I love the simplicity of being in the outdoors. Being able to survive without the luxuries of modern society makes me feel more connected to my environment. Every time I'm in the wild I realise; nature is not a place we visit, it's where we belong.

After you've slept in the outdoors for several weeks, you start to feel at home. And what do you do when you feel at home? That's right; you walk around naked.

The more nights I spent in nature, the prouder I became at my outdoor living skills. Ironically, that's when life decided to put me back in my place...

Overnight the water levels had risen, and I woke up in water.

A few days later I discovered a natural chamber in a limestone cliff.

I've always wanted to sleep in a cave, and a bonus was that the water couldn't reach me that high up.

However, not long after I moved into the cave a man with a dog showed up claiming it was his home. I offered to share the space, but he wouldn't. Luckily, after a heated discussion he eventually caved, no pun intended.

I made a small fire, cooked dinner, and soon after went to sleep.

A few days after the experiences in the cave I reached a significant milestone as I paddled from Minnesota into Iowa.

I was on a roll. My body had adjusted entirely to the strains of constant paddling, I got better at spotting excellent campsites, and I began to recognise patterns in the river's behaviour, which meant I never woke up in the water again.

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NEXT TIME >>

The world you see on TV is not the real world. There's a lot more kindness and hospitality than you think. These people and their generosity made this journey possible.

Here's David replenishing my supply of river's elixir; Also known as beer.

Doug, Donna, and their family invited me to lunch on their very own island.

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