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Six years since we paddled the Mississippi River

John — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:18:45 +0000

6 years ago today Jess and I finished our 2,200 mile paddle down the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. 73 days, lots of blood, sweat, tears, and a fair amount of luck. I’m one lucky, lucky dude.

-John

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Thunderstorm on the Appalachian Trail

John — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 02:35:32 +0000

Check put this little podcast from our first night back out on the Appalachian Trail. It stormed like all get-out, but we stayed dry and snug in our homemade tarptent. I’m finding muscles I haven’t used in years, but we’re having a blast this week.

Take care,
-Johnny Swank

Download now or listen on posterous

Memo.m4a (3729 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

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North Carolina Paddling Clubs

John — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:49:33 +0000

Cape Fear River - Erwin Bridge

Are you interested in canoeing and kayaking and looking for a paddling club in North Carolina? Check out some of these folks. If your club isn’t on this list, contact me and I’ll add you pronto.

Black River Paddler

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blackriverpaddler/

Cape Fear Paddlers Association

http://www.capefearpaddlers.org/

Carolina Canoe Club

http://www.carolinacanoeclub.org/

Carolina Kayak Club

http://www.carolinakayakclub.org/

Central Carolina Paddlers Club

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ccpaddlers/

Central Carolina Seakayakers

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/centralcarolinaseakayakers/

Contentnea Creek Paddle Club

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Contentnea_Club/

Crystal Coast Canoe and Kayak Club

http://www.ccckc.org/

Lumber River Canoe Club

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lumberrivercanoeclub/

Mecklenburg Regional Paddlers Association

http://www.mrponline.org/

NC Kayak Fishing Association

http://nckfa.com/

NC Wildlife Federation Paddlers Club

http://ncwildlife.ning.com/group/ncwfpaddlersclub

Roanoke Paddler Club

http://www.roanokeriver.com/PaddleClub/default.asp

Smith River Valley Canoe Club

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/srvcc/

Tar Heel Paddlers Association

http://www.tarheelpaddlers.org/

Trail and River Rovers of East Carolina

http://www.meetup.com/TRREC1/

Twin Rivers Paddlers Club

http://www.twinriverspaddleclub.org/

Western Carolina Paddlers

http://boatingbeta.com/~wcp/

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Online Appalachian Trail Elevation Profiles

John — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:38:46 +0000

I can’t get over how much stuff is available online for Appalachian Trail maps and profiles these days. I’m not to the point where I’d fully trust a GPS or phone for all my maps and data while hiking, but this is a great resource for planning purposes. If nothing else, I’d download the PDF and have it handy if I were to thru-hike again.

Check it out:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/5125936/Ap…ation-Profiles

screenshot

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Happy New Year

John — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:58:30 +0000

via AudioBoo

Gear Explosion before Trip

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Happy Holidays from Source to Sea

John — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:06:12 +0000

Just wanted to extend our holiday greetings from here at Source to Sea Central. Jess and I hope everyone is safe and enjoying the festivities, and we look forward to ringing in the New Year (and my 40th birthday :O ) next week.

2009 seemed like it would never end, but 2010 looks to have some neat things in store. We’ve played with putting down roots for good here in Raleigh NC, but are also considering a move to either the mountains or coast if the right situation comes up. For that matter, we’ve semi- seriously considered buying and living on a sailboat, so if you know anyone that’s gone down that path, I’m all ears.

For now though, it’s time for bed. I hope Santa remembers how to find my parent’s house!

Take care,

-John

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Neuse River Expedition Day 8 Journal

John — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:50:28 +0000

Long day. 27 miles. Listening to the barred owls now. I’m about to fall asleep writing this little note, so this’ll do it for now.

Take care,

-John

Download now or listen on posterous

Day 8 Journal.m4a (5642 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

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More Pictures from the Neuse River Expedition

John — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:58:19 +0000

Made it to Kinston about 1pm today (Wednesday, Sept 2.) My 7:1 days to shower ratio was getting the best of me, but I'm squeaky-clean now that I've had a shower at the Neuseway Campground right on the river. Staying there tonight, then pushing off first thing in the morning for the final 50 miles of the trip. I should be in New Bern in two days, with Cal Hansen from the Twin Rivers Paddling Club showing me the way. Can't wait. We'll be finishing up at Union Point Park (New Bern) on Friday afternoon, so come on out in you're in the area. I

Here's a few pictures to tide things over. There's a ton of these things to sort though, but I'll organize them into a proper gallery when I get back. If you group is interested in a Slideshow talk, just use the Contact Page at http://www.sourcetosea.net. I'll be ready to roll by Oct 1 or so.

Take care,

-John

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Pardon the Mess!

John — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:40:27 +0000

We’ve just made the switch to using Wordpress for our site, so we had to completely re-write and port everything over. I’m still updating links and whatnot, but if you see anything that needs attention, please give me a holler on the contact page.

Thanks,

-John

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More Mississippi River paddlers floating down in 2008

John — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:41:16 +0000

Had a great time emailing back and forth today with a new friend who plans to paddle the river next year with his brother. I’m jealous. Ridiculously, insanely jealous. I get completely immersed and overwhelmed for about a year while planning trip. Sometimes I wonder if that’s almost as much fun as the doing of it. (OK – not really. The Doing is The Thing!) It’s all-to easy to overplan and get caught in the minutia, but damn if it isn’t something fun to do while waiting for the day comes for you to leave. That sick, nervous feeling of anticipation is delicious!

To John in Wisconsin – best of luck next year in your travels. I’d love to be paddling with ya’ll.

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