The Great Loop – how we discovered it and decided to do it…

When Tom and I moved to Washougal, Washington in 2004 we had never heard of the Great Loop and owning a boat was not in our plans. Year after year, however, we would drive home along the North side of the beautiful Columbia River and pass the Port of Camas/Washougal. It started to seem like the water was calling us. Tom had experience from childhood in open air boats where he learned to pilot, to fish, and enjoyed being on the water. I had experience joining my dad over many years on all three of his sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay where I got comfortable with boating life in general and learned how to navigate on the water and to read charts. We met other boaters and got the serious itch. After much research, we chose a C-Dory 25 foot cruiser. It is large enough to have a v-berth for two to sleep (plus a dog in the middle if you wish); a galley with refrigerator, sink, and Wallas diesel stove for cooking and heating; sitting area where the front seat can convert from forward facing for driving and backward facing for dining, with a collapsable table (also can become a sleeping area for one adult and possibly two children); head with toilet and shower; and a lounging/fishing area at the stern. Another perk is it can easily be motored onto a trailer and driven by personal truck to many new locations. We found a used 2006 that fit our budget, snapped it up, and were lucky enough to get the last available slip in the marina that year.

Next came trial and error. We changed the boat name to Hunky Dory, preferring the double entendre, the play on words, and the happy vibe over people or pet names, nautical quips, or off-color jokes. We learned how to get the boat on and off the trailer. Over time we adjusted the storage space, got a new communication and navigation system, and re-powered. We motored up and down the Columbia from Astoria, OR to Lewiston, ID learning how to crab, fish, and prawn these waters; navigate locks; anchor; and moor in transient slips in various marinas. We took trips to Wallowa Lake in Eastern Oregon, Lake Chelan and Lake Roosevelt in Central Washington, Pend O’Reille Lake in Northern Idaho, Shasta Lake in Northern California, and the Flaming Gorge in Utah and Wyoming. Next, we decided to experience the Inside Passage from Puget Sound to Glacier Bay in Alaska – doing this in several stages over years. We had hoped to go to Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona but our plans were cancelled due to COVID and now low water levels, which are both hopefully improving to allow this in the future.

So what next? On a whim one day I started wondering about boating down the Mississippi. A little research on the internet and I discovered the Great Loop! The Great Loop is a 6000 mile (more depending on side trips) circular route utilizing a system of waterways to explore the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers, the Gulf, the Eastern Seaboard, and either the New York canal system or Canadian Lakes and Locks to return to your point of origin (or “crossing your wake”) without having to take your boat out of the water.

The idea marinated and we decided to go for it. After about 4 years of various preparations we started the year-long journey on September 29, 2023.