Day 221

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