DYING OUT HERE IS NOT AN OPTION, AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN CONNELLY

Photo courtesy of Brian Threlkeld

“Yea, and if some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so, I will endure…For already have I suffered full much, and much have I toiled in perils of waves and war. Let this be added to the tale of those.” ---Homer, The Odyssey 

Anybody else might have been having second thoughts. Nine days out after launching from Old Forge, New York in the spring of 2016, John Connelly had already patch dried his canoe after hitting a rock, was enduring freezing rain and suffering from a bit of a nasty stomach bug.

Photo courtesy of Rafael Gallo

It was an undeniably tough start for Connelly's Paddle Quest 1500 expedition, the first ever 1,500-mile solo canoe and kayak trek across the four major waterways in northeastern North America: The Northern Forest Canoe Trail, St. John River, Bay of Fundy and Maine Island Trail.
But for Connelly, there was no turning back. That simply wasn't an option.

"Despite falling ill and having to push myself through 20 mile days and frozen nights, I find genuine joy and spiritual uplifting when descending rapids I had never seen before,"  Connelly wrote in an update on the Paddle Quest 1500 website, "It is a journey of a lifetime with something new and may things unexpected around every bend. The people and places add to who I am and I will be much richer for this time well spent. New York is behind me, Vermont and the rest are in front. Bring it!"

Over the next 66 days, Connelly would paddle pristine whitewater and placid still lakes and survived violent sea storms all while being tracked in real-time by satellite and followed by thousands online. His personal trip was a call to inspire others to increase their time outside, citing research that suggests both physical and mental health benefits while in nature.

He completed his trip with triumph on June 24, 2016, when he arrived at Kittery, Maine joined by a flotilla of supporters and media to in with paddle him.
"My mind was blown right in half. It was amazing!" wrote Connelly on the Paddle Quest 1500 website, "I was overwhelmed by the reception I received and am eternally grateful for all the support I have experienced from friends, family, sponsors, media partners, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and Maine Island Trail Association."

In his new book Dying Out Here Is Not An Option, he chronicles that epic 1500 mile solo canoe and kayak adventure across the Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada.
We caught up with Connelly a couple of weeks ago to asked him about his new book, his epic paddling trip and his mission to get people to experience the outdoors.

OMA: The title of your book, "Dying Out Here Is Not An Option" is a pretty gritty statement. Why did you come up with that title?
JC: There were two conditions for my taking on this first-ever expedition. They both came from my incredible wife, Nicole. #1. She needed to know that I was safe at the end of every day. #2. I wasn’t allowed to die. Fair enough, right?! It got very real out there and there were a few times where I needed to remind myself of my promise not to die.

The route of Paddle Quest 1500

OAM: In your book, you chronicle your Paddle Quest 1500, a 1500 mile, 75-day, solo expedition linking 4 major waterways in the Northeastern US and eastern Canada. 2 Countries, 4 states, 2 provinces, 22 streams, 54 lakes/ponds, and the North Atlantic Ocean. Why did you pick this route and what would you do differently if you could do it over again?
JC: I had always wanted to canoe the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and I’d always wanted to kayak the Maine Island Trail, but never managed to be able to carve out the time. My 60th birthday was coming up and everyone, including my incredible wife, Nicole, urged me to do something special. Given the green light, I decided that “special” wasn’t good enough; I wanted to go for “epic.” Nobody had canoed the Northern Forest Canoe Trail AND kayaked the Maine Island Trail, so that would have been a first, and pretty special. But how about connecting the two with the Saint John River and the Bay of Fundy? Now, nobody has done that and it truly would be epic! That’s how I picked the route!

OAM: That was a long time on the water to be alone. What kept you going? Did you ever want to give up?
JC: I love living out of my boat for days and weeks on end. It’s where I find myself truly at home. That’s one reason why I row rafts on 16-day, 280-mile whitewater trips down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. But the alone thing made this trip very different. Thankfully, I had quite a following, a community, watching my progress in realtime on my website where my tracking feed was displayed. I also posted on social media and blogged, so I felt like I was sharing the experience with others. I felt “alone,” but I never felt “lonely.”

Photo courtesy of Brian Threlkeld

OAM: You began Paddle Quest 1500 to inspire an outdoor desire in others after studies confirm both physical and mental health benefits that come by communing with nature. It shouldn't be a tough sell, but it seems like more and more people seek the safety of the great "indoors." What's it take to motivate more folks to get outside?
JC: Yes, you only save what you love, so my lifelong mission has been to get people outdoors to experience the life-enriching experiences and benefits that can only be found outside. When people have these experiences, they care about resource conservation and stewardship for future generations. I have found that if I can inspire people to take those first steps and try something new in the outdoors, they’re likely to get hooked. With this expedition, at age 60, I heard from a surprising number of people of all ages that they were motivated to get outside, even if it was a mild adventure activity near to home. I continue to hear that my story is inspiring and makes people think that they shouldn’t wait; they should get out there too!

Welcome home. Courtesy of John Connelly

OAM: You have paddled around the country, but where can you paddle in your neighborhood?
JC: I live on Maine’s Casco Bay, so I don’t have to go far; just outside the door and launch from the dock. But I also have two whitewater rivers that dump into the tidal waters of Casco Bay; the Royal and Presumpscot Rivers. Both have great playboating features and can be pretty challenging runs with decent flows.

OAM: If you take anyone living or dead on an adventure with you, who would you take and where would you go?
JC: President Teddy Roosevelt, for sure. I would take him back to the Brazilian Amazon, to the River of Doubt, that he pioneered on a dramatic, well-documented expedition. He would be pretty stoked to trade wooden dugout canoes, fairly primitive gear and food challenges for inflatable rafts, state of the art NRS gear and Good To-Go dehydrated gourmet foods. And we would run rapids that he took days to portage around!

OAM: Once again back to the title of your book, "Dying Out Here Is Not An Option." We have to know did you ever come close to dying out there?
JC: There were three times in particular that tested my mettle as a canoeist and kayaker. I found myself using all my years of experience in difficult whitewater and surf to work my way through some treacherous conditions that, all too often, materialized in an instant. I definitely did say out loud to myself on those occasions, “Dying out here is not an option.”

A former member of the US Canoe and Kayak team and leader of LL Bean's Outdoor Discovery School, Connelly now works as an outdoors consultant.
You can get his book Dying Out Here Is Not An Option at his website Paddle Quest 1500 or on Amazon or Kindle.

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