When Baton Rouge native Austin Graham met Brad Tallent on the Appalachian Trail, he had no idea the two would end up kayaking across the United States and making a movie together.
After meeting, they hiked together their third day on the trail, forming a bond and keeping in touch with each other after the fact.
Later, the duo spawned the idea of making a cross-country trip by kayak. Being Graham’s first time kayaking, the ensuing trip was a spontaneous decision. The result was the film “Gulf to Gulf Odyssey.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Nova Scotia, and he’s always wanted to go to the Great Lakes,” Graham said. “And then I wanted to end to end the trip at home, so it was fitting the way we mapped it around what we wanted to do.”
Graham had a map of the United States on his wall, which he used to plan out the course they would take.
The route began in the shores of Nova Scotia, then went on to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain, the Erie Canal, and finally onto the Ohio River. The duo continued as the Ohio River turned into the Mississippi River and deposited in the Gulf of Mexico.
Getting sponsored by Necky Kayaks and bringing two GoPro cameras along with them, Graham and Tallent were equipped to make the trip, which took seven months and three days to complete, as well as document it.
Before the trip, both watched several kayak films in order to decide what angle they wanted to portray to their audience.
With the footage obtained, Graham and Tallent edited and produced their desired film showcasing their experiences on the trip.
“I want to share that fun, adventurous spirit we had on film,” Graham said.
Only a small amount of preparation went into the trip’s planning, as it was primarily a feat Graham and Tallent decided to take on after discussing future plans.
“We just kind of researched what we needed to and what we needed to have, and just connected all the dots and went for it,” Graham said.
For the duo, a typical day consisted of spending an hour packing up their tent and eating pop tarts or oatmeal before heading out to kayak from dawn to dusk. At the end of the day, they would find a spot to camp and repeat the routine.
The amount of miles Graham and Tallent were able to kayak each day depended on a variety of weather elements. However, the wind was the most limiting factor as it creates difficulty when traveling against it.
On flat water, the kayakers were able to travel an average of 25 miles a day, while downstream they were able to travel 50 miles, and upstream was usually 12 miles.
Throughout the trip, Graham would use his tablet to occasionally update friends and family on their progress after damaging his cell phone during the first day.
Due to the success of this trip, the duo’s future plans include canoeing from the source of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico this summer. They will be traveling alongside the oldest man to complete the trek, 80-year-old Dale Sanders. This event will be filmed as well.
The process to produce “Gulf to Gulf Odyssey” lasted four and a half months, with Tallent staying home during the editing process and choosing the best clips of footage to use.
The film is showing for free at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 1 at The Backpacker.
For viewers, Graham says they can expect to see a documentary of adventure, comedy and real life situations.