# Paddle the entire length of the Ohio River



## petewv (May 4, 2010)

By Chris Lawrence in Outdoors | June 01, 2013 at 10:32AM 
Pittsburgh resident Ian Davis launched an adventure Saturday which will occupy his time for much of this summer. Davis shoved off from Point State Park in Pittsburgh at he confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela River and started downstream in the Ohio River. He intends to paddle the entire length of the river to Cairo, Illinois.
As a young boy in Canada, one of the preferred summertime camping experiences is to learn long-distance canoeing like the Indians and early settlers used to do, Davis said during this past Saturdays edition of Ram Trucks West Virginia Outdoors. It was there I got the bug.
The adventure started a couple of years ago when Davis decided he wanted to rediscover his childhood and found a canoe for sale on Craigs List.
I was looking for a canoe of wood and canvas construction, since thats what I grew up paddling, he said. A lady in Wexford, Pa. had an Old Town canoe which caught my eye and the price was right.
The seller of the 50-year-old craft was Susie Fitzgerald. It turned out the canoe was built in 1962 and belonged to her brother, David Burt. Fitzgerald told Davis her brother and his friend Chuck Shupe planned a big adventure in the summer of 1963 on the Scioto River in Ohio. The adventure ended badly with a hole in the hull and loss of most of their gear. The canoe was put in the barn where it sat until Davis bought it. But, there was a haunting footnote to Fitzgeralds story.
Two years later Chuck and David were driving and pulled out onto the road and were broadsided by a semi, Davis explained. One of them was killed instantly and the other died on the way to the hospital before their family arrived.
The story sounded shockingly similar to the country music song Riding with Private Malone in which a man finds a classic Corvette stored for years under a tarp in a barn only to learn the owner was killed in Vietnam.
Im dedicating this trip to David, because my heart beats like his did, the heart of an adventurer, Davis said. I want to do ridiculous things, just because theyre there.
Davis repaired the damage and named the canoe Elinore after his late mother. He planned his Point to Cairo adventure over the last two years and embarked on the journey with a companion, his Brittany spaniel Gracie.
Shes just my dear friend, he said. Sadly, my family is no longer part of my life and Gracie has become my friend and companion, so shes going everywhere with me.
Davis packed about 100 pounds of food for himself and another 75 pounds of food for the dog. Hell add another 150 to 200 pounds of gear. Its a tight fit to get it all into the 15 foot canoe along with himself and his dog. Everything is covered by a custom made canvas canoe cover to guard against the elements. 
Among his obstacles are 21 locks along the waterway. He consulted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and lockmasters about locking procedures. A previous adventure in which Davis paddled the entire length of the Allegheny River taught a lot of lessons. Now equipped with a 75 foot rope and other required equipment, he believes hell face little trouble until near the end of the journey.
The last two locks have been closed, he said. Ill have to portage around them. With all this gear it will probably take five trips to get everything walked around. Im not looking forward to that. Thats hard, hard work.
Davis plans to travel about 15 miles a day, six days a week, and camp each evening along the shoreline.
Im just going to do stealth camping, mostly on islands if I can, he said. Ill start to keep my eyes peeled about 3 or 4 oclock in the afternoon and that will give me a couple of hours before Im forced to stop.
Hell dodge barges, storms, and various unexpected challenges. Davis said its all part of the adventure. Hell be sharing the adventure with daily blogging and videos on his Facebook page where anyone interested can follow along the thousand mile journey.


----------



## I Fish (Sep 24, 2008)

I wish him luck, but dang, a 15 footer?

Is there a link to his Facebook page? Turns out, there's several Ian Davis there.


----------



## Carver (Jan 20, 2010)

Good luck to him but it has been done several times before.


----------



## TeamClose (May 23, 2005)

Good luck to him, but he sure wouldn't want to have been around Gallipolis yesterday. It was really rough in a 18 ft deep vee boat


----------



## Canoerower (Jun 28, 2011)

That's pretty crazy. I've been in Huntington a few time and seen them waves hit 3 foot on a against current wind. Good luck and have fun.


----------



## petewv (May 4, 2010)

I Fish said:


> I wish him luck, but dang, a 15 footer?
> 
> Is there a link to his Facebook page? Turns out, there's several Ian Davis there.


the link to his Facebook page is 

THE POINT TO CAIRO


----------



## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

https://www.facebook.com/ThePointToCairo

Heres the URL.

Pretty neat. He's documenting the whole trip with photos and video on there. 


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## I Fish (Sep 24, 2008)

pppatrick said:


> https://www.facebook.com/ThePointToCairo Heres the URL.


Kinda unfortunate, as I would like to follow the journey, but, I'm not now, nor will I ever be, joining facebook.


----------



## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

I Fish said:


> I'm not now, nor will I ever be, joining facebook.


I hear you brother and agree; but I checked the link and apparently you don't have to be a member to view his page. So you can check it out.

Lurk, so to speak.


----------



## Bobinstow90 (Apr 13, 2006)

deltaoscar said:


> I hear you brother and agree; but I checked the link and apparently you don't have to be a member to view his page. So you can check it out.
> 
> Lurk, so to speak.



d-o......thanks very much for posting that. 

had no idea you could view fb.....lurking.


this is a pretty serious adventure.


----------



## Riparian Rambler (Jan 29, 2013)

Quite the epic adventure. Sounds like great fun. Hope he is packing a rod!

If you like history and you listen to audio books, Librivox has an interesting book "Afloat on the Ohio" by Reuben Gold Thwaites. It is about a family&#8217;s trip from Redstone Pa to Cairo, Ill in a small wood skiff at the turn of the century. He tells the history of all the towns along the way. It is a free download.


----------



## PJF (Mar 25, 2009)

Interesting topic. I saw this in the local paper today....after I saw this topic....it made me chuckle. The Ohio is nothing to mess with if you aren't prepared. 
http://mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/552500/Rafters-plucked-from--the-Ohio.html?nav=5002


----------



## Riparian Rambler (Jan 29, 2013)

Those two guys were pretty crazy, which is probably not the correct word. Floating down the middle of the river on a makeshiftg raft without even a paddle to get out of the way of the barges, no life jackets. Paper said they were trying to foat down to Cincinatti. I wonder how far they made it? At least they did have a fishing rod. Too bad they forgot the license!


----------



## Bobcatfisher (Aug 10, 2012)

This is a pretty cool idea. Growing up with a cabin on the Allegheny I always dreamed of playing Huck Finn as a kid and floating to the ocean. Sadly, the journey has already been braved.
http://www.misseghenyvoyage.blogspot.com/?m=1


----------

