Lexington woman kayaking the Mississippi River for research

Alyssum Pohl was in her tent hopelessly trying to sleep while a group of drunken twentysomethings spent the night shooting guns and yelling just outside.

Mud, mosquitoes and more than 2,500 miles of water separate this Lexington native and University of Kentucky graduate from her goal of kayaking the entire Mississippi River.

Pohl will take water samples, document litter and help clean up beaches along the way.

Coupled with tired joints and aching muscles come other hardships, such as when Pohl's stove broke down the first night she tried to fire it up.

[...] despite such hiccups, Pohl is mostly staying positive and has continued her mission, taking water samples, collecting trash and paddling on.

Pohl will keep some of the litter for Lindsey Wohlman, an artist from Lafayette, Colo., who wants to use the waste to create a model of the river that shows where each piece of trash comes from.