Couple Canoeing Entire 2,340 Miles of Mississippi River Reach Louisiana

Two Months ago Matt Hengst and Jennifer Blackie set out on a pretty daunting challenge...they decided to canoe the entire Mississippi River all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Couple Canoes The Entire Mississippi River

Jenn and Matt are primarily long-distance hikers as their YouTube channel name "First Church of the Masochist Hikes" reflects.

The couple, being no strangers to grueling, lengthy hikes and challenges decided to switch gears this Summer and try something new.

They decided to get a canoe and travel 2,340 miles down the mighty Mississippi River to The Gulf of Mexico.

The couple's incredible journey began two months ago at the beginning of the Mississippi in Itasca State Park, and now they've made it into South Louisiana where they're taking a turn at the Atchafalaya to get to the Gulf of Mexico sooner.

Jenn and Matt couldn't have picked a more difficult, oppressive Summer to attempt their herculean feat of endurance, but thanks to River Angels along the way, they were able to keep on paddling.

What's a River Angel?

From mississippivalleytraveler.com -

"There's a hidden world along the Mississippi River, a network of folks who live along the river who are willing—eager, even—to lend a helping hand just because they want to.

We call them river angels. If you're a long-distance paddler, you already know about them."

The couple vlogged every mile of their journey from day 1 to their most recent episode 61 as they finally reach the Old River Lock and Damn and travel into the Atchafalaya toward the Gulf of Mexico.

You can see every episode of their journey HERE.

Below is a photo of the canoers just after they passed through the Old River Lock and Damn into the Atchafalaya.

Matt has also blogged about the two's Summer canoeing adventures on his site FCOTM.com.

From FCOTM.com -

"Welcome to something a little different. Jen will be off school June 3rd and will drive out to Lake Itasca picking me up along the way.

We have a used canoe waiting for us up there and our plan is to launch on June 5th with the goal of reaching the Gulf of Mexico by the time Jen has to go back to school on the 19th of August."

The couple first put their canoe into the water on June 5 and two months later made it to Krotz Springs where we were able to catch up with them.

Jenn and Matt say they carry everything they need to sustain themselves like food and water, and restock every three to seven days.

Although their goal was to reach the Gulf of Mexico by August 19th, they're overachievers and made it to the finish line today (8/9/23)

UPDATE - They made it, and then some!