Day 225 07/18/2010
Day 225 Start: 6:15 AM - Russell Island - Pointe aux Chenes, MI Finish 2:15 PM - Marysville, MI Time: 8:00 hours Daily dist: 17 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: Randy and Joel Orchard Weather: Partly cloudy with highs in the 980’s wind out of the SW at 10+ mph. Notes: Less mileage than recent days but all upstream on the St. Clair River. So far, 4000+ miles into this trip, one thing I’ve amazingly been able to avoid was mosquitoes. It was too cold for them in the famously buggy Everglades and apparently they just weren’t out (or I’ve been lucky) ever since. Lucky, that was, until this morning. It wouldn’t have taken a genius to guess that my camp site would hold a few bugs. After all, I had to push down waste high grass in order to create a flat spot in the only bit of land I could find that would be certain to be above the flood plane if it rained. For those that don’t know around here- tall grass and water = bugs.  High grass in camp. There is a boat in there somewhere. I knew I could be in for it but, exhausted after a long hot day of paddling, with few options, (in fact grateful for finding the spot suggested by my friend Randy who had seen it when he paddled through here before) I didn’t really have much choice when I set up camp last night. Thankfully last night they weren’t bad at all and I thought I had dodged the bullet again. However, this morning was a different story altogether. The sound of condensing dew dripping inside my tent was the first thing to wake me. After that it was the high pitched squealing drone of the hundreds of mosquitoes that had flown in under the rain fly and were searching for some port of entry through the now seemingly (too) thin layer of mesh that protected me from the buzzing hordes. Just enough bugs were out last night to cause me to dig my bug suit out of the front of the kayak and put it on for the first time since Georgia. Thankfully the suit was in the tent with me so I could put it on an maintain some measure of protection from the hungry swarm when I came time to break camp. Breakfast was less than restful as I chewed my cherry flavored Pop Tarts listening to the unrelenting chorus of tiny squealing voices. After rolling up my bedding, sleeping mat, and anything else I could think of, it was time to emerge from the protection of the tent into the frenzied cloud of flying stingers. To say I broke camp and loaded the kayak in a hurry would be an understatement. In fact I did it so fast I don’t even remember half the process. I do remember that the bug suit was the last thing I tucked into the front hatch before I threw on my spray skirt and PFD and jumped into the kayak and pushed off shore into the relative releif of open air over the river. As I paddled (quite briskly trying to outrun the mosquitoes) past fishermen anchored in their boats off shore, I apologized for dragging the swarm off shore with me. For a half mile the strongest flyers hovered in the wind eddy behind me and the very smartest ones walked around on the deck of my boat staying out of the wind all together. As I went I swatted and splashed the little blood suckers leaving a trail of mini carcasses stuck to my boat or floating in the water behind me. Even at the very end of the day I was still finding dead mosquitoes in the inner recesses of my life jacket.  The welcoming crew in Marysville, MI Despite the lively start the rest of my day was fantastic. Paddling upstream against the waters of lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron as they tried to reach Lake Erie to the south via the St. Clair river was as challenging as I expected. My average speed was cut almost in half as I worked my way north yet I was still making progress and enjoying the scenery so it was a pleasant morning. At 11:00 AM I reached the town of St. Clair and the St. Clair marina where Randy Orchard and his son Joel were preparing to join me for the last five miles upstream to Marysville. We launched after I had a chance to take a short break and soon were back on the main river where we discovered that the wind had come up and it had gotten a bit bouncier than it had been just a few minutes before. Randy had rarely been in water like that before but did just fine for the entire two and a half hour run to the north. Nineteen year old Joel made it look easy and left his father and I in the dust as he easily zoomed way out ahead and was quickly becoming nothing more visible than paddle flashes on the horizon.  Rush hour for kayaks When we landed on the public beach in Marysville (no permits required…Detroit take note) a small group of Randy’s friends and passers by gathered to shake my hand and congratulate me on the trip. Randy his wife Teresa, and I returned to Randy’s house where I hung my tent out to dry and enjoyed an awesome dinner with his family. Later we were visited by Randy’s friend (and canoeing buddy) Steve and enjoyed a pleasant evening of sharing stories of paddling adventures, which included a tale of when Steve met Verlen Kruger who is one of my paddlesport heroes and part of my inspiration for doing this trip. Day 222 and 223 (Full Post) 07/17/2010
Day 222 Start: 7:00 AM - Woodtick Peninsula, MI (outside Toledo, OH) Break: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM - Sterling State Park, MI Finish 4:00 PM - Stony Point, MI Time: 4:00 hours Daily dist: 17 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Mostly Clear with highs in the upper 80s wind out of the south at 5+ mph. Notes: A short day of paddling in order to say with Kim Harper and set up for a push into Detroit tomorrow. Day 223 Start: 7:45 AM - Stony Point, MI Finish 5:15 PM - Belle Isle Detroit, MI Time: 9:30 hours Daily dist: 31 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Mostly Clear with highs in the upper 80s wind out of the sw at 7+ mph. Notes: A long day of paddling to meet up with Ed Webber. Yesterday was a relatively uneventful day on the water. With not much distance to cover and a contact not available until later in the afternoon I took my time getting packed up and on the water. From Woodtick Peninsula I paddled three easy hours to Sterling State Beach where I hung out for the rest of the day waiting for the woman I was going to be staying with to get home from work. To make finding my way a little easier, Kim was out waving an orange paddle float from the end of her neighborhood dock. Kim’s house is only a couple blocks from the beach so rather than fuss with unloading the kayak completely and tying it to the roof of Kim’s truck, we put it on a kayak cart and pulled it to her house. Once I was all cleaned up it was off to dinner with Ed Webber the gentleman with whom I will be staying tomorrow night. To lighten my load for tomorrow I brought two duffle bags full of camping gear and sent them on with Ed.  Kim says good by from her dock The next morning (Day 223) instead of walking the two blocks to the water I sat in the back of Kim’s truck and held on to the bow of the Ikkuma while Kim drove the five minutes to the boat ramp and dock. After thanking Kim for her hospitality one more time, I threaded my way through the rocky shallows behind Stony Point then continued north two more hours before I claimed the end of Lake Erie. It was eleven days and about 280 miles from when I entered lake Erie back in Buffalo. Leaving the lake behind also meant leaving behind non flowing water for the next 50-60 miles. Over the next six hours, I got a fair taste of what the river current can be like as I slogged my way upstream past the industrial sector south of town, on past downtown, and into Belle Isle.  the south end of town is a bit industrial As soon as I reached the beach Ed was there with a cooler full of ice cold beverages. Just as I was taking a sip of Gatoraid I looked up and saw a cop writing Ed a parking ticket. Ed hustled over to see if he could explain the situation but the cop apparently was on a mission and merely told Ed that he was lucky that he didn’t cite us for launching/landing from that beach without a permit from the Detroit parks department.  Motown Once we were all loaded Ed took me back to his house where I got my second shower in as many days then went out for dinner with Ed in a nearby town where we had a great time chatting about everything under the sun while enjoying a fantastic meal. Day 224 07/17/2010
Be sure to check out complete Day 222 & 223 posts below Day 224 Start: 9:00 AM - Belle Isle Detroit, MI Finish 6:00 PM - Russell Island - Pointe aux Chenes, MI Time: 9:00 hours Daily dist: 31 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Partly cloudy with highs in the 90’s wind out of the SW at 15+ mph. Notes: A long day of paddling to across Lake St Clair. The sweet smell of freshly cooked waffles wafting up from Ed Webber’s kitchen woke me this morning. We had plans to get all the way back downtown to Belle Isle by 7:00 to do an interview with the local newspaper, so Ed was up shortly after 5:30 AM and by 6:00 he already had waffles ready to eat… and man… they were good. The reporter and photographer were already there when we pulled up at the beach on the island. After unloading the kayak and carrying it to the beach, Ed went back for my bags of gear while I answered the reporter’s questions. Nothing like having someone to do all the heavy work for you.  Ed says good bye from the beach When the reporter had exhausted her list of questions I began loading the gear into the Ikkuma which prompted a whole new series of questions. Finally when the boat was loaded everyone signed it and I pushed off into the Detroit River just a couple miles shy of Lake St. Clair. The photographer asked me to ’pose’ for a few shots before I headed out on my own up the river. The better part of the day was spent crossing Lake St. Clair which is actually one of the larger bodies of water I will be crossing on this trip. My strategy was to head up the western shore (to hide from the wind along the way) then do a four mile crossing to the mouth of the Middle Channel of the St. Clair River delta. As luck would have it, the wind stayed from the south giving me a push all the way to where I wanted to start my crossing. It was while I was taking a break before doing that last five mile crossing that the weather started to get interesting. Large storm clouds were gathering to my north and after a while I could see curtains of rainfall sweeping the land beneath the storm. With the wind blowing the storm away from me I did the last crossing without much fuss except for dealing with the above 90 temperatures.  Thunderstorms threatened all afternoon With the help of some information I got from a phone conversation with a local paddler named Randy I found a small pocket of undeveloped and dry land by 6:00 this evening. While I set up camp the sun was still blazing down and I was leaving actual puddles of sweat on whatever I worked on. Figuring it was too hot to even try to cook, I took a nap while I waited for the sun to set and things to cool off at least a little.  sunset from camp Day 222 and 223 (quick post) 07/16/2010
It's been a busy two days and it's already way past my bed time so I have to keep this short. Yesterday (Day 222) I had a short day as I paddled in to Stony Point near Monroe MI to stay with Kim Harper from the local paddling club. At dinner Kim and I met up with Ed Webber with whom I am staying tonight. By giving it to Ed to take home with him, I took advantage of the rare opportunity to pass my gear along to my next stop and enjoyed a lighter than normal boat to paddle today. At about 10:00 this morning (Day 223) I pulled out of Lake Erie after entering it just 11 days ago on July 5th. Almost right away I was faced with the realities of paddling upstream on the Detroit river. Thank goodness I had the ligher boat because my speed was already cut almost in half from what it was on the open lake. It was still a nice paddle and I made it to Bell Isle where Ed was waiting for me at the only sand beach we could find in the Detroit area. While Ed was doing me the huge favor of picing me up, the Detroit Police department was giving him a ticket. The unsympathetic cop wouldn't skip the parking ticket and said he was already doing us a favor by not citing us for landing at that beach without a permit from the parks department. Isn't it great that we have the police force out there keeping us safe. Tomorrow it's a couple more miles upstream on the Detroit river then across Lake St. Claire and a bit beyond if the weather and time allows. I'll try to fill out the rest of the story for the last two days when I have time. Day 221 07/14/2010
Daily stats Start: 4:15 AM - Middle Bass Island, OH Finish 12:00 PM (noon) - Woodtick Peninsula, MI Time: 7:45 hours Daily dist: 29 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Mostly Clear with highs in the low 80s wind out of the north at 5-mph Notes: Went into nearby marina to meet up with family friends for lunch. Then made camp at 6:00 PM Apparently a heavily laden kayak heading west toward the main land from Middle Bass Island in the pre-dawn darkness looks a little suspicious to the authorities. With my running light turned on and attached to the back of my PFD and my head lamp shining forward, I was rigged up completely safe and legal for paddling in the dark. Still, just minutes from the beach (much like a deer in the headlights) I found myself stuck in the glare of a patrol boat spotlight as it approached me from behind. At first I thought it was a fishing boat getting and early start but then flashing blue lights told me otherwise. The boat approached me cautiously with the spot light shining the length of my kayak very slowly from front to back then front again. This isn’t the first time I’ve been stopped on this trip. In fact it’s happened several times in the past. Usually it’s when I’m taking a course a bit further off shore than kayaks normally travel such as when I cut across a large bay or run off shore to avoid shallow water. Those previous stops were merely to check to see if I was OK and wasn’t so far off shore because something had gone wrong. This morning was a little different. Being so close to Canada the local authorities are always on the lookout for suspicious boating activity coming from across the lake. A lone kayaker heading straight west away from land at 4:15 AM tipped the scales toward the suspicious side and the officers had to check me out. Once again I got the typical “where did you start out?” and “where are you going” questions. Not wanting to rouse the already keyed up officers, for once, I didn’t answer with my usual “Portage Wisconsin.” Instead, I kept it to the local more immediately relevant land marks “South Bass Island Campground” and “Toledo.” Oops… I forgot Toledo was 30 miles away… The officers looked at one another and shined the light along my boat again...very slowly. Sensing their suspicious disbelief of such long mileage, I quickly explained my trip and my intended plan for the day.. “I‘m meeting some friends in town for dinner.“… A long pause as the spotlight shone directly at me…then an officer spoke up and said it was good that I had a light as my kayak didn’t show up on his radar. That I already knew from other big boats saying the same thing. Another asked if I had a GPS to navigate with, I said I did but preferred my map and compass and was really just planning on heading toward the power plant that was light up like a Christmas tree on the dark horizon. The third officer, nearest me asked why on earth I was out so early. “To beat the wind.” I explained. Undoubtedly veterans of more than one rough day on the water, they all three nodded in agreement and finally the one in front simply said good luck. With that they switched off their light and eased off and I was on my way toward Toledo.  Michigan The rest of the day went off without a hitch. The wind was up a little bit early on but never so much to cause any worry. In fact when it died off an hour before I landed I found myself wishing it would blow again to give some relief from the stifling heat. Right at noon I landed on the end of Woodtick Peninsula and set foot on the 20th state that I’ve visited on this trip, Michigan. There I called Jen’s cousins which whom I was planning on meeting for a quick visit in Toledo. We hatched a plan to meet at 3:00 at the waterside restaurants that I was informed were only about two miles away. Soap in hand I got cleaned up and even shaved before continuing on to the restaurants. As luck would have it the restaurants were closed until later in the evening so I ended up tying up at a nearby marina.  Family friends, Chelsea, Shelia, and Troy Right at 3:00 Jen’s aunt Shelia, cousin Troy, and his daughter Chelsea arrived and the four of us rode into town to find a place for lunch. We ended up at the famous Packos near the Toledo Mudhens stadium where I enjoyed one of the best chili hotdogs I’ve ever had. After returning to the marina and signing the kayak, we bid farewell and as they headed back toward Archibald Ohio I got back on the water and paddled back across the state line to set up camp on a small island near Woodtick Peninisula. Despite the name it is a pretty darn nice spot.  Giant lili pads in the area Day 220 07/13/2010
Daily stats Start: 6:00 AM - Kelleys Island, OH Finish 8;00 AM - Middle Bass Island, OH Time: 2:00 hours Daily dist: 7 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Mostly Cloudy with highs in the low 80s Notes: Short run to next island to the west With not a lot of time, and a recently unreliable cell/internet connection, I was getting desperate to get on line to check on the leads I had for support while going through Detroit this coming weekend. In addition I’ve been trying to figure out the details to meet up with some family friends who live an hour or so east of Toledo. All the plan we had was sometime on Wednesday no ideas as to exactly where or exactly when. Having your communication lines weakened when you’re trying to sort out logistics like this (especially when you spend the better part of each day in a kayak) is frustrating to say the least. Consequently, I’ve been a bit pre-occupied worrying about getting it all figured out. For that reason I didn’t mind sacrificing a half day today to work on it. With luck the cell connection here at the Middle Bass Island State Park where I ended up was very good and after four hours on the computer and phone everything looks like it‘s coming together perfectly. As soon as I started checking up on my leads for support in Detroit I discovered that many of the folks that had been interested and able to meet up with me are headed up north to the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium this coming weekend. Thankfully a local kayaker named Deborah de Lorenzo (who is an angel to me) got on her phone (while driving to the symposium none the less) and shook out some support for me when I reach Detroit this coming Friday. Another contact named Eric Slough who lives a bit more than a few miles east of Toledo was able to steer me toward some good camp sites just outside Toledo as well as a boat up restaurant that I can meet my friends at. I don’t know what this trip would be like without the connections and help I’ve had with so many people along the way.  Spread out doing a half day of 'paperwork' one of the realities of staying in touch on this trip Talking about people I’ve met along the way… After spending half the day doing ’office’ work I was itching to paddle over to South Bass Island (aka Put-In-Bay) to check out the scene over there. I was warned that it’s a bit of a party town overrun by tourists on golf carts and that description was not far off. My first stop was by the local kayak rental place to see if there was a place for me to take out there. There was no room but Vicki Wigle (who runs the operation) was so impressed by my trip that she called the local press to see if they were interested, ther were but they were out of town. Not wanting to miss out on the story, Vicki took it upon herself to take my picture and suggested that I take my boat out at the "Boardwalk" restaurant not far away. She still needed more info about my trip so I walked back over and gave here some of the details.  Very near the beach where I pulled my kayak out, I discovered a sign with arrows pointing to different towns with distances shown in nautical miles via actual water routes. Having been to many of the places on the sign, by paddling the very water routes their respective distances indicated, I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of the sign. While I was doing that Jason from the parasail outfit nearby noticed me and struck up a conversation. He had seen me coming in while he was running his last batch of clients and could tell I wasn’t just there to dabble around the islands. He lives in Florida in the winter, in the Marco Island area, and could appreciate just how far I’d come. The next thing I knew he asked if I’d like a ride on the parasail… Well gee, twist my arm… Not being one to turn down an adventure I jumped at the chance. So after a quick visit with Vicky at the kayak rental place I doubled back to the parasail dock and got a birds eye view of the town at the end of an eight hundred foot long rope. The view was spectacular and the ride smooth and remarkably silent. With my mind always on the route, I found myself at one point in my “flight” searching the horizon to the west for what lies ahead tomorrow. If you’ve never parasailed before I highly recommend it. Talk about fun.   After the flight I walked around town for an hour or so dodging the many golf carts that roam the streets. Along the way I took in the Peace Memorial which is a very tall tower that was built to honor the longest peaceful border in the world which exists between the US and Canada. At first I thought it was a bit odd to have a monument to honor the peace between us and Canada. It’s such a solid thing that one can hardly imagine it any other way. But when you stop to look at all the places in the world that fight constantly back and forth across their borders, it is a truly amazing (and almost unique thing on this planet) that we can share 3000 miles of border so peacefully.  The small arch on Gibrlatar On my way back to Middle Bass Island I did a loop around Gibraltar Island where I was treated to beautiful rock formations and a sighting of the elusive water snake that inhabits these islands. I tried to get a picture but as I drew near the 2 ½ foot snake submerged and swam away… gave me the willies a bit I must admit. Day 219 07/12/2010
Daily stats Start: 6:00 AM - Lorain, OH Finish 3:45 PM - Kelly Island, OH Time: 9:45hours Daily dist: 34 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Cloudy w/ showers in morning, partly cloudy and beautiful in PM Notes: Stopped at southern most beach on Lake Erie at about 10:30 AM
After a couple storm cells passed by this morning the day turned out to be a relatively quiet one. When I woke at 4:30 I could see lighting flashing over the lake so I decided that a pre-sunrise launch would not be a great idea. Of course being a bit tired from a late night last night it was easy to use the weather as an excuse to say in bed a bit longer. I had ended up sleeping in Colleen’s tent which she had put up for visitors over the weekend and decided to leave up for me. Not having to break down camp bought me another twenty minutes of sleep, which was also appreciated. So after “sleeping in” until 5:30 I was still able to get on the water by 6:00. After launching I bid farewell to Colleen and thanked her, once again, for all her help and headed SW down the shore.  Colleen saying good by from her beach.
After four hours of paddling I decided to take a quick break at a somewhat noteworthy spot in today’s journey. It was the southernmost beach on Lake Erie… Like I said it was a quiet day.  Big smiles on the southernost beach of Lake Erie
From the southern most beach I headed northwest (for the first time since entering the lake) and paddled toward the Cedar Point Amusement Park with giant roller-coasters gleaming on the horizon ten miles away. With the south wind now helping me along, I reached the park without any trouble. Things were going so smoothly I decided to take a more direct route to Kelly Island which meant a longer open water crossing but less mileage overall. This time the wind was directly on my back and I made excellent time all the way to and around the north point of the island.  Not a bad place to hang out and wait for sunset.
Inside the cove on the north side of the island I located the private beach that John, who I’d met last night, had arranged for me to stay on. It turns out that he knows the and made a couple calls on my behalf so I could stay. It is just a small beach and is flanked on one side by aFrom the southern most beach I headed northwest (for the first time since entering the lake) and paddled toward the Cedar Point Amusement Park with giant roller-coasters gleaming on the horizon ten miles away. With the south wind now helping me along, I reached the park without any trouble. Things were going so smoothly I decided to take a more direct route to Kelly Island which meant a longer open water crossing but less mileage overall. This time the wind was directly on my back and I made excellent time all the way to and around the north point of the island. private house and on the other by a YMCA camp so I didn’t want to set up my tent too early. Luck would have it that a state park beach was just a quarter mile further down the beach so I paddled down and hung out for the rest of the day. All the while taking advantage of the picnic tables and other facilities. Right at dark I’ll paddle back down and set up my tent so I won’t bother anybody. Day 218 07/11/2010
Daily stats Start: 8:30 AM - Cleveland, OH Break: 12:30 AM - 3:30 PM Huntington Beach, OH Finish 6:30 PM - , OH Time: 7:00 Daily dist: 25 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: Mark and Wendy then local paddling club Weather: Mostly clear w/ variable winds high in 80’s Notes: A nice day on the water with Mark and Wendy then later with a local kayak club. Throughout this trip I have benefited immeasurably from the kindness and generosity of people who barely know me. Today was once again one of those days.  Mark from 41 Degrees North The day started out from the rowing club dock in downtown Cleveland where I was joined by Mark who hosted me the last two days. His plan was to paddle north with me for about ten miles, then catch up with another paddler near our destination that could shuttle him back to his truck. The plan went off like clockwork and about an hour from Huntington Beach we were joined by Wendy who had put in not too far away. We all paddled in to the beach together, then after a snack break at the “Honey Hut” snack shop, Mark and Wendy launched and headed back toward town to the next beach over where Wendy’s car was waiting.  Wendy on her way back toward the put in All morning long I had, once again, been fussing with my camera trying to get it to keep the white balance settings straight. The camera has been exceptionally problematic lately especially, it seems, when the pictures I’m taking are more important than the norm. After watching me fuss with the camera all morning, Mark offered to lend me his camera for the rest of the trip with a promise to mail it back when I was done. It takes the same memory card and battery that my current camera does so it would be perfect. Knot being in an easy position to purchase my own new camera I accepted Mark’s offer and now have a much more reliable camera to use for the rest of the trip. I owe Mark a lot for taking that concern off my mind.  Lighthouse outside of Lorian OH The plan for me was to continue on to the west trying to hook up with a few local paddlers who were camped out at a lakeside home that belongs to one of their members Colleen. A few phone calls throughout the day let me to the lighthouse where a posse of local paddlers were on their way to greet me and lead me back to the beach. I’d missed a giant beach party they’d had the night before. Judging by the 10x30 foot pile of still warm ash on the ground one could imagine that it must have been one great party. After getting cleaned up a few of us walked next door and Colleen picked up the tab for a nice dinner at the Mexican restaurant located there. As I write this I’m camped out in Colleen’s back yard ready for an expeditious launch in the morning to once again try to beat the wind.  My welcoming committie from the local paddling club Day 217 07/10/2010
After pushing hard for the last five days straight my body (and mind) was in need of a break so I decided to take the day off and see some of what there is to see in Cleveland. After sleeping in a bit Mark, Patti, Will, and I went out for breakfast then drove down to Mark’s kayak rental outfit to drop off a boat. It was a beautiful Saturday and things were hopping at the rental outfit with almost all of the boats out on the water. From there we drove over to the West Side Market (reportedly one of the oldest indoor “farmers” markets in the country). Inside the unassuming brick building was a carnival like crowd of people winding through the isles between vendors display cases stuffed full of every meat, bread, or cheese you could imagine. It took me about a half hour of wandering to finally realize that with all the food for sale, vegetables and fruits were conspicuously absent. That’s when I noticed doors leading outside to another building which contained just that, in amazing and colorful abundance. Knowing that I have such limited space in my boat I had to fight to restrain myself and kept my purchases to a pound of fresh cherries, some beef sticks, and four apples. Some of each were gone before we even left the building.  West Side Market - so much food so little time Next it was on toward the waterfront where Mark and Patti dropped me off to explore on my own. I stopped by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but decided (with not too much time to tour) I’d save that tour for another day. Instead I walked down to the oar freighter which is now docked in the harbor and is set up as a museum. Walking around the huge ship was quite interesting and gave me a glimpse into the lives of fresh water sailors that I’ve always been curious about.  View of Cleveland from the deck of an oar ship
From the harbor I wandered through downtown on my way to the buss terminal where I caught a ride back out to Mark and Patti’s house. There they had beef shiskabobs, asparagus, and perogies ready for dinner, all from our stop at the market earlier in the morning. It was a fantastic meal with great new friends. Day 216 07/09/2010
After three days with no cell service I finally got days 14 and 15 posted. Be sure to check out those posts below as well.Daily stats Start: 6:00 AM - Near Redbird, OH Break: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Chagrin River Marina Finish 6:00 PM - Cleveland, OH Time: 11:00 Daily dist: 35 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Overcast, showers, windy (west then north), temp in 70’s Notes: A rougher day on the water but got a great tail wind all afternoon By my count I’ve gone 172 nautical miles in 5 days. I never intended to go so far so fast but the paddling this week has been so nice, I just didn’t want to stop. Everything I’d ever heard about Lake Erie was that it was windy and rough. Today was a bit of that, but certainly still tolerable. Overall though the lake has been amazing with beautiful scenery and clear warm water. It doesn’t get much better. After the last three days of placid water and hot temperatures today was a bit of a switch. Today started for me at about 12:30 AM when I woke to the sound of building surf franticly hitting the beach. A quick look with the beam of my flashlight revealed only one foot waves but they were already washing up the beach uncomfortably close to my tent. Knowing that there were storms on the way in that could push up much bigger waves, and not wanting to be re-awakened by a cool wash of water entering my tent, I got up and moved my camp as far back up the beach as I could. It was really only about 15 feet further but it was all I could do. The storms and wind held off throughout the night but my launch was delayed an hour as I waited for a storm to pass (not that I minded after such early starts earlier this week).  Looking over my shoulder at a storm passing behind me Throughout the morning I cautiously eyed they sky scanning the northwest for any dark cloud that looked like it could give me trouble. Numerous rain clouds did pass bringing with them strong downpours and momentary strong gusts of wind but no more lightning. After six hours of paddling, in a downpour of rain with building headwinds, I pulled into the Chagrin River marina to take a break. Up to this point I’d only made it 16 miles which means my speed was well below the 3 mph I hoped to maintain, the days paddling was turning into a bit of a slog. With the wind whipping and rain falling I called Mark Pecot to check in. Mark owns “41deg. North” a local kayak rental, tour, instructional company. I had contacted him a couple weeks ago looking for info about the lake and he offered up a place to stay when I got as far as Cleveland. The way it was looking I figured it might make sense to call it a short day and stay at the marina for the night if they would allow it. I told Mark I’d check into it and let him know either way. After talking to the young woman running the fuel dock about where I may be able to pull out and get out of the weather for a while (and worst case put up a tent) she directed me to the yacht club clubhouse where I could certainly get out of the rain for a while and ask the marina manager about camping. With only very high docks all around getting off the water would require going back outside the breakwater to land on the small beach just to the west. So I paddled back out of the marina and started setting up to land on the steep beach with moderate but dumpy waves rolling in. Just before I committed to a run into the beach I realized that the wind was blowing on my left ear, from the northwest. In the hour I had played around in the marina the wind had changed from a strong headwind to a nice tailwind. Not wanting to pass up on a helping push from mother nature, I abandoned my plan to wait out the weather (which was already starting to break up anyway) and continued on, now going almost twice as fast as I had been.  Cleveland from the water After a few more hours of paddling in choppy and exciting waters I passed behind the outer breakwater of Cleveland’s harbor and took in the view of the city skyline. The tall ships were indeed in, just like everyone had told me, so I got a chance to see them as I paddled into town. In addition I saw the first great lakes freighter of this trip. It came in the harbor entrance and up the impossibly narrow river that winds through Cleveland. I followed in behind the freighter (with a lot more elbow room than him) and continued about two miles upstream to the rowing club where Mark keeps some of his kayak fleet for 41degrees North. Waiting for me there was one of Mark’s coaches named Jason who helped me get the Ikkuma tucked away in the enormous boat house and gave me the key to the company truck which I then drove back to Mark’s house. Once again I was blown away by peoples hospitality and trust, after all I was given the key to a truck by a person I had just met, that belongs to a person I’ve only e-mailed twice and called three times, to be driven through a town I’d never seen before. The sense of community in the kayaking world is tight for sure.  The tall ships are in port  Great lakes freighter Mark is a full time history teacher at a local high school and after working for outdoor stores and in other kayak instruction programs and (in a sense) he got his start with his kayaking business by running lessons for the kids at his school. Now the business has grown to include an active rental program on one of the local rivers that keeps seven seasonal employees busy. In addition he and a staff of instructors run lessons and trips on the weekends throughout the summer. Mark has admittedly but the business aside (just a bit) to make time for his 21month old son William. When I arrived at Mark (and his wife Patti’s) house talkative young Will was eager to show me all of his toy balls and demonstrated his amazing ability to shoot hoops from across the room into the miniature basketball hoop that was set up in the living room… Definitely worth making time for. | Best of the Blog
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