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Day 238 (Happy Birthday Dad!)

7/31/2010

Daily Stats
Start: 6:00 AM - Zela Point (Bois Blanc Island)
Break: 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM Mackinac Island (includes 2 hr Circumnavigation)
Finish 6:00 PM - St. Ignas, MI
Time: 5:00 hours
Daily dist: 15 miles
Total dist: 4500+
Companions: Donna and Steve Bassett
Weather: ENE then E winds up to 10 mph, mostly cloudy, some rain 70’s
Notes: Did two hour circumnavigation of the island to wait for it to come alive.

If my memory is correct, it was exactly one year ago today that I first mentioned this trip to my parents. First it was, “hello and happy birthday Dad” followed by “hey I’m going to be moving home” then “but first I’ve got a little trip planned.” From the day I announced the trip, and for the next several months, any mention of my intent to spend the better part of a year paddling around half our country was met with stunned and strained silence from both my parents. It was almost remarkable to witness the variety of ways my mother found to change the subject when I brought it up. It suffices to say that they came around and are now two of my biggest supporters. Today when I called home to wish Dad a happy birthday I did so at a milestone point in this trip where I entered Lake Michigan and began what many are calling the home stretch of this trip. It may be the home stretch but with over 700 miles to go I’m being cautious to not look too far ahead at the finish line and concentrate on the next day and week instead.

Passing the Mackinac Bridge

Thankfully what lies within the week ahead is a rendezvous with my parents who aren’t inclined to wait another two weeks for me to reach Wisconsin. Instead they’re going to be driving six hours up into Michigan to catch up with me in a town called Manistique on Tuesday. After that they will be following along with the trip for a few days by leaping from campground to campground as I continue south. After eight months on the trail it is going to be great to see them, and after paddling a heavily loaded boat for the same amount of time, it will be nice to leave my gear in their truck and paddle light for a change.

My dad and I had a somewhat hurried conversation when I called home today, with the sound of his four grandsons calling in the background, I had just enough time to wish him a Happy Birthday before he was pulled back into the hubub of activity in a home full of family. The pain of wishing I was there was dampened some by knowing that this would be the last of his birthdays I would miss. It was dampened more with the fact that tonight I was staying with the Bassett family who had invited me to stay just a week or so ago and who showed me the kind of generosity and kindness that never ceases to amaze me.

Steve and his mom Donna escorted me to their lakeside home.

Steve Bassett had heard about my trip via the Detroit newspaper article that was written a few weeks ago. He called his parents who live on Lake Michigan just west of St. Ignas and filled them in. Long story short today I received a hearty “Welcome to Lake Michigan” from both Steve (who had driven up from Detroit) and Donna (his mom) when I met up with them on the west side of the Mackinac bridge. After an interview with a reporter at a park near the bridge, I paddled with Steve and Donna the remaining two miles to their home. Once again I was treated to the kindness and generosity of strangers turned new friends as they treated me to a home cooked dinner and a drive into town for an ice cream cone and a viewing of the fireworks which are a weekly Saturday night feature at the waterfront in town.

Before I passed under the bridge and met up with the Bassetts, I had spent the better part of the day touring Mackinac Island. The famous tourist destination was everything everyone had warned in the way of fudge shops, T-shirt stores, and crowds of tourists on bicycles and horse drawn wagons. The gleaming white Fort Mackinac high on the limestone bluff above town and equally impressive Grand Hotel were definitely sites worth seeing. You can’t get on the lane in front of the hotel without paying $10 (which I decided isn’t worth it) but I still got close enough to admire the white giant that helped turn the island into what it is today.

Hey buddy! you have to pay to get that close.

Original Quick Post

This is just a quick update until I have more time to do a full post.

After spending half the day visiting Mackinac Island, I paddled under the Mackinac Bridge and finally entered Lake Michigan at 4:00 PM. There I met up with the Basset family a with whom I spent the night.

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Day 237

7/30/2010

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Daily Stats
Start: 5:45 AM - P.H. Hoeft State Park
Finish 3:00 PM - Zela Point (Bois Blanc Island)
Time: 9:15 hours
Daily dist: 36 miles
Total dist: 4500+
Companions: None
Weather: NNE then E winds up to 10 mph, partly cloudy, 70’s
Notes: The 40 Mile Light park was closed so we went back to the State Park to put in.

Keep land on your left for 4000 miles, then...

From the very first time I mentioned this trip, my brother Luke has cued up his best Forest Gump impersonation and teased me in a slow ramble “Hi.. my name is Jake… I’m goin paddlin. It’s easy… I just keep land on my left.” Remaining ever so clever, Luke even suggested a very simple approach to navigation when he signed my boat on launch day last December. He summed it up in two words and added an arrow for good measure… <-- TURN LEFT.

Well, today with my crossing of The Straights of Mackinac the rules have changed. For the first time in this trip (on open water) I now have land on my right as I will until I reach Green Bay. Honestly, it feels strange.

When Tom and I arrived at the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse park at 5:30 this morning we discovered a pair of locked gates with a sign stating that the park opens at 10:00 AM. Undeterred, and not wanting to wait five hours to launch, we drove back three miles to the nearby state park and launched there. With a quick farewell Tom headed home and I loaded my boat and launched into slightly choppy water with an already favorable breeze out of the northeast. With the wind slightly at my back I made up the three miles I lost in just a few minutes and continued on my way toward the Mackinac Straights. At noon, with a slight chop on the water and the Mackinac bridge on the horizon, I crossed from the lower peninsula of Michigan across the straights to Bois Blanc Island. I don’t know if the island pledges its allegiance with the upper or lower peninsula all I do know is that at camp tonight I’m only about ten miles from the bridge and Lake Michigan.

Look closely there is a very big bridge on the horizon

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Day 236

7/29/2010

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Off the route but still on the water

Ok, I have to admit that this morning the wind wasn't blowing so hard that I couldn't have launched and slugged out a few miles before it would have blown me off the water. However, last night when I was checking the weather and was on the fence about making a go/no-go decision, Tom suggested that if I stayed another day we could go for a paddle on the Black River one of his local favorites. That was all I needed to help me make up my mind. One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was see and experience the paddling destinations that the locals enjoyed (on and off my route) and this would be one of those rare opporunities.

So, today Elaine helped Tom and I set up a shuttle on the Black River which is about 30 miles from their home in Rogers City. The Ikkuma enjoyed the day off while I paddled a 12 foot plastic "recreational" kayak that wouldn't normally been my first choice but that I soon discovered was ideally suited to the shallow twisty water and relaxed pace we set on the river. During our four hour float down only a few miles of river we enjoyed awesome northwoods scenery around every bend while being treated to sightings of ducks, herons, muskrats, and even a doe with her (still with spots) fawn. By the end of the day any doubt that I had thinking I'd made the wrong decison by taking the day off was long gone. We had a great time on a fantastic little river.

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Day 234 and 235

7/28/2010

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Daily Stats
Start: 5:45 AM - Ferron Point (Two miles north of Rockport, MI)
Finish 2:45 PM - Forty Mile Point (Seven miles north of Rogers City, MI)
Time: 9:00 hours
Daily dist: 31 miles
Total dist: 4600+
Companions: None
Weather: W and SW winds 10mph clear skies and 80’s
Notes: Some of the most georgous shore I've seen so far... anywhere

Yesterday I only had about twenty five miles to go to reach Rogers City where I would be staying with Tom Odgen whom had heard about me via his son out in Westfield, WI. When I had talked to Tom a couple nights before about where to catch up with each other he had mentioned Forty Mile Point Lighthouse which is seven miles past Rogers City and would have meant a 30 mile day. At first I shunned the idea and suggested that I’d meet him on the beach in town. However, that was before I woke to another amazing day on Lake Huron and had yet another great day on the water. By noon when I rounded the point south of town I had certainly not had enough of the amazing scenery. So, I called Tom and asked if he’d still be OK with driving up to the lighthouse to pick me up. It was a short drive for him so that became my ultimate destination for the day and I got to enjoy three more hours on the water.

Wild and empty shore line. I can never get enough of this.

Waiting for me on shore when I arrived was Tom and a reporter from the local newspaper. Tom, who has done several long distance bicycle tours, knew exactly what a person would be craving when they got off the trail on a warm day like today and had a thermos full of ice water for me. It hit the spot. After a quick interview with the reporter, Tom and I loaded my gear and boat into and on to his truck and headed back to his house to meet his wife Elaine. After dinner we headed down to town for some ice cream and to see some of the sights.

Our first stop was out to the limestone quarry to which Rogers City owes its existence. Tom warned me that it was a very big hole but, nothing aside from a comparison to the Grand Canyon could have prepared me for the enormity of the gap in the earth’s crust that man and machinery have created. It was huge, miles across, and quite deep. Monster size dump trucks zoomed back and forth across the bottom looking like Tonka trucks compared to the barren hole itself. In the distance we could see the piles of crushed stone and towers at the loading port that I had paddled by on my approach to town earlier in the day.

That is one BIG hole in the ground

From the quarry we went down to the marina where I recognized a couple of sailboats that had passed me in a long string of sailboats coming out of the marina in Presque Isle about 15 miles to the south. We stopped and I called down to a few guys standing on the nearest boat if it was indeed the same group I’d seen earlier in the day. Sure enough it was, we got to talking about their race, which came up from Detroit over the last couple days, and my tour (which came up from Detroit over the last week or more) and ended up all walking over to a nearby snack bar to get an ice cream cone.

Me and Tom (on right) with three of the guys from the sailing race.

--- I have developed a sort of hierarchy of boaters that I see on the water. Ranked in regards to politeness, seamanship skills, and overall good people; (after other paddlers) sail boaters are on the top of my list. Cigarette boats and jet skis share space on the very bottom. Actually… I have dreams of cigarette boats and jet skis on the bottom. ---

While we chatted one of the sailors warned of what he called “thickening” weather that was on its way in. We could already see the leading edge of the front that he said was due to hit us in the early morning hours trailing behind it more wind than we’ve seen in a while. I hadn’t looked at the weather beyond today so when we got back to the house we pulled up the weather and, sure enough, a few showers were due to pass in the morning. But, more importantly, the wind was due to be blowing strong out of the NW all day. My general rule is that if the wind is at or above 15mph and is blowing right from the direction I want to go, it’s just not worth going out. That is exactly what was being predicted. Tom and Elaine said they didn’t mind if I stayed another day and Tom even suggested that we could drive down to Alpina to see the maritime museum so it became an easy decision to take today off.

Tom and Elaine on the windy beach.

I did harbor a small thought that if the winds magically didn’t build I could still get back on the water in the morning, however when I woke to falling rain and the wind rustling the trees outside the bedroom window, I knew it’d be a good day to stay off the water. After a wonderful breakfast of blueberry pancakes prepared by Tom, we drove down to Alpina and toured the museum. It is a great place chronicling the history of the great lakes shipping industry via the stories of the many, many shipwrecks that have occurred in the lakes. Complete with a mock up of a great lakes schooner that “is floundering in a storm” which you can go inside to see what the cramped quarters of one of those sailing ships was like. They do such a good job of convincing you that the ship is in a storm with flashing lights simulating lightning and lamps swinging on the walls inside the ship that you find yourself swaying on your feet to keep your balance.

Pretty to look at... but would have been a rough go.

Later in the evening the three of us drove down to the shore to get a look at what I had missed by not being on the water for the day. All I can say is that as we looked at the torn up whitecapping water with the wind straight out of the NW blowing spray way up the beach, that I made the right decision to stay off the water. Once again, luck (or divine intervention) put me with folks like Tom and Elaine on a day when I would have otherwise been stuck on a beach by myself.

Now we’re watching the winds predicted for tomorrow (only slightly better) to see if it will be worth getting back on the lake or just waiting until Friday when NOAA weather is predicting what they call “nearly ideal boating conditions.” That sounds good to me.

Elaine admiring the wind swept water

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Day 233 (Happy Anniversary Amy & Luke)

7/26/2010

5 Comments

Daily Stats
Start:        5:15 AM - South Point (near Negwegon State Park)
Finish        12:15 PM - Ferron Point (Two miles north of Rockport, MI)
Time:        7:00 hours
Daily dist:    22 miles
Total dist:    4200+
Companions:    None
Weather:    Started out breezy out of NW then W clear skies and 80’s
Notes:        Perfect weather and an all around great day! Also, Happy Anniversary Amy & Luke! (7 years)

One would assume, perhaps for reasons of security or safety, that it would be the difficult days that I would feel like I’d like to have somebody along with me on this trip. Strangely the opposite is true. It’s the very nice days when everything seems to fall in place to make this endeavor seem like a pleasant vacation that I wish I had somebody along for the ride. Today was one of those days.

Last night, with only fifty miles to go to Rogers City where I’ll be staying with a host for the night, I decided to run two (somewhat shorter than my recent average) twenty five mile days on my way in. Today started with a somewhat bumpy crossing of Thunder Bay with ten mph northwest winds blowing down the length of the bay. After three hours of rolling water things calmed dramatically as I rounded North Point on the north side of the bay. There I started down what turned out to be one of the most beautiful sections of shore line I’ve seen on the Great Lakes so far. Few paved roads access this somewhat remote shore line meaning the cabins (which are spaced shoulder to shoulder everywhere else) are spaced up to a half mile apart leaving long stretches of unbroken and undeveloped shore line in between. The trees, as I continue north, are changing from broad leaf hardwoods to thicker pines and cedars which form a dense green backdrop to the gin clear water that seems to glow from within with a dozen shades of blue. Because it was a Monday, and because there just aren’t that many people around, I only saw two boats while I was on the water and both of those were small commercial fishing boats on their way in after tending their nets. The scenery combined with the peace and quiet of no boat traffic made for a wonderful day of paddling.

All cleaned up and feeling great

With twenty five miles as my goal for the day I was figuring on about an eight hour day. However, when I saw the completely undeveloped beach on Ferron point I decided to call it a day an hour and three miles early. This unbroken mile long beach, without a house, dock, or sign of human influence is a rare find, and I didn’t want to pass up the chance to stay here for just a few more miles. So, at noon, I landed and set about taking advantage of a dry breeze and bright sunshine to air out and dry all of my gear. Because I break camp so early, most mornings by tent (and other gear) is still wet with dew when I roll it up. Consequently all of my stuff rarely gets a chance to completely dry and was starting to smell like it. While my gear airing out I grabbed a bar of soap and got myself cleaned up (including a shave).

This long broad beach also gave me a rare opportunity to go for a bit of a hike. So often I’m on such a tiny bit of a beach that I don’t have room to explore, it was a treat to get out and see some of the natural surroundings. A few hundred yards down the beach I found a trail that led into the woods which I followed a quarter mile back to a logging road that paralleled the beach through thick cedars that covered sand dunes that were blown up a long long time ago. The road seemed to continue on endlessly, so I turned around after reaching a small shallow pond that flanked the road.

small pond behind the beach dunes

Once back on the beach I found a nice shady spot and lay down on the golf ball size stones there and took a nice nap. Napping comfortably on golf ball size stones may sound strange but, I was that tired, and the stones pressing into my back felt great, like a massage. The nap was followed by a hour or so spent reading a book then dinner with a view of Middle Island floating on multi hued blue water…

Like I said it’s days like today that I feel a little guilty about being out here alone. At least if there was somebody else along I wouldn’t feel like I was the only one having this much fun.

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Day 232

7/25/2010

8 Comments

        Double Post! Be sure to check out Day 231 post below...
Daily Stats
Start:        5:30 AM - Au Sable Point (Between East Tawas and Oscoda)
Break:        12:00-4:00 PM - Harrisville State Park
Finish        3:15 PM - South Point (near Negwegon State Park)
Time:        10:15 hours
Daily dist:    33 miles
Total dist:    4200+
Companions:    Jerry (friend of Randy from Port Huron)
Weather:    Started out breezy out of NNW then windy from NE then calm
Notes:        Once again the wind ran almost the entire compass

Jerry joined me for about an hour this morning

Now would be a very bad time for me to commit a crime. I’d simply have no place to hide. At about 8:00 AM this morning a half mile from shore miles from anybody I know I came upon Jerry (who is a Friend of Randy Orchard who I stayed with last week). Jerry was in the area helping his mother move and figured he’d see if he could catch up with me. He checked the lake at a little park in Au Sable and sure enough there I was paddling by. So he jumped in his truck and leap frogged ahead of me then paddled south to meet up with me on the water. We paddled together for about a hour during which time I think I talked his poor ear off. I’ve come to realize that I get a bit… chatty when I’ve been solo for a couple days. Later in the day I pulled out at Harrisville State Park to take a break and was set up on a picnic table cooking lunch when up came a man I’d never seen before who said “hi Jake.” Apparently he is a member of a Michigan paddling club who had seen on of the e-mails that my friend Steve had sent getting the word out about this trip. Like I said, I can’t hide.

Today was a pretty good day overall. The wind was already up when I launched early this morning and by 11:00 AM it was blowing out of the NE hard enough to make paddling north almost not worth it. So I pulled out at the state park to take a break and let the wind hopefully die down. After lunch while I was enjoying a nice nap on the beach the wind did drop to almost nothing. Not being one to waist good paddling weather I jumped back in the kayak and pulled out 12 more miles before the day was through.

The view from my tent tonight

The scenery around here, I must say, is amazing. Lush tree lined shores, sandy beaches, rolling green hills in the distance, and for me the most notable thing lately has been the sky. With all the storm fronts that have been passing through lately the clouds and sky have been incredible. On lake Erie the skies were mostly clear as I passed through and the most memorable thing was the flat calm water that ended almost every evening. On Lake Huron it has most definitely been the sky I‘ve never seen so many textures and colors amongst the clouds, and I‘ll never forget it.

I've said it before but, WOW!

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Day 231 Saginaw Bay Crossing

7/24/2010

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Daily Stats
Start:        5:30 AM - Caseville, MI (Sleeper State Park)
Finish        3:15 PM - Au Sable Point (Between East Tawas and Oscoda)
Time:        8:45 hours
Daily dist:    35 miles
Total dist:    4200+
Companions:    None
Weather:    Mixed weather everything from windy and grey to fog to calm and rain to sunshine.
Notes:        Almost scrubbed crossing attempt because of early winds but they diminished and I made great time all day.

Even though I had to move all my gear from camp, across the highway, down to the beach, and into the hatches of the Ikkuma it was still an early 5:30 AM when I pushed off from the beach at Sleeper State Park this morning. The morning calm I had hoped (and was predicted) was not to be. Instead a brisk 10-15mph NW wind was already licking up one foot waves that were tumbling onto the beach. One of the rules I adhere to for crossings is no winds over 15 mph especially starting out. For a long while I considered scrubbing my crossing attempt for today.   Yet, when I checked the weather radio it still predicted winds of only 5-10 mph. As I launched into that wind I realized that a cloud bank was passing overhead replacing the partly cloudy skies with grey overcast. There was a chance that once that front passed over head the winds could diminish. Also, because Charity Island sits only 10 miles from shore a bit more than half way across the 17 mile crossing, I had a safety stop if things should get worse. With a safety stop and a favorable prediction, I decided to at least give it a go. Thankfully I did.

After bouncing along in choppy seas for about two hours I was sliding into the lea of the island about three miles out when the wind started to drop. By the time I reached Charity Island the lake had calmed to a moderate chop and I could see no threat of thunderstorms on the horizon. At that the decision was easy to press on the next seven miles toward the other side putting Saginaw Bay behind me. An hour further still the lake became flat calm. It was great. For the rest of the day the lake remained calm and the paddling great as the weather changed from overcast, to foggy, to foggy and drizzly, to light rain, and back to just overcast.

As I neared point Au Sable I could see development about a quarter mile inland behind the beach. Yet, the beach was mostly disserted with dune grass and short trees providing a way to hide my tent and not attract too much attention. Thankfully I landed and managed to set up camp just as a heavy downpour passed through. The rain, keeping to the mixed bag of weather, was followed by broken blue skies and warm sunshine.

What a difference a day of rest can make. It was a great day of paddling and I felt better both physically and mentally than I have in the last several days. It certainly does feel good to have Saginaw Bay behind me. Now Mackinaw is clearly on my radar.

old shipping terminal

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Day 229 and 230

7/23/2010

8 Comments

Daily Stats
Start: 5:30 AM - Port Hope, MI (Huron County Campground)
Finish 1:15 PM - Caseville, MI (Sleeper State Park)
Time: 7:45 hours
Daily dist: 29 miles
Total dist: 4200+
Companions: None
Weather: Partly cloudy with highs in the 80’s wind light and variable.
Notes: Had considered crossing the bay but went with plan B

Anybody who has been reading this blog for a while, or who is a kayaker themselves, knows that the weather is the force that steers me more than anything. Today held weather that was about as perfect for paddling as you can find. Calm winds, moderate temperatures, and a few clouds. With that I was making great time rounding the top of the thumb of Michigan. -- Everybody around here calls it “The Thumb” even the NOAA marine weather forecasts -- I knew from the marine radio that the weather was supposed to turn for the worst tomorrow, meaning that for the next couple days this may be the best weather to do the crossing. With that in mind I was considering crossing Saginaw Bay (a crossing of about 15 miles or so) today. However, I wanted to get far enough into the bay to make the crossing a bit shorter before I started across. That would mean about 30 miles of paddling BEFORE starting a 15 mile crossing. That’s a lot of paddling.

The thought of crossing today depended totally on if the weather would hold out long enough to pull it off. To see more detail of what the weather held for the rest of the day I phoned Amy back home and she got on the computer to get an hour by hour of what the weather was supposed to do. Sure enough there was big weather on the way but it looked like things were supposed to remain calm until 7:00 PM. That was just enough time to pull it off… just enough.

Perfect day to put in big miles

So “Plan B” was hatched. My map showed Sleeper State Park very near the jumping off point to cross the bay. It was the perfect spot to spend a day off resting up before getting back on the water (with renewed energy) to do the crossing. I landed there and checked into a site then called Amy to let her know that I wasn’t going to do anything crazy. She was relieved because she had just re-checked the weather and found that the front was moving much faster than was originally predicted and my weather window was about to close. It was a smart move and I thoroughly enjoyed a hot shower and cozy camp when the rain started falling in the early evening.

One thing I have to say is that the staff at Sleeper State Park are amazing people. Being in civilization I had hoped to get my electronics charged up. Unfortunately my extension cord was too short to reach from my tent which was set up in the only high spot on my site. When I checked back in to the office I learned that it was too late to move sites so I’d have to figure something out. Amazingly the woman that checked me in (Caitlin thank you so much) asked her manager if an extension cord could be loaned to me. A few hours later, to my surprise, the manager set me up with a cord that would allow me to plug in and get my equipment charged before I set back out on the water. They made my day.

Day 230 (off the water - a much needed break)

If I thought Caitlin made my day yesterday you could have imagined my surprise when she showed up at my camp site early this morning with cupcakes (from her mom) and a note with words of encouragement to send me on my way. She and her mother had checked out my web site and thought the trip was remarkable and thought the cupcakes would be appreciated. Boy… were they right!

The card and cupcakes from Caitlin and her mom. Thank you so much

My big plan for the day was to sort through my gear to purge out any items I haven’t used in a while to be sent home. A general rule is that if I haven’t used it in two weeks (excluding first aid and repair items) I probably don’t need it. Today I removed a couple souvenir items, used maps, and a couple things I realized I haven’t used in the last 3000 miles. If I haven’t used it in 3000 I’m sure I won’t need it in the 400 odd miles between here and Wisconsin. Of course sending the stuff home required a visit to the post office which was four miles away in Caseville. As luck would have it my neighbor in camp offered up his bicycle to make the run into town, saving me a long walk.

It's not top shelf but way better than walking.

My experience with that neighbor, Hugh, is a story in it’s own. When he arrived I helped him get backed into his spot (not that he needed the help) and we got to talking. He noticed my kayak and asked if I’d heard about the guy that was paddling 5000 miles around the country. I replied “I AM that guy.” He just about fell over, he actually had heard about me on the radio. Go figure. Hugh rides a Harley and is always looking for a place to ride. After showing him some of the beautiful rides I know of in California I also showed him where Portage WI is and he may just ride over to see me reach the finish line next month.

Can you believe it… next month. Put August 28th on your calendar there is going to be a celebration for sure.

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Day 228

7/21/2010

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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

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Day 227 (Phone in Update)

7/20/2010

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Jake is in the Forester County Campgrounds experiencing a poor internet connection. Probably the most ideal paddling conditions he has experienced the entire trip so far. He really didn't want to stop but called it a day after 24 miles to hook up with Deborah who was instrumental finding help to get him through the Detroit area.

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Day 227 (Full Report)

7/20/2010

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Daily Stats
Start: 6:15 AM - Lakeport, MI (Lakeport State Park)
Finish: 1:00 PM - Forester, MI (Forester County Park)
Time: 6:45 hours
Daily dist: 24 miles
Total dist: 4200+
Companions: None
Weather: Mostly cloudy with highs in the 80’s almost no wind until I was off the water.
Notes: One of the most placid days of paddling so far. Meeting Deborah at camp.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday in six hours of paddling I went only 15 miles before calling it a day because it just wasn’t worth working so hard to gain a few miles. Today I enjoyed some of the most placid paddling I’ve had in the entire trip and in only a bit more time than yesterday I went 9 miles further and with much less effort.. The going was so good, in fact, that I could have stayed on the water all day.

Lake Huron

However, last night I got a text message from Deborah (the woman that was so helpful in lining up support for me in Detroit) she was going to be on her way down from the U-P and wanted to meet me and make good on her promise to cook me a meal. Not being one to turn down a chance to meet another paddler, much less a meal, I checked my maps and found this county campground where she could catch up with me in her car. Right now camp is all set up and I’m catching up on some map work and am about to catch a much needed nap after a string of very busy days. As I’m writing this, Deborah is on her way in from up north. I’m actually looking forward to finally meeting the woman that helped get me past the last urban hurdle in this trip. And the food… of course.

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Day 226

7/19/2010

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Daily Stats
Start: 7:30 AM - Marysville, MI
Finish 2:15 PM - Lakeport, MI (Lakeport State Park)
Time: 6:00 hours
Daily dist: 15 miles
Total dist: 4200+
Companions: None
Weather: Mostly cloudy with highs in the 70’s head wind out of the NE at 10+ mph.
Notes: Entered Lake Huron at about 10:00 AM too rough for pictures

For the last three days I’ve been working hard against the persistent flow of first the Detroit River then the St. Clair river with my speed dropping well below my usual average. Today I only had about six miles of upstream paddling remaining on the St. Clair before I would be able to enjoy the “non flowing” water of Lake Huron. Unfortunately easier paddling was just not to be.

Randy waving good by from the beach in Marysvile

Yesterday both Randy then his friend Steve adamantly recommended that I cross over to the Canadian side of the river just below the bridge in order to catch the eddy that flows upstream on that side. When I saw how swiftly the river flows below the bridge I knew I’d need all the help I could get so I headed their suggestion and ferried over to the Canadian side of the river.

---- SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL LAW INFORCEMENT OFFICERS ----

Let it be known that I only paddled into Canadian waters, under no matter or circumstance did a actually touch land on the Canadian side. Lord knows what threat to our national security such a devious act could pose. It would have been completely irresponsible of me to put the proud men and women of our great nation at such risk and I dutifully refrained from such actions.

My ten minute visit to Canada

---- NOW BACK TO THE STORY ----

In slack water on the Canadian side I paused for a moment to put on my paddling jacket and eat a few mouthfuls of trail mix figuring by the building wind that it may just be too lively out on the lake to do it out there. From there I followed the eddy easily up to and under the pair of bridges that span the river between the US and Canada. At the second bridge it felt like something grabbed the back of my boat. It was there that the eddy ran out and the combined forces of the river current and a stiff wind out of the northeast worked to try to keep me from entering the lake. It took a half hour of very hard paddling to gain the couple hundred yards that would put me into the lake. As I paddled ferociously I kept waiting for the pull of the river to subside but it just didn’t seem to. It was then that I realized that it wasn’t so much the river flow I was battling but now the force of the wind that was blowing directly in my face. There would be no easy going for me once again today.

It always looks nice from the beach. It was a slog out there believe me.

It was against that head wind that I slogged for nearly four hours to gain only eight more miles to the Lakeport State Campground. The wind was showing no signs of letting up and hours more effort wouldn’t yield much more gain, so I decided to cut my day a bit short and stop where I knew I could find good camping and a bit of civilization to spend the rest of the day.

Unlike other state parks it wasn’t too much hassle to get set up here. When I checked in at the ranger station they said they’d actually gotten a phone call earlier in the day from someone that was asking if I had shown up. I don’t know who it was but apparently they were in a town in Canada. Once I was done with all the chores of getting the boat secured and camp set up I took a nice long shower to try to get some of the $23 worth out of my camp site fees. I had just returned to camp and was fussing with my tent when a large diesel engine was idling in the lane next to my camp and not going anywhere. I looked up to find Randy and Teresa (the folks I stayed with last night) sitting in their pickup truck.

Teresa and Randy visiting me in camp

Randy had been on shore watching me work against the river flow, wind, and rough water. He figured accurately that I wouldn’t be going much beyond this point in conditions like that. Especially knowing that tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be much better. Seems how it’s actually a short drive from their house they decided to drive up and see how I was doing. We hung out in camp for a bit then Teresa invited me to join them for dinner in Lakeport. So a quick drive to town took us to Duffy’s (very Irish) pub and grill where I almost made them regret having and AYCE fish fry on the menu.

With a belly very full of fish Randy and Teresa returned me to camp and bid me good luck on the rest of the journey. I suggested to Randy that I could give him a map of all the spots I planned to camp the next few nights to make finding me for dinner easier but judging from his laugh I’m apparently on my own from here.

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Day 225

7/18/2010

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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.

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Day 224

7/17/2010

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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

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Day 222 and 223 (Full Post)

7/17/2010

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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.

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Day 222 and 223 (quick post)

7/16/2010

10 Comments

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.

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Day 221

7/14/2010

9 Comments

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

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Day 220

7/13/2010

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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.

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Day 219

7/12/2010

1 Comment

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.

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Day 218

7/11/2010

6 Comments

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

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Day 217

7/10/2010

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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.

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Day 216

7/9/2010

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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.

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Day 215

7/8/2010

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Phone-in blog. Jake is in a 'black hole' for cell and internet reception so he had to call this one in. He's been enjoying great weather and beautiful scenery these past two days. He's also been taking advantage of the flat water to put on a few extra miles in the evening. Jake should be updating his blog by this weekend as he paddles into Cleveland.

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Day 215

7/8/2010

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Daily stats
Start: 4:30 AM - Camp Caledon, PA
Break: 2:00 PM - 5:00 Geneva State Park, OH
Finish 7:30 PM - Near Redbird, OH
Time: 12:00
Daily dist: 39+ miles
Total dist: 4200+
Companions: None
Weather: Clear, high in low 90‘s = HOT!, calm, hazy
Notes: HELLO OHIO!

Yesterday I had half heartedly considered staying at the state park, today I seriously considered it and once again decided it just wasn’t worth the effort. With storms in the forecast I figured it’d be nice to have some place high and dry to spend the night and possibly stay tomorrow. With that in mind I pushed out a ten hour day to reach Geneva State Park in Ohio. Upon arriving at about 2:00 PM I investigated the camping situation only to discover that it would involve a long carry of my gear to a completely exposed camp site on the edge of a large grassy field. Unless I completely emptied it and carried it up a set of stairs across a large field, my boat would have to stay unguarded on the beach. This campground does have a marina where I probably could have kept my boat but there is no camping allowed down there so I would have had to carry my gear over a mile to the camp area. All told camping here would all involve a gargantuan amount of effort all for the bargain basement price of $20 per night…. Once again state parks disappoint me. The big tent icon on the map looks enticing but the reality is that they just aren’t set up for people arriving by water in a heavily loaded kayak.

Nothing like ending your day camped out by a nuke plant. Just the same can you believe how calm that water is. I just didn't want to stop.

With camping here out, I figure I’ll take a break for a few hours then get back on the water and see wYesterday I had half heartedly considered staying at the state park, today I seriously considered it and once again decided it just wasn’t worth the effort. With storms in the forecast I figured it’d be nice to have some place high and dry to spend the night and possibly stay tomorrow. With that in mind I pushed out a ten hour day to reach Geneva State Park in Ohio. Upon arriving at about 2:00 PM I investigated the camping situation only to discover that it would involve a long carry of my gear to a completely exposed camp site on the edge of a large grassy field. Unless I completely emptied it and carried it up a set of stairs across a large field, my boat would have to stay unguarded on the beach. This campground does have a marina where I probably could have kept my boat but there is no camping allowed down there so I would have had to carry my gear over a mile to the camp area. All told camping here would all involve a gargantuan amount of effort all for the bargain basement price of $20 per night…. Once again state parks disappoint me. The big tent icon on the map looks enticing but the reality is that they just aren’t set up for people arriving by water in a heavily loaded kayak. hat I can find a bit further west. The weather isn’t looking as bad as first predicted so I’m sure I’ll be fine.

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Day 214

7/7/2010

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Daily stats
Start: 4:15 AM - Barcelona, NY
Break: 1:30 PM - 5:30 Presqueisle State Park, PA
Finish 8:15 PM - Camp Caledon, PA
Time: 12:00
Daily dist: 38 miles
Total dist: 4000+
Companions: None
Weather: Clear, high in low 90‘s, calm, hazy
Notes: Considered camping at state camp but decided to press on.

I must say to all the folks that paddle the eastern end of Lake Erie that you are all too quiet about how beautiful the paddling is around here. If miles and miles of beautiful textured rock cliffs with numerous small waterfalls tinkling into the lake isn’t enough to impress, than there is no hope for you. All I’ve ever heard about paddling Lake Erie is how rough and blown out it can get. Sure, I have no doubt about that, but how bout some words from those that frequent these waters about how great it can be too. I’ve paddled a lot of places and come a long way to get here, and I must say it is a very nice place to paddle. Perhaps my viewpoint has been swayed because I’ve had absolutely sublime conditions in which to paddle, I don’t know. All I can say is that when I passed by, it was amazing.

Looking back at another purple sunrise on Lake Erie

That being said, things are going well on my trek across Lake Erie. Another very early start helped me avoid the little bit of wind I did see today. I had considered camping at Presqueisle State Park but after one Life Guard whistled a warning for paddling too close then another whistled a warning for swimming too far away… I figured that was a sign that I was better off staying someplace else. After a nice long break I re-launched into another flat calm evening and put in another ten miles before pulling out at what I thought was an undeveloped beach. As soon as I climbed out of my boat two girls scrambled down a trail from above. It turned out that the beach was directly below a RV campground. Not wanting to go any further I walked the trail up to the camp and found three gentlemen sitting on the porch of a trailer. After talking to them for a moment they assured me that it would be no problem for me to camp down below. The manager would never know much less care.

Not a bad way to end the day.

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Day 227 (Phone in Update)

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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.

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---- SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL LAW INFORCEMENT OFFICERS ----

---- NOW BACK TO THE STORY ----

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.

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SPONSORSAqua Adventures Seda KayakKokatatWernerNorth FaceSnap DragonNigel Foster DesignsSeal LineMSR.

Categories

Archives

SPONSORS

Aqua Adventures

Seda Kayak

Kokatat

Werner

North Face

Snap Dragon

Nigel Foster Designs

Seal Line

MSR

.