Paddle & pedal
Aug. 26—For Thorin Loeks, adventures are all about living in the moment, appreciating the little things and meeting new people.
The 31-year-old from Whitehorse,Yukon Territory, Canada, passed through the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley recently during an epic cross-country journey. He arrived by canoe on Aug. 17 and left via bicycle Tuesday, en route from Astoria, Ore., to the Gulf of Mexico.
It's not his first long-distance, human-powered trek. He previously paddled from Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, to the Gulf of Mexico and has biked from Astoria to Portland, Maine.
He started this journey May 22 and paddled up the Columbia River before taking a right turn at the Tri-Cities and heading up the Snake River. He battled high spring flows on the lower Columbia, portaged around the eight dams on the two rivers and, lately, sweated through a string of days with temperatures that shot well past 100 degrees. But he leans into the hardships of the trip and the lessons they bring.
"It feels like it just helps me grow. It makes me appreciate the little things even more," he said.
Take ice and insulated water bottles as an example — two things most of us take for granted. But when he takes a swig of cold water on a 105-degree day while paddling upstream on the lower Snake River, the minor luxury isn't lost on him.
"It's like, 'Oh this is just so nice,'" he said. "Like every time I drink out of it, I'm so grateful for that compared to using an old plastic bottle; and just going through these different forms of adversity makes me appreciate when I get to a town and meet nice people. I sit in an air conditioned place and have a good conversation or, you know, like ice — a drink with ice in it."
It's nearly September, and Loeks has traveled about 450 miles. That's a good distance, but you might be doing the mental math and surmising he's only averaging about 5 miles per day. Loeks will tell you he's in no hurry.
He is on break from graduate school, where he is studying to become a city planner. He looks at his trip as research. He has no problem stopping for a day, or three or more, in communities along the way to meet people and learn about their homes.
"I've been doing my thesis actually while paddling — so studying communities along the way and talking to people about what it is that they love about where they live and what is it that makes for a great community. What makes it a place that people want to live? And what are some of the challenges as well?"
He's also using such stops to bring in a little cash. He's a singer-songwriter and books impromptu gigs and sells CDs wherever he can. Last week, he took the stage at Hogan's Pub in Clarkston. Little by little, he makes enough to fund the expedition.
"It's just incredible how organically things come together when you're open to it."
But he couldn't do it without help, and people have been eager to give it. Take Tom Eier, for instance. The Lewiston man and Lewis and Clark Expedition aficionado has established himself as part of a loose network of "river angels" — people who give aid to those paddling the Columbia, Snake, Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
Eier met Loeks at the Green Belt Boat Ramp in Clarkston, housed him for part of his stay in the valley and is hauling his canoe to Three Forks, Mont., where the water portion of his trip will resume.
"The amount of people that have helped me and just the generosity and kindness of — quote, unquote — strangers, has just blown me away. It's really restored my faith in humanity. It doesn't matter what people's backgrounds are, there's good people everywhere."
Loeks is now somewhere between Lewiston and Lolo Pass, pedaling along U.S. Highway 12. It's a 400-mile jaunt to Big Forks, where Loeks will get back in his canoe. Looking at the calendar, he knows time is running short. Those 100-degree days will give way to snow soon enough.
"We'll see how far I get by the end of October. And if I'm still in North Dakota and it's snowing, then I'll stash my boat with somebody nice and then come back next summer and finish the trip. I think that's most likely what will happen ... I'll paddle probably about halfway down the Missouri."
People interested in his journey can follow along at thorinloeks.com, where links are available to his several social media pages that include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and a podcast.
Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.
