Maldague has started his descent of the Mississippi River originating at it's source at Lake Itasca, Minnesota. Since he's at the river's very origin, it's a lot of tricky navigating through rivulets of flooded grasses which Maldague thinks to be wild rice. He claims the river is starting to widen and that he's been adapting his kayak every day to try to acheive an optimal setup. He has been working toward Bemidji, the first town on the Mississippi and Cass Lake, Minnisota.