Paddling the Mississippi: 2,300+ Miles with an Inflatable Paddle Board

During the summer of 2024, Paddle North customer and fellow Minnesotan, Eddy Krogman, took his Paddle North Portager XL inflatable paddle board on an epic adventure: paddling the entire Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, all the way to New Orleans. That's 2,300 miles on water, 10 states, and 128 days of paddling.

We caught up with him recently to hear the story behind this accomplishment.

Q&A with Eddy

Q: What inspired you to paddle the entire Mississippi River?
I was born and raised in La Crosse, WI. A historic Mississippi River town. The river has always been a part of my life. While in 7th grade attending Longfellow Middle-school, I was in a program called School on the River, where we would take several field trips out to Goose Island and paddle around and learn about the river on the backwaters of the Mississippi. I guess this early foundation just stuck with me.

Q: Was there a specific goal, or was it just a fun journey you wanted to experience?
This journey had always been something that I dreamed of. In 2024, I was able to travel to my 50th State, which was another long-standing dream of mine. It felt so good to have completed my first dream, therefore I decided it was time for me to go all-in on my first true dream. I resigned my position with the airlines in late April of 2024, and was up in Itasca by May 10th, and out on the water by May 11th.

Q: How long did the full journey take?
The journey took me 128 days (May 11th-September 16th, 2024). I was able to fold up my board and ship that home from New Orleans. I opted to take the train from New Orleans back to La Crosse, and my parents drove me back to Saint Paul from there, so I was away for about 131 total days.

Q: Was there any training that went into the trip?
I took the Portager XL out on Fox Lake in Southern MN in April. It was a particularly windy and choppy day. Other than that, I was relying heavily on skills I acquired growing up on the backwaters of the Mississippi River.

Q: What gear was essential?
Obviously the Portager XL was essential. I had to sell my 18ft kevlar kayak when I moved from La Crosse to Saint Paul. I had nowhere to store a kayak of that size in my new place. So I took what I had: the Paddle North Portager XL inflatable paddle board. it all worked out.

My ultra-lightweight kayak paddle served me well for the entire trip. My 120L waterproof duffle bag never took on water during the trip. Its bright orange color made me safely visible while out on the water. I also really appreciated the Paddle North waterproof dry bags, which stored much of my food and water along the trip.

Q: Your most challenging day on the river... what did that entail, and how did you push through?
The day after my cousin and her husband dropped me off in Itasca was easily my hardest day on the river. This would’ve been May 12th into the early morning of May 13th. I wasn’t expecting the sun to go down as early as it did. The sky was hazy from wildfires in Canada, and you could smell smoke in the air.

I thought that I was going to be able to paddle from Coffee Pot Landing, 15 miles outside of Itasca, to Bemidji. I thought wrong. About 16 miles into a labyrinth of bullrush and backwaters, near Bootleg Lake, the sun went down. I got lost, and the temperature ended up dropping to freezing that night. I had no cell service. I had nowhere to set up a tent. My sleeping bag was rated for 45 degrees.

I don’t know exactly how I pulled through. I ended up stuffing about 6 hand-warmers into my sleeping bag, and setting my tarp on top of the most even section of thicket I could find.

Somehow I didn’t succumb to hypothermia and I made it to Bemidji the next afternoon. I stayed there for an extra day to make sure that I didn’t miscalculate something that could get me in serious trouble again.

A day later I met another fellow veteran, Scott, who also started as a solo-paddler. We would continue traveling together simply out of safety.

Q: What was the most unexpected encounter you had?
Honestly, I think it was probably meeting Scott. We are both veterans, and we are both from different parts of the Mississippi River. He’s from Memphis. We met 2 days after my potentially deadly miscalculation. I overtook Scott near Stump Lake, which is essentially the Northernmost point on the Mississippi River. We ended up traveling the rest of the distance together. We helped each other along the way with portaging and finding lodging, but we both agreed that we needed to paddle our own way, so we still completed the trip under our own power.

Q: Favorite stretch of the river and least favorite portion?
As a kid, my parents would sometimes drive to my grandparent’s house in Burnsville by way of Lake Pepin and Red Wing. This is probably the stretch of river that I am most familiar with, and being able to paddle from Red Wing to La Crosse was truly special for me. When I got to the Dresbach Lock and Dam, it was June 16th (day 37 of the trip). The Deke Slayton Air Fest was going on, and a group of 5 Blue Angels flew over Scott and me. It was truly amazing.

My least favorite portion was the gauntlet of barge traffic, ocean liners, and chemical pollutants that come with trying to get through Baton Rouge, LA. It was a tough and stressful paddle.

Q: Would you do it again? And if yes, what would you do differently?
I am just coming back from the northernmost point at the Angle Inlet in Minnesota. I have now traveled to the Northernmost and Southernmost points in the contiguous USA. I was there Wednesday of last week. On the way back south, my buddy and I agreed to swing through Itasca again so I could see it after my accomplishment. After jumping across the rocks at the Headwaters and still feeling very connected to the Mississippi, I may be open to doing it again at some point.

Unknowingly, upon completion of this journey, I technically exceeded several world records, and am currently waiting to see if I can officially get recognized for a couple of them. I never set out to do this for recognition, rewards, or records, but it would be kind of nice at the same time. If I don’t get approval for the records, I could see myself running it back but doing everything I need to in order to obtain the proof required to achieve the actual records.

I would also get a bigger tent. The little one person bivvy-style tent I had was a little too small for me at times, and I failed to take into account that you can pack a little more weight onto a watercraft than you can on a backpacking trip.

Q: What’s next?
I am thinking about taking on the Root River, which flows into the Mississippi River near my hometown, soon. This is one of my favorite paddling spots, and it’s a great place to keep my skills sharp. I have some interest in taking on the Missouri River, which is the largest river in the nation. I probably won’t do the Missouri for a year or two, because I still would like to set foot on all 7 continents at some point, and maybe even take on the Appalachian Trail.

From cold nights in northern Minnesota to paddling busy waters in Louisiana, this paddle journey pushed every limit. We're inspired by Eddy's determination, grit, and resourcefulness and can't wait to hear what he accomplishes next.