Beauty of the Hudson Captivates Kayaker Making 7,000 Mile Journey

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Daniel Alvarez visits Riverkeeper, discusses effort to raise awareness for clean water
By Sara Moriarty

“I’ve only traveled 5,000 miles so far,” says Daniel Alvarez. He is speaking of his 7,000-mile kayak journey- a journey that he is taking with minimum planning and maximum adventure. Daniel stopped by Riverkeeper on June 20th as he traveled along the Hudson River on his way to the Great Lakes. “I am actually debating how to get to the Great Lakes from here.” Daniel muses as he considered possible routes, ranging from going to Montreal through Lake Champlain to heading toward the Erie Canal.

With two lucky plastic flamingos he picked up in waterways along the way as his only companions, Daniel has embarked on a journey to raise awareness about the environmental health of the waters he travels on. Daniel tries to keep some of his budget to protect the areas he travels through, and has donated part of his funds to Riverkeeper.

Paul Gallay, president of Riverkeeper, greets Daniel Alvarez.

Daniel’s kayak journey is an example of someone making a one-on-one connection with nature. He has traveled on water bodies ranging from “as pristine as it can get” to “as bad it can get,” and has noted that the Hudson River is a prime example of a river with a bad history becoming much better with the work of organizations like Riverkeeper and the support of individuals in the region who connect with the river. Daniel’s travels will hopefully inspire others to become connected with their waterways and work for the betterment of them. Follow Daniel on his journey at http://predictablylost.com.

John Lipscomb and the Riverkeeper patrol boat swing by to say hello to Daniel Alvarez.