Why RiverTrek?    

      TheRiverTrek program is a developing educational presentation of our nation's waterways.  RiverTrek focuses on school groups, however the mission is to educate people about the river. The Chattanooga Star Riverboat will be available in some areas on limited dates and times for special educational charter arrangements. Companies or other groups may also charter the vessel, scheduling around the committed school cruises.
   
    We all need clean water; the fact appears obvious. Yet, the complex interactions within society often create real and false contradictions. There are literally thousands of organizations across this country professing an interest in the use of our water resources. These organizations range from the most extreme to the inactive. Some are motivated by profit, others by altruism. With the sometimes opposing attitudes, a middle ground or common interest exists which must be identified and developed.
   
    There are many rivers that we - Capt. Mike and Capt. Pete - have traveled. As captains, we have covered all or parts of the Arkansas, Black Warrior, Cumberland, Escambia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Monongahela, Ohio, Tennessee, Tombigbee, St. John's, and the Yazoo Rivers, the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint River System, and the Intracoastal Waterway from Galveston Bay, Texas to Norwalk, Connecticut.  We have also had the opportunity to swim, kayak or raft in a number of rivers from coast to coast, including the Kern, Kings, and Cuyama rivers of California, the Chama and Rio Grande rivers of New Mexico, the French Broad, Holston, and Nantahala rivers of North Carolina, the Fox River in Ill., the Ouachita and Caddo in Arkansas, the upper White River in Missouri, and the Elk, Hiawassee and Ocoee rivers of Tennessee.

     Our combined 70+ years of river experiences have created in us a desire to share our perception of some of the many issues concerning water today. Our intention with the RiverTrek program is to foster a broader understanding of these issues and help provide a medium of information exchange. We are all concerned with the use of water; labor, industry, property owners, students, environmentalists, even tourists. These concerns encompass the range of human interest, including: clean water to drink, waste disposal, transportation, irrigation, industrial development, recreation, beauty, and sustainable environmental stewardship, to name just a few.

   RiverTrek, previously and currently, includes parts of four distinct watersheds: the Mississippi (including the Ohio & Tennessee Rivers), the Escambia, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, and the Apalachicola, including the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers.
   
    The web site will change and grow reflecting the journeys of the Chattanooga Star. Enjoy, as the vessel and crew travel thousands of miles through the four watersheds. Share with us the people we meet, the sights and experiences, and the written contributions.
  Please explore the website and the RiverTrek Program.      'Welcome Aboard!'

Captains Mike & Pete Hosemann