Washougal man completes 1,000-mile trek on paddleboard

Curtis raises $56K for NW Battle Buddies while traversing Columbia River

Michael Curtis, of Washougal, greets a dog along the Columbia River, in 2024. Curtis has raised more than $56,000 for Northwest Battle Buddies through his 1,000-mile journey down the Columbia River on a stand-up paddleboard. . (Contributed photos courtesy of Michael Curtis)

Michael Curtis, of Washougal, smiles Aug. 10, 2024, before embarking on the second day of his fifth and final leg of his journey to paddleboard the length of the Columbia River. (Contributed photos courtesy of Michael Curtis)

Washougal resident Michael Curtis has traversed the entire length of the Columbia River, almost 1,000 miles, on a paddleboard during the last seven years.

Michael Curtis, of Washougal, takes a selfie while navigating his stand-up paddle board on the Columbia River, Aug. 10, 2024.

Washougal resident Michael Curtis paddleboards on the Columbia River in 2024. Curtis paddled the entire length of the river, traveling nearly 1,000 miles, between 2016 and Aug. 17, 2024.

After seven years, three surgeries, 18 months of physical therapy, more than $56,000 in charitable donations and 1,000 miles of rigorous paddleboarding, Michael Curtis is about to complete the most ambitious journey of his self-described “adventurous life.”

Curtis, a Washougal resident, is finishing his journey to traverse the entire length of the Columbia River on a stand-up paddleboard to raise money for Northwest Battle Buddies (NWBB), a Battle Ground nonprofit dedicated to gifting professionally trained service dogs to military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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