A Mississippi River Kayak Trip and the Short Film It Inspired
6-minute read
Aqua Bound Ambassador Devin Brown launched her touring kayak into the headwaters of the Mississippi River one rainy morning in 2024. While her trip didn’t end as she hoped, she didn’t imagine it would inspire a short film one day.
We interviewed Devin for this May blog post last year, just a few weeks before she began her expedition. She planned to paddle the entire length of the river, although she always kept her plans in flux based on conditions. In the end, she was forced to shorten her trip due to potentially dangerous flooding.
We wanted to reconnect with Devin to follow up on her trip. And also to hear about a surprise that came, seemingly, from nowhere: a filmmaker wanted to tell her story in a short film.
Here’s our interview with Devin Brown:
AQUA BOUND: Tell us some of the details about your Mississippi River trip.
DEVIN: It feels like so long ago, and also like it was yesterday. I launched from the headwaters on Memorial Day 2024 and spent my first three weeks on the river in rain.
When I was coming through the headwaters, I had a little bit of a sketchy situation on my second night. I could hear footsteps around my campsite. Despite gender or race, it made me feel uneasy to hear multiple sets of footsteps outside of my tent as a solo camper. And that night there was also a frost warning, so it's cold and there are people outside.
I ended up after getting through, and from that point on, I stayed with River Angels, or I had gracious clients who would arrange Airbnb's for me, or I would stay at a hotel. Which was also nice because it was raining. Setting up a campsite in the rain is not ideal because your gear just doesn't dry out.
Devin at the Mississippi’s headwaters in northern Minnesota, with her son
It was still absolutely incredible just to be wild and free. To have gotten to the point where I got to paddle on the river and experience her curves and see the wildlife. To see the way the river changes, but is very much the same the whole way through. And to experience the kindness of the River Angels.
A lot of old memories creep up that you think you have processed. But really, you've just stored them somewhere in your body. And at that time and place, when you reactivate them, you have a second opportunity to sort of view that instance from your adult brain. My 38-year-old brain could process this teenage angst I hadn't thought about in forever.
The beginning of 2,552 miles of river
AQUA BOUND: What happened with the river conditions to end your trip?
DEVIN: That was the summer the Rapidan Dam on the Minnesota River in Mankato had a failure because of all the rain. Because the Minnesota goes into the Mississippi, and without that control on the river, plus all the rain, it equaled catastrophic flooding.
I had to make the call. Well, actually, my body made the call for me. I was staying with a River Angel in Hannibal, Missouri. I went to bed planning my next stop, all of the things prepared and ready to go. But at four in the morning, all of a sudden, my stomach just turned for the worst. I was like, “Got it.” My body told me, “Your time here is done.” Okay.
I’ve been carrying around that feeling of incompleteness for the last year and a half. That was my biggest challenge of the trip. But I will do it again. I don’t know if I’ll start where I left off—because I was able to paddle 1,025 miles—or if I’ll start all over again. This might be in 2028.
AQUA BOUND: How has this experience changed you?
DEVIN: I learned to just flow. I don’t have to put the boulder in the middle of the river to get the result that I want to get. I have to maneuver around the river skillfully and thoughtfully so I don’t capsize.
So in some ways, I’ve slowed down. But I can see life ahead of me and choose the direction I want to go instead of being so firm. I just flow.
AQUA BOUND: What does your kayaking future look like?
DEVIN: I’m working on ways to continue doing the work that fuels me and is part of my purpose, probably as a contractor or individual rather than as an employee.
I’m working with an organization to get a group of girls to go through the headwaters next summer. I’m working with another organization to get an equipment grant so we can do pool-to-river kayaking sessions. We’ll let people experience the equipment in a sterile environment, like an indoor pool, before taking them on the river.
I signed up for the Alabama 650, which is the longest paddling race in the United States that you can do as a solo paddler—650 miles down the Alabama River. It was this past October. I ended up scratching after my GPS failed several times (and GPS is mandatory on the Alabama) and got really bad blisters on my hands when I left my gloves behind at one point. But I learned a lot and plan to do it again.
I also did the Mississippi 150 here in Minnesota, but took my time. I really look at these things as an opportunity to just spend time on the river in a way that’s organized. I don’t have to worry about the logistics.
A lot of people are out there to “conquer the river,” but that has never been my thing. It’s never been my MO to beast my way through a river. I want to get to know the river. I want to talk to the moon and learn something about myself while I’m out there.
But I also love sprinting down rivers! I love a staged race, and I don’t mind paddling 16 hours a day. I actually think that’s super, super fun.
Devin and her son on a pleasure paddle together
AQUA BOUND: Let’s talk about the film, Mother River. Tell us how that came about.
DEVIN: I was really surprised that this is even a thing! Jeremiah Schuster of Harvest Film Company sort of just came along. I think it was a connection between him and someone at Aqua Bound. He took it on faith, and it ended up being his first film ever in a film festival.
Mother River is a short film, about seven minutes long. Some of the footage in the film is from when I’m on the river. Another videographer up north offered his services, and Harvest Film paid him for his drone footage. I think it’s been accepted at 11 or 12 different film festivals.
More About the Mother River Film
The film is described as “A look into Devin Brown's life as she attempts to be the first black female on record to kayak the entire Mississippi River, from source to sea.” One of the festivals it was included in is the Wild & Scenic Festival, through which it’s made its way around the United States in 2025.
View the trailer below:
Mother River won “Best Short Film 2025” at the Paddling Film Festival, which is sponsored by Madawask Kanu Center.
You can watch the full version on Paddling Magazine TV.
Our thanks to Devin Brown for her time, insights and use of her photos! You can follow her and her kayaking adventures on Instagram.
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