Day 228 07/21/2010
Daily Stats Start: 8:30 AM - Forester, MI (Forester County Park) Break: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Harbor Beach, MI Finish 7:00 PM - Port Hope, MI (Huron County Campground) Time: 8:30 hours Daily dist: 27 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Partly cloudy with highs in the 70’s NW wind 10+ Notes: Great start with an awesome breakfast prepared by Deborah.  Deborah at the helm As it turned out last night Deborah got held up in traffic and didn’t make it to the campground until after 10:00 PM. She did have all the fixings for the dinner she was so excited to cook for me but it was just too late. So, this morning we had Lake Huron Whitefish… for breakfast… and it was good.  Whitefish, not just for dinner anymore Deborah is the woman who just about moved mountains to find someone to help me out as I went through Detroit. Months ago when my friend Steve had put out an e-mail to local paddlers trying to round up help for me, Deborah had eagerly volunteered a place to stay and a home cooked meal. As luck would have it, when I called her to check in early last week she was in her car on her way up north for a kayak symposium. Undeterred and still determined to help me out (while she was on the road) she made a bunch of calls and tuned up Ed with whom I did stay and had a great time. After she had gone through so much trouble, I still wanted to meet this mystery woman. Figuring she’d be coming back down from the symposium sometime after the weekend, I e-mailed to see if we could still meet up. Long story short she was still keen to meet me (as I was her) so I pulled out at the county campground so we could meet on neutral kayak/car ground.  After the great breakfast I got back on the water and headed north in the already building offshore wind. After six and a half hours of paddling I pulled out at Harbor Beach, where I am right now, (and where I knew I’d have cell coverage enough to get this post up). The towns are getting smaller and more spread out as I continue north so I think these mid-day stops in town may become the norm in order to stay connected. The paddling has been great and the scenery nice too. The best part is an almost complete lack of jet skis, ski boats, and yachts that were constant company on Lake Erie. The silence is wonderful. After this break I’m figuring on continuing on up the shore for a few more hours. I had plans to push on to some undeveloped land about ten miles up but the wind is building so I don’t know if it’s really within reach. I guess we’ll see where I end up when I get there. ----- Addendum ----- While I was taking a break writing up this days post I checked my e-mail and found a note from a woman named Kris. Who owns a kayak store (called thekayakstore.com) on the north shore of Lake St. Clair which I passed through a few days ago. In her e-mail Kris expressed how disappointed she was that she missed me on the way through and that she‘d still like to meet me if it was possible. Long story short after calling around on my behalf to find a camp ground where we could meet, she discovered the Huron County Park Campground just seven miles from where I was taking a break and arranged for me to stay there. Then Kris and her husband drove all the way up to meet me and took me into town for pizza. Ending up at the camp was incredible luck. The nice sand beaches I’d been paddling past for the previous day and a half gave way to marsh grass right to the water. Having a known high and dry spot to pull out rather than searching into the dark was great. The manager of the campground Butch and his wife Cheryl were also great in making sure I was situated and comfortable, they even let me set up in an unofficial spot so I could keep an eye on my boat. Where I ended up putting my boat was an adventure in it’s own. What looked like sand turned out to be knee deep mud which I ended up dragging the Ikkuma through for about 25 yards to solid ground. When I was through I was covered with caked on mud, thankfully a water spout was nearby so I could rinse off.  Me with Kris and Wally CommentsSue S. Thu, 22 Jul 2010 3:49:37 am You just missed the Port Huron-to-Mackinac sailboat race last weekend with over 200 boats in Lake Huron, but the even bigger 350+ yacht Chicago-to-Mackinac race is this coming weekend in Lake Michigan. You might want to avoid the 3000 sailors on Mackinac Island next Tuesday-Wednesday, but the site of many sails rounding the bend and coming in under the Mackinac Bridge is a sight to behold! David Nisbett Thu, 22 Jul 2010 7:53:32 am Don't get used to the peace and quiet for too long. As soon as you make the Bay you will again be in civilization (ie. Jet Skis and many boats). Lyn Stachovak Thu, 22 Jul 2010 9:15:21 am Wow, Deborah can put together a great looking shore lunch. Nothing I cooked on a camping trip ever looked so elegant! Think I better brush up on my outdoor cooking skills a bit. Donna Bassett Thu, 22 Jul 2010 9:42:37 am I am charting your course and wondering how you will handle Saginaw Bay. Are you going to go along the shoreline in the bay or cross around Sleeper State Park over to Pt. Au Gres? Enjoying the daily logs and looking forward to your stop in St. Ignace. Paddle safe! Thu, 22 Jul 2010 3:33:44 pm Like David said, you will see plenty of activity in the Bay if you go down towards Saginaw. Of course I don't think it will be like before though. Leave a Reply | Best of the Blog
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