Rib Mountain Man Breaks Record for Paddling Down the Entire Wisconsin River

Tuesday, July 8th, 2025 -- 8:01 AM

(Anna Marie Yanny, Wisconsin Public Radio) This spring, Andy Nevitt paddled down the entirety of the Wisconsin River faster than anyone on record, in just 3 days, 20 hours and 45 minutes, according to Anna Marie Yanny with the Wisconsin Public Radio.

Nevitt, a nurse anesthetist from Rib Mountain, beat the previous record by just under six hours. And throughout the entire journey, he slept for only about five hours.

“This is easily the hardest I’ve pushed myself through a race,” Nevitt said. He began the grueling kayak journey on Memorial Day, travelling 420 miles down the river from near Land O’ Lakes to Prairie du Chien.

The “Fastest Known Paddle” record tracking site recognized the feat shortly after. “Andy faced low water, sleep deprivation, waist-deep mud, dense fog, high wind and waves, mazes of sandbars, multiple sets of rapids, more than one capsize, and nasty blisters on his hands,” the site administrators wrote on Facebook after crowning Nevitt the new record holder.

The previous record was set by two paddlers, Mike Schnitzka and Bill Perdzock, in May 1995. They completed the journey in 4 days, 2 hours and 22 minutes. Nevitt’s trip included 27 dam portages.

Throughout the attempt, the river’s low water level required him to get out and drag his boat, shaving off the time he could afford to rest if he wanted to beat the record.

Sometimes, the river’s conditions made him question his safety. “There are a few times along the way where I thought to myself: What am I doing?” Nevitt said.

He recalled encountering rapids on his first night: “And I ended up going through these rapids in the fog at night, where I couldn’t see what was in front of me, and I was just kind of holding on for dear life.”

But he persevered, for days, through a full-body muscle spasm, a flipped boat, delirium, exhaustion, bone-chilling cold, swelling in his hands and feet and clouds of mosquitoes.

His wife, Lindsay Nevitt, drove along the river to serve as his “Support Captain.” “I found a level of perseverance through adversity that we both kind of experienced,” he said.

“I think that’s what I’m most proud of.” Nevitt said he’s still recovering, about a month after the race.  “My blisters are pretty much all healed up, but my hands are still kind of sensitive and my joints ache,” he said.

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