Elleda Wilson: Sharing the journey
Jan. 20—In early March 2018, Neal Moore, a freelance journalist, set off from Pier 39 in Astoria to start his two-year cross-country canoe expedition. But his mission was more than the journey — along the way he wanted to "spin a story of the human face of the economic situation. And in Astoria, I'd love to start out with a good one."
Which he did, by interviewing several locals, including members of the Law, Lum and Madsen families and Liisa Penner, archivist at the Clatsop County Historical Society. Floyd Holcom, owner of Pier 39, was Neal's departure consultant, advising him on the tides and safest time to leave.
That first attempt ended when Moore was derailed by a cottonwood snag in Montana, Adventure-Journal.com reports, so he went back to Taiwan to earn enough money to start again. Which he did, from Astoria, in early February 2020, before the pandemic lockdowns.
Almost 22 months and 7,500 miles later, in December, he was circling the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor in his trusty canoe, celebrating the completion of his arduous journey. He was accompanied by boats filled with friends he'd made from all over the country, and a media boat that tagged along.
Long-haul paddler Norman Miller, one of Moore's friends, who took the photo shown, believes Moore "is the only person to canoe solo across the United States from west to east in a single go." Naturally, Moore has quite a story to tell, and a book is on the way. In the meantime, you can read his blog, 22 Rivers.
"The Statue of Liberty was just the endgame," Moore told Adventure Journal, "but it could not have been more symbolic of the journey. I've been exploring from the very start not just the waterways, but us as a nation, us as a people.
"Sharing the journey with my friends, and them sharing their journeys and their spirits with me, speaks to what this expedition has been about from the beginning."
