Cape County canoeist's 'grand adventure' river ride from Mont. to Mo.

Nick Earley's story is not one a person hears every day.

Earley, a 1992 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and an oceangoing tugboat captain on the West Coast for nearly three decades, makes his permanent home in Cape Girardeau County.

"I operate a tugboat running between San Francisco and Los Angeles but it's really expensive to live there," said Earley, who explained that after a 2004 cross-country trip in the family's recreational vehicle, the decision was made to live in Southeast Missouri.

"Every 40 to 45 days, I head out to the coast to work, but otherwise we love living here in the Cape Girardeau area."

Nick Earley, who resides north of the Cape Girardeau city limits, paddles his 17-foot Wenonah Endeavor canoe along the Missouri River in this undated photo.Submitted

Trip

Earley, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, recently took an epic freshwater solo excursion in his 17-foot-long Wenonah Encounter canoe.

"I launched from Three Forks, Montana, along the Missouri River on May 9, and after 112 days and 2,336 miles, I landed at the Gateway Arch grounds along the Mississippi on Aug. 28," he said. "I just wanted to do it. Testing yourself is always a part of the equation for me."

Earley, 51, said he spent all but 12 nights camping alongside the river during his nearly four-month endeavor, which he referred to as "my grand adventure."

The professional tugboater said he enjoyed the solitude along the way.

"I could go seven to 10 days without seeing anyone and there was a stretch of 14 days when there was no cell service at all," Earley recalled, noting he didn't listen to music, preferring the sounds of nature.

While solitude was welcomed, the wind on the water was Earley's biggest obstacle.

"The wind dictated everything; it was a constant battle to move downriver," he said.

Earley said his supplies included freeze-dried food and "dromedary bags" filled with water.

"Those bags could carry 15 gallons at a time and I could go as long as two weeks before resupplying my water," he said.

Cape Girardeau County's Nick Earley relied on the book "The Complete Paddler" to help him in his recent solo canoe trip on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.Submitted

Earley, no stranger to the water given his profession, was guided in his 2021 trip by the book "The Complete Paddler" by David Miller, who Earley said has navigated the entire Missouri River.

Writing down his own experiences helped pass the time, he said.

"I wrote at least two pages every night in my journal and I finished with three complete journal books," he said, adding he might compile his experiences into a book one day.

The future

Earley, who said his employer graciously allowed him a four-month leave of absence to take the trip, said he will not attempt the same journey ever again.

"When I got to St. Louis, I gave some thought to paddling three more days down to Cape but when I got to the Arch, I was so done."

Nick Earley of Cape Girardeau County hauls his canoe out of the water during his recent four-month solo journey along the Missouri River from Montana to Missouri in this undated photo.Submitted