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But this time around, the Hilton Head Island kayak guide has decided to paddle the rest of the East Coast on his own as a personal rite of passage.
"I wanted to do something where I could test my limits and see how far I could go," said Peichert, who made a stop on Hilton Head last week to visit friends, rest and resupply.
The former Outside Hilton Head employee began his journey paddling from Miami to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore on April 1. He's making the trip to his hometown in a 17.5-feet-long, one-man kayak and plans to paddle between 20 to 25 miles a day on the Intracoastal Waterway, a continuous in-shore water route along the East Coast that he said basically serves as "an I-95 for boats and barges." In all, the stretch of water he's attempting to travel is about 1,400 miles.
"The first 23 days I went without seeing a single familiar face, but I had tons of good will along the way and a lot of help," said Peichert, describing one instance when an older couple at a public park in south Florida stocked him up with oranges and water. "The whole trip is totally dependent on that sort of thing. There's no way I could have gotten this far without a lot of help from kind strangers."
To prepare for the journey, Peichert spent three months researching what to pack, where to kayak camp and how to design a Web site that would keep his friends and family posted on the trip. Though he already had the kayak, the price of turning a whim into a reality has been about $4,000 so far.
"I had to order a bunch of gear before I started, ship the kayak down to Miami and take six months off from working to prepare and actually make the trip," Peichert said. "But at this point, it's not really that expensive. I could go three days out on the water without spending a dime."
Nearly 80 pounds of gear --a tent, sleeping bag, portable stove, pots, light, emergency equipment, food and water for up to four days -- fits in Peichert's kayak, albeit very specifically. Days are filled paddling between 10 and 12 hours, while nights are spent in marinas or wherever he can set up camp.
When he's on the water, Peichert said he spends a lot of time listening to his iPod, thinking up new recipes and coming up with comedic bits to use in conversation with strangers he encounters along the way.
"Fortunately, I can amuse myself," he said, "but my iPod is getting pretty repetitive."
Since the Intracoastal Waterway is mostly calm and flat, Peichert said he's not having to navigate extremely technical water. The real challenge has been staying organized and protected from the sun.
"I'm not a real organized person by nature, so living out of this kayak for about three months is tricky. Space is a premium," he said. "I burn easily, too, so I'm using SPF 75 constantly."
To update his blog, paddletheicw.blogspot.com, Peichert said he'll call his brother or girlfriend at night and dictate the day's adventures to them. His iPhone, which he uses to take pictures of his travels and make phone calls, is charged using a flexible solar panel.
Not that he's completely out of touch with those on land. Peichert said he's making stops along the way to make repairs to his kayak, take the occasional shower, stock up on food like rice, beans and quinoa, and to catch up with friends.
"I think most people are generally surprised when they realize that this is the best beard I can grow in a month," he said of their reactions to him. "The paddling is rewarding, but it's not the most enjoyable aspect of this trip. I like seeing new places, traveling and meeting people along the way. A few minutes in the kayak have been good, but every minute outside the kayak has been a lot of fun."
