The idea of the river journey was set in motion years ago by a chance encounter in a bar with Matthew Mohlke, author of “Floating Down the Country,” who told Ploetz about his book describing his solo canoe journey paddling the Mississippi in 1999.
The seed was planted, Ploetz said, for his own “river experience.”
Ploetz created a Facebook page, called “Paddle Off The War,” to mark his trip and raise awareness of PTSD.
One of the most memorable moments was a riverside greeting by about 100 uniformed Marines and a live band when Ploetz rounded a bend in New Orleans.
He made friends along the way, including Aleks Nelson, a kayaker from Duluth, Minnesota, who joined Ploetz about 10 days into the trip and paddled alongside him to the end. Ploetz brought a baton made from the handle of a stretcher that carried wounded troops in Afghanistan, which Ploetz called a symbol of hope for struggling veterans.
He said he knows his battle with post-traumatic stress isn’t over, and may never be, but the river taught him how to cope.
“You’re going to have your troubles on the river, but just keep paddling,” he said. “You’ll make it through it.”
His last morning on the river, he read scripture beneath a rainbow that peeked through puffy white clouds overhead. As he paddled his way into the Gulf of Mexico on July 28, he lifted his baton in triumph. The finish, he said, was bittersweet: “I want to be done, but I want more river to paddle.”
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