Cody Harris enjoyed a trip of a lifetime this summer.

On Sept. 16, the Mineola resident completed a 2,300-mile trip through the Missouri River that started in Three Forks, Mont., and ended on the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in St. Louis. He saved $12,000 in three years for the trip.

“It was a good trip,” Harris said.

Harris’ trip lasted 107 days. He went through seven states – Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. He paddled the entire trip by himself.

“I like the lonely part,” Harris said. “I enjoyed the isolation and just being out in nature.”

The 29-year-old Harris chronicled his trip on YouTube. His YouTube channel had 888 subscribers and had 75,000 views.

Harris, a 2014 Montgomery County graduate, went on a kayaking trip in Kansas City two years ago to prepare him for the Missouri River trip.

“It’s about 300 miles and that took about nine days, just as a test run before I went all the way up to Montana because I have never been on the river before,” Harris said. “I really enjoyed it enough to go all the way to Montana. My sister drove me all the way up there and left me and I floated back.”

Harris works at Ecton Construction in Montgomery City. He said he told his boss in advance about his kayaking trip through the Missouri River.

“I gave him almost a three year warning that I was taking the summer off,” Harris said. “It was amazing that I was able to do this.”

Harris began his trip on June 1 at Three Forks, which is 30 minutes west of Bozeman. That is where the Missouri River starts

“I got to go through Montana at three miles an hour for a month,” Harris said. “It was amazing. Not many people can say that.”

Harris ate freeze dried meals and slept at night during the trip.

“I usually stay on sandbars because I go down the river every night,” Harris said. “Anywhere below the high water mark, which is the top of the banks, is free camping in Missouri and quite a few other states, every state along the trip except for Nebraska.”

Harris stopped at Hermann – which is 20 miles from his home – on the afternoon of Sept. 13. About 20 family members and friends got to see him.

“It’s amazing to finally be so close to home after being away for three months,” Harris said.

Harris said a kayaking trip through the Missouri River takes a lot of planning. The Missouri River Paddlers website (missouririverpaddlers.com) has information on how to plan a trip through the river.

“There’s a whole community of crazy people like me,” Harris said. “I’m the 14th person this year to do this.”

Now that he’s back home in Montgomery County, Harris has his sights set on another big trip.

“I want to hike the Appalachian Trail next, so I have to save a little bit of money for that,” Harris said.