Scott Mestrezat's Missouri River SUP Adventure
Some people might think this is crazy. Well, we did, too, a little, at first. But in 2013, at the age of 27, Scott Mestrezat from Chicago took off on an epic adventure, paddling the Kaholo 14 Stand Up Paddleboard he built for the purpose down the entire length of the Missouri River from southwestern Montana to St. Louis, about 2,400 miles.
Borrowing space in a friend's hangar, Scott---an experienced paddleboarder but a novice boatbuilder---built the board in a couple of weeks, using whatever time he had to spare between wrapping up his desk job in finance and organizing the rest of his city life to take off for a four-month departure from routine. Actually, the finishing details weren't applied until he was already en route across country by car to the headwaters of the river in Three Forks, MT, with the last coats of varnish going on under cover of a tent cabin in the Grand Tetons.
Episode 1 Trailer: Like Lewis & Clark on their way home - if Meriwether & William had been surfers - filmmaker and city dweller Scott Mestrezat sets out to tame all 2400 miles of the Mighty Mo on a self-propelled craft. Here is the first of four episodes documenting the opening leg of his journey which begins, as all stories about the Missouri River must, at the headwaters near Three Forks, Montana.
Episode 2 Trailer: A few days into the Montana leg of his epic journey down the Mighty Mo, filmmaker Scott runs up against brutal headwinds and torrential rain. On the flip side - he paddles through the spectacular Gates of the Mountains, and sees for himself why this section of the Missouri so impressed the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Episode 3 Trailer: Things get personal on the third episode of Scott's epic Missouri River paddleboard trip as he brings his father along for an important 150 mile stretch of the adventure.
Episode 4 Trailer: After a month of paddleboarding down the Missouri River, Scott finally completes the Montana leg of his incredible Missouri River SUP adventure--but not before facing one last epic challenge in a windy traverse of Fort Peck Lake.
Full Video: Big Muddy Moose will take you along with Scott for 45 minutes as he encounters incredible sights and welcoming people.