Embarking on a 2,000-Mile Kayak Expedition to the Gulf of Mexico with Ann Rose

Wild Ideas Worth Living

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4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

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Summary

Ann Rose is a farmer living off the grid in rural North Carolina, where she’s spent most of her life deeply connected to the Appalachian Mountains and forests. After a series of droughts made farming more difficult, she found herself stuck and ready for change. At 58, she set out to kayak from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico. The journey brought unfamiliar waters, unpredictable weather, and more than a few alligators.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's so mind-boggling that I'm even saying what I'm saying.
0:03.4	I'm a farmer. I don't go anywhere. I don't do anything.
0:07.2	But I became just mesmerized with how the water flows out of the mountains.
0:13.3	Because it all gets to the ocean at some point.
0:16.2	I said, oh my God, that goes to the Gulf of Mexico.
0:18.4	I bet I could paddle that.
0:20.2	And that's exactly how it
0:22.2	happened. That's how the idea came to be in my head. Anne Rose is a farmer who lives off the
0:32.2	grid in rural North Carolina. She spent nearly her entire life in the Appalachian region and has always felt a deep
0:39.7	connection to the mountains and forest she calls home. A few years ago, Anne's farm was hit by a
0:45.3	series of droughts, which made living off the land a lot more challenging. She felt stuck and ready
0:51.0	for something different, so at 58 years old, Ann decided to go on an epic
0:55.9	adventure. The plan was to kayak all the way from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico.
1:02.3	Along the way, Anne had to face unfamiliar waters, unpredictable weather, and more than a few
1:08.0	alligators. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is wild ideas worth living,
1:13.5	an REI Co-Op Studios production presented by Capital One and the REI Co-Op MasterCard.
1:22.5	Anne's Farm is located in the tiny town of Lansing, North Carolina, which has a population of just 155 people.
1:31.0	She's been based in Lansing for nearly 30 years. Growing up and moved around a lot with her parents,
1:37.1	living on homesteads and in rural communities across Appalachia. One thing has been constant
1:43.0	throughout her life, though. She's always spent time in
1:45.7	nature. Anne Rose, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living. Tell us about the wild idea you
1:55.1	completed in 2024. I kayaked from right downstream from my farm in Lansing, North Carolina, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
	...

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