Day 264 08/26/2010
Daily Stats Start: 12:30 PM - Marquette, WI Finish 3:30 PM - Montello, WI Time: 3:00 hours Daily dist: 11 miles Total dist: 5200+ Companions: None Weather: Clear skies, 70’s, calm winds - nice Notes: Ran the route as a day trip using a bicycle to work a solo shuttle. 
When I first got started in paddle sports more than twelve years ago it was with open canoes on the rivers around Wausau and later Sparta Wisconsin when I lived a summer down there. At that time I could never seem to find anybody to go along with me, so I often went alone. To avoid having to paddle upstream on out and back trips, I worked my own shuttles by using a bicycle to ride back to where I’d leave my truck at the put-in. Sometimes I would lock my bike at the take-out if it was on the way to the put-in. Other times I’d simply put the bike in the canoe with me. Either way, when I reached the take out I’d lock the canoe to a tree then ride back to where I left my truck and pick up the canoe on my way home. Now, you may remember that my goal for this trip was to paddle a continuous loop of water around the eastern US while seeing what there is to see and meeting folks along the way, with the only rule being that I had to start each day on the water where I left of the day before. I had no rules regarding who carries my gear or where I stay at night. That being said, at this point in the game I’ve honestly had my fill of sleeping on the ground and am very happy to take advantage of any civilization that comes my way. Of course I’ve been doing that all along anyway, so no surprise there. With just a few very short days of paddling left on the way in to Portage I’ve decided to go the lazy man’s route and set up a base camp to day trip the last miles to the finish line. Day tripping on a one way water route, of course, involves a shuttle to be able to return to camp each night. Seems how I was running solo today, I figured I’d dust off my old bike and work a shuttle like I did when I was paddling around home twelve years ago. Shuttles are always a bit of a brain twister to figure out and are often more complicated “on paper” than they are in reality, add a bicycle to the mix and it just seems worse. When I explained my plan for today to my brother Luke (a high school math teacher) he had trouble following the logical sequence of [drop bike - drive truck - paddle boat - ride bike - drive truck - pick up boat - go home] and asked “Geeze man, is it worth the trouble?” I thought so, for old time’s sake at the very least, and arriving in my truck from Wausau (pop up camper in tow) I set about finding a place to lock my bike in Montello which was my water borne destination for the day.  A secure spot for bike and boat
The drop spot for the bike had to be secure because ultimately my boat would be locked there while I rode back for my truck. The canoe trail take-out at the dam in Montello was crawling with people fishing from shore and had few suitable trees or poles onto which to lock the bike/boat anyway. Searching for the right spot, my attention was drawn to the Rendezvous Paddle & Sports shop across the bridge just a hundred yards away. After explaining my situation Charlotte from “Charlotte’s Café” (which is part of the business along with a bait shop, canoe/kayak sales, and canoe/kayak/tube rentals on the river) she said it’d be no problem for me to lock my bike up to a tree behind the store. Conveniently there was a low floating dock nearby in a quiet backwater of the Montello river (connected just downstream to the Fox) where I would be able to take out later on. Before I departed in my truck (with the lunch rush filling the counter in the café) I gave Charlotte one of my trip flyers and promised to explain more fully what I am up to when I returned.
With my bicycle securely cabled to a tree I jumped into my truck and poked the boat ramp in Marquette as my destination into my navigator. It was then that I once again realized how a bit more pre-planning could have made my life a bit easier on this trip. Normally, by the twisty nature of rivers and straight nature of roads, the distance covered by a day of paddling can be retraced by a bicycle in a comparatively short time. If I’d looked ahead last Sunday when I selected my pull out spot for the day, and picked a location on the north shore of Lake Puckaway, that would have been true. However, I didn’t look that close at my maps, nor think that far ahead, and simply picked a convenient spot on the south shore of the lake. What my navigator revealed to me (and what was plane to see on my maps when I finally focused on the roads instead of the water) is that on the south shore of the lake between Montello and Marquette is a large wetland through which no roads cross. Instead the highway skirts way south then way east and finally back to north before it returns to the shore of the lake. This roundabout route creates a rare instance where the bike ride is more than twice as long as the paddle (25 miles vs. 10 miles in fact.) Later in the day when I was talking to the folks at the Rendezvous store I learned that they don’t run their shuttle pickup trips to Marquette for that very reason… smart…very smart. As I drove to the put-in in Marquette…and drove… and drove… and drove… I realized that I’d have my work cut out for my (eight-months-in-a-kayak spindly legs) when it came time to ride back to pick up my truck. The plan was set and, I was committed either way, so it didn’t pay to worry about it until the time came. Making great time in an empty boat in ideal conditions I covered the ten water miles in about three hours. The most interesting thing I saw along the way was what appeared to be a cable ferry designed for livestock. It was set up just upstream from the lake to apparently move animals from the south shore to an “island” in the marsh to the north. In 5000 miles of paddling this was the first time I’d seen such a contraption.  One of After pulling out at the Rendezvous dock, securing my kayak, and switching into biking mode, I stopped into the store long enough to have a quick bight to eat where I had a chance to visit more with the owners. With a belly full lunch I hopped on my bike to begin what turned out to be a pleasant ride back to my truck. The ride was nice but my underused legs protested the sudden work load all the way. In my truck I motored back to my boat loaded it on to the rack and headed south to the Indian Trails Campground outside of Portage where I’ll be base camping for the next few nights. The campground owners Dave and Myrna (who were in Portage on launch day and have followed along with the entire trip) were expecting me and took time out of their busy schedules to visit for a bit and make me feel at home. CommentsLyn Stachovak 08/27/2010 7:25:30 am Luke said the bike, kayak and truck set up is like the old riddle of the rowboat, chicken and fox... Glad it worked out for you. See you tomorrow. Al Benton 08/27/2010 8:16:18 am Seeing the livestock barge reminds me of Goat Island in the Mississippi River in our area. It's an un-official name that came about after seeing goats running freely on the island. Their owner would barge them out to the island for safe keeping in the warmer months (bar any flooding) and barge them back before winter set in. I haven't seen the barge that he used but it must have been similar to the one you ran across. Very interesting. Andy 08/27/2010 9:50:59 am Jake, your method of driving and biking is also very useful for cheap people who hate to pay for parking in bigger cities. Watch out for those wetlands though ;) 08/27/2010 7:02:45 pm I'm not sure but I don't think there was a seat on that bike. Did you have to stand up and peddle all the way? Portage Dug 08/28/2010 2:19:09 am Well Pat, I've witnessed him 'stand up' paddle his 'yak so it is possible, but he did say he had a pleasant ride. Leave a Reply | Best of the Blog
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