Anthony V. Coppola Staff Writer
EAST WINDSOR — Curiosity finally got the best of lifetime friends Keith Rebhorn and Remi Cossart.
The result was a grueling but satisfying conclusion to their high school days.
Early last month the duo embarked on an estimated 60-mile kayaking journey beginning in the Millstone River behind Mr. Rebhorn’s house in East Windsor and concluding about 34 hours later at the Raritan Bay in Perth Amboy.
”I was always amazed by the mystery in the river in Keith’s backyard,” Mr. Cossart said. “I always wondered, where does that river actually go? The sheer desire to discover and do something no one else really has done pushed me along.”
The 18-year-old Hightstown High School graduates became short on time with departures for college looming. Mr. Rebhorn attends the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken and studies naval engineering. Mr. Cossart majors in economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
The trip involved several facets of planning. Both pointed to basic outdoor and camping skills learned in the Boy Scouts as important tools. Food and water supply also was a major issue, according to Mr. Rebhorn.
”The day before we left we hung a trash bag filled with food and three gallons of water from a bridge on the Millstone past Carnegie Lake,” he said. “We made sure it was low enough to be cut down by the time we reached it paddling the next day.”
The young men departed around 6 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4. The first leg of the course landed the team at Carnegie Lake in about four hours.
”The early part was slow and winding with tons of water obstacles like trees across the river, shallow water, mud and beaver dams,” Mr. Cossart said.
Mr. Rebhorn said they were forced to remove their kayaks from the water and walk around the disruptions in some cases.
Part of their training involved a practice run to Carnegie Lake. The remainder of the trip was uncharted territories, according to Mr. Rebhorn. The team reached their second destination at about 4:45 p.m. Saturday.
”We stopped and headed to a church that Remi’s father suggested we stop at,” Mr. Rebhorn said. “We attended a service and had some time out of the sun and in air conditioning.”
The duo decided to set up camp around 7:30 p.m. after an additional hour of paddling. Weather was not an issue but sleep was. They each brought a hammock for a bed and a tarp for protection.
”Even though we were exhausted, sleep did not come that well because the adrenaline was keeping us both up,” Mr. Rebhorn said. “And then there was a train that would blow its horn until like 1:30 in the morning. Altogether we each got about two hours of sleep.”
When the whistle blew again at 4:45 a.m., they broke camp and were on the water by 6 a.m. They paddled until they reached New Brunswick around 10 a.m. according to Mr. Rebhorn.
”As we were eating lunch we realized the water was no longer flowing downstream, it was flowing upstream,” he said. “This meant the tide was coming in and continued to come in until about 3 p.m., which was about a half an hour before we landed.”
Mr. Rebhorn and Mr. Cossart said they paddled for a total of 21 hours when they reached their destination in the Raritan Bay.
Each one is taking something special from the trip.
”The experience taught me how much I really can accomplish with motivation and teamwork,” Mr. Cossart said. “I have to say this trip would not have been possible solo. We each tried to keep the other going all out the entire time.”
Mr. Rebhorn had more of an environmental enlightenment.
”The most satisfactory part of the trip was realizing that even though we were in New Jersey, that there is a completely different world within itself,” he said. “We were able to see wildlife that we never expected to be minutes away from popular interstates.”
The trip marked a transition in both of their lives and they hope to make it an annual event.
”It was a lot of fun,” Mr. Cossart said. “Keith and I have been best friends since we were little. This trip was kind of an end to our high school years.”

