A four-man team of Minnesota paddlers are getting closer to Sioux City, as they attempt a new speed record on the Missouri River.
They began on June 23, and Scott Miller on July 1 said they were about a half day ahead on their pace to get to St. Louis in 25 days.
“Our daily mileage will go up after we reach Sioux City, because we have a channelized, fast-flowing river then. We are excited, when we get there, the last four, five six days, we will be going faster than we had prior,” Miller told Siouxland Public Media News.
The challenge is to paddle a 23-foot canoe over the entire 2,341-mile course of the Missouri River from its headwaters in Montana to where it meets the Mississippi River. The current record is just under 34 days.
Miller said cooler conditions in late June have aided the four men, who include Scott Duffus, 69, of Owatonna; Curt Leitz, 55, of Duluth; and Lada Zednik, 42, of Rockford.
The team is paddling in rotating shifts to maintain near-continuous progress, taking turns sleeping and paddling. Summer conditions can include extreme heat, strong headwinds, and rapidly changing water levels.
Miller previously led a team that set a Guinness World Record for the fastest paddle down the Mississippi River in 2023.
The attempt will be tracked in real time, with GPS tracking and progress reports available via the team’s Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as their website .
The endeavor also recognizes the river as the homeland of many Native nations and as a historic route explored by Lewis and Clark from 1804 to 1806.
