I'm proud to announce a new section to the Outdoor Weblog called the Outdoor Enthusiast Next Door. The Outdoor Enthusiast Next Door is a weekly interview with an outdoor lover or adventure traveler discussing recent adventures and professing their love for the outdoors.

This week's Outdoor Enthusiast is kayaker Jacob van der Merwe. A former senior project manager and technical writer in the IT industry, he is now known as the Crazy Kayaker, a name that some would say befits his personality based on his next adventure, Kayaking 2,000 miles of the Mississippi River. Besides kayaking Jacob is also the author of Survival of the Cleanest: A Common Sense Guide to Preventing Infectious Disease. In mid-May, read about Jacob's journey and view photos of the Mississippi River at his blog, Crazy Kayaker.

Your nickname is the Crazy Kayaker. How did you get that moniker?

I am one of a (very) few people who actually kayak year-round on the Canadian west coast. I'm particularly fond of kayaking when it's snowing. It's a wonderful experience, much like hiking in the woods during a good snowfall, when everything gets really quiet and you can't even hear your own footsteps. This effect is amplified many times on the water when it's snowing; almost like being in a really cool sensory deprivation chamber - without the claustrophobia. Naturally this kind of activity makes people question one's sanity, and some friends started referring to me as 'that crazy guy who kayaks in winter in Canada'. When I started working on my web site, I was able to secure the crazykayaker.com domain. Thus was born the Crazy Kayaker...

Why do you love kayaking?

Mmmm...this is a tough one. I've never really thought about why I'm so fond of kayaking. It's like enjoying good food or wine, or reading a good book - you just know you like the experience without analyzing why. I moved to Vancouver Island on the British Columbia west coast 10 years ago, and it just seemed natural that I should spent as much time as possible paddling. I was introduced to ocean kayaking by a good friend - we still paddle together. My wife is also an enthusiastic paddler, so it follows that we should head out on the ocean for recreation and vacations.

But I digress, so let me try to answer your question: I also do a lot of backcountry hiking; kayaking is a natural extension to hiking, in that it gets you away from the crowds into unspoilt and interesting places. It gets you away from having to burn oil to get to your destination, so it appeals to my sense of environmental responsibility. It's a great way to stay in shape and get exercise, and you don't have to be a superfit 'extreme' athlete to get out in a kayak. I like that I can be self-sustained for several days in the wilderness in a touring kayak, and that I can take along a few creature comforts, such as an air mattress and cold beer. Kayaking also gives me that special sense of freedom that is so hard to find nowadays. And at the end of a challenging trip, there is that wonderful sense of achievement and satisfaction that comes with reaching your destination under your own power.

What is the inspiration behind kayaking the entire length of the Mississippi River? And why now?

I should clarify that I'm not quite paddling the entire river - I will be travelling down the 2,000 mile stretch between St. Paul and New Orleans. The river's total length is approximately 2,350 miles. It's source is at Lake Itasca, 200 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, and there is another 150 or so miles of river from New Orleans to the Gulf.

As for why the Mississippi, I've wanted to travel down the river for as long as I can remember. Blame on it Mark Twain and National Geographic, I guess. It is such an integral part of the geography and history of this great land that I feel compelled to explore it and write about it. It's the commercial aorta of the North American plains that helped make possible the agricultural and industrial revolutions in the 17th and 18th centuries, and it remains a lifeline along which the US continues to feed the world. It's too important a river for me not to embark on this journey.