First Descent of the Mekong River by Mick O'Shea on WetDawg.com

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From Tibetan Plateau to South China Sea

» Dispatches
» Get the Beta on Mick

Mick O’Shea

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Founder of Vientiane, Lao (PDR)-based Wildside Travel, Mr. Mick O’Shea (pictured), plans to be the first person in history to navigate the Mekong River from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea.

Mick and his team are based in Zhongdian, a small city in northern Yunnan and the southern edge of the former Tibetan kingdom of Kham. Mick and his team have recently completed their arduous journey to the source of the Mekong, high in the Himalaya and Mick has begun his four-month solo paddle. Check out his latest dispatch below!

Dispatch 9: Mission Accomplished!
September 23rd, 2004
After starting from the source high in the Himalayas months ago, Mick finally reached the South China Sea. Read about his recent foray into Cambodia and Vietnam where he discovered first-hand the precarious state of Mekong...

Dispatch 8: Descending Middle Mekong: Tales of Murder
September 4th, 2004
As Mick paddled through Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, he was joined by Thong, Thailand's most famous paddler who is on a lifelong quest for salvation...

Dispatch 7: Man Fights Nature, Southern Yunnan
August 16th, 2004
The river changes unexpectedly below the newly constructed dams near Yunnan. Mick gets more excitement than he bargained for...

Dispatch 6: Flashbacks in Northern Yunnan
August 8th, 2004
Still recovering from his near-death swim the week before, Mick and his companion Brian get a dose of forests, glaciers and culture and enter more points of no return.

Dispatch 5: Photos of the Gorges
July 27th, 2004
Mick sent along a few photos of the Tibetan Automomous Region, where he made the first successful descent of the Mekong Gorge...Check 'em out!

Dispatch 4 (Part II): Near Death in the Mekong
July 11th, 2004
On his own with no support, Mick threaded countless of class 4 & 5 rapids, and took an unexpected swim that almost cost him his life and expedition.

Dispatch 4 (Part I): Entering the Forbidden Mekong Gorge
July 11th, 2004
Mick entered the extreme and desolate Mekong Gorge, a place no man has succesffully navigated and one of the deepest ravines in the world.

Dispatch 3: Tackling Mastiffs in Wild Tibet
June 17th, 2004
As Mick traveled his way to the first navigable source of the Mekong, he grappled with an enraged Massif while on a nature call, with his pants down at his ankles...

Dispatch 2: Getting to the Starting Line
May 7th, 2004
"...and there I was - at the geographically declared source of the Mekong River 5,224 meters above sea level...A feeling of joy and anticipation surged through my veins..."

Dispatch 1: First Complete Descent of the Mekong
March 29th, 2004
"Nine years later and I’m sitting on the opposite bank in Laos looking up stream contemplating the logistics associated with getting to the rivers source on the Tibetan Plateau..."