MILFORD _ Ross Kribbs has set out on an adventure.
His maps are of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. His equipment is a kayak with storage space for a tent, some food, a camera and lenses, and his route is the Susquehanna River.
``There are a lot of adventures out here that don't require driving across country or going into remote wilderness,'' he said during a visit to Goodyear Lake on Saturday. The Susquehanna offers adventures as close as residents' backyards, he said.
Kribbs, who set up an information table at the Goodyear Lake Association summer festivities on Saturday, said his destination is to publish a book about the river _ from its source in Cooperstown to its end in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay.
To add authenticity to the project, Kribbs spent three weeks this summer traveling in a kayak down the Susquehanna.
``I thought it was underappreciated,'' Kribbs said.
Through the project, he said, he hopes to encourage people to kayak or canoe on sections of the river and to raise awareness about concerns regarding the river's water quality, the threat of invasive species and agricultural drainage.
Kribbs, 33, lives in Aspen, Colo., but grew up in Lewisburg, Pa., a town on the Susquehanna. He studied urban planning at Brown University and became a professional photographer and graphic artist.
Kribbs said he is returning to some of the sites he visited to take more pictures and photograph scenes in different seasons.
With a photo display at the festivities Saturday, Kribbs illustrated comments about his trip with visitors who stopped by to share paddling experiences and ask questions.
``That's quite a trip,'' one visitor told him.
``You make your own adventure,'' Kribbs said.
Kribbs said he took a cell phone and had wheels to slip onto his kayak for times when he had to portage around dams. The weather was mostly hot with a few brief showers and a lightning strike that was ``a little too close,'' he said.
Kribbs said he had paddled sections before, but not the entire river. He found that the ``heart of the trip'' was the little towns along the way, where he met many residents and some who offered him accommodations overnight.
Most nights, however, were spent in a tent at a campground, he said.
Kribbs said he contacted the Goodyear Lake Association about a place to pitch a tent the first night of his trip, June 2, and he became friends with residents Vince and Francine Stayter. He then paddled 22 to 25 miles a day on his way to covering the river's 444 miles and met many others during the trip.
``Through those chance encounters and long conversations have grown some great friendships,'' Kribbs said in an essay. ``It's hard to determine who was taking the bigger risk _ myself alone on the Susquehanna or my new friends, offering their time and energy to an unshaven boatman with a good story.''
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