GRAND RAPIDS — The KAXE studio is accustomed to folks passing by on epic journeys from the headwaters of the Mississippi River to New Orleans.
We recently learned about the Drift South Expedition, who were in Grand Rapids on Day 18 of their trip.
There are five people in the group, hailing from West Virginia, Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ireland. Four of them met while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2022.
Two members of the group, Charles Lampman and Morgan Skinner, were recent guests on the KAXE Morning Show.
Aside from going down the Mississippi from start to finish, they have a goal of studying microplastics by taking water samples every 50 miles, working with the group One Mississippi.
"It's this opportunity to reach into the river community in a time where there's just a lot of political uncertainty and reminding each other, 'Hey, we are a community,'" Lampman said.
"It doesn't matter if you're the fisherman or if you're the ricer or if you're one of these people who work at nonprofits or you just happen to live near the river, you are impacted," he continued.
We also discussed "river magic," a term for all the people along the way who help long-distance travelers reach their goal. Charles, Morgan and the rest of the crew were connected with KAXE by local "river angel" (another term for helpers) and KAXE member Sandy Bromenschenkel.
"It really restores your faith in humanity [when] you meet so many different kinds of people, and they're just so willing to help wherever you are," Skinner said.
Listen to our full conversation above!
