Fifty-two miles paddled, 929 to go.
This past weekend, three young men launched from Pittsburgh in a canoe and a kayak, intending to paddle the entire Ohio River to where it joins the Mississippi at Cairo, Ill. Their journey, dubbed Race the River 2017, aims to not only cover that much big water in 41 days — the “race” part — but also to put an exclamation point on a year their leader has spent raising awareness about and money for the cause of suicide prevention.
He is Jackson Gray, 21, of Canton, Ohio, who will be a senior at Miami University of Ohio. He transferred there from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where, when he was a freshman, he got the news one day that his best friend since middle school had committed suicide. James Halley was a University of Akron freshman. He was 18.
Mr. Gray was shocked. He was sad. And he wanted to do something.
The idea for a commemorative river trip came together with the help of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which says suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States, claiming at least 44,193 people, and probably more, each year. While the highest suicide rates are for older adults (between ages 45 and 64 and 85 years or older), it also is the second-leading cause of death among college students.
Speaking about suicide to groups on campus and off, emphasizing how people need to talk about it, Mr. Gray has been moved by the stories others have shared about their own losses from and struggles with suicide. He wants to keep as many people from feeling that way as possible, but it’s not about statistics.
As he put it, “It’s that conversation that’s not being had that allows it to happen.”
He has started crowdfunding efforts to raise $7,000 for the suicide prevention foundation and $3,000 for expenses for the trip, which has received support from his university (which lent him the kayak) and others (a local outfitter donated rain gear). He has started a Race the River 2017 Facebook page for people to follow along and chip in. As the paddlers posted before they left, “If you see someone in distress, gently ask if they would like help or just to talk.”
Mr. Gray is joined in the effort by his campus co-worker Quinton Couch, a 22-year-old from Ross, Ohio, who just graduated from Miami earlier this month. Mr. Couch is mostly in the kayak. With Mr. Gray in the canoe is Tyler Brezina, 19, who was on the high school swim team with him and the late Mr. Halley.
Mr. Brezina, a Bowling Green State University sophomore, also is an Eagle scout, so he’s invaluable to this flotilla as it moves slowly down the seemingly current-less river. They need to average just more than 24 miles a day, which is a lot, but he and Mr. Gray learned it was doable during a 150-miles-in-five-days test trip on the river last summer.
It was about 7:30 a.m. Saturday when the intrepid trio shoved off the North Shore, waving goodbye to about a dozen wet-eyed relatives and friends. They included Mr. Halley’s mother, Mary, who quietly sprinkled some of her son’s ashes into the water, so he’s traveling down river with them.
The paddlers had no trouble riding the water elevators of the locks at two dams, including Dashields, where later in the day, one kayaker drowned and another was missing after getting caught in the current where the river pours over the dam.
The guys hadn’t heard a thing about that news as they stirred in their four-man tent at 6:30 Sunday morning at their first overnight stop: River Harbour Marina in Bridgewater, Beaver County.
“We went to bed at 7:30 on a Saturday night. Kinda lame,” Mr. Gray said as his buddies broke camp and he boiled water for instant oatmeal on a small camp stove. For dinner the night before, he had cooked ramen noodles — “We are college students” — with summer sausage.
It’s a no-frills trip, as they plan to replenish their basic pantry every five days or so. But Sunday night, they didn’t need to cook, as they stopped at Cluster Islands in Hancock County, W.Va., where Mr. Gray’s girlfriend’s family happens to own a cabin. For Monday night, they were headed for a trailer where his dad’s drilling company associates are going to cook them steaks.
“We’re giving ourselves some time to get acclimated,” said Mr. Gray, who, with his friends, has been working out to be ready for the physical demands of the journey.
Using their solar-charge cell phones, they planned to do regular social-media updates. Otherwise, they’re packing a deck of cards, some books and a diary that Mr. Gray hopes to turn into a book.
They believe that, by June 29, they could be the youngest people to paddle the entire Ohio but say this is not about them. Rather, they say, it’s about those they might have helped and might still help with the serious issue of suicide. As Mr. Gray put it, “We’re very honored to be a piece of that.”
Follow their journey and support their efforts via their Facebook page.
Bob Batz Jr.: bbatz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr.
First Published: May 22, 2017, 4:00 a.m.