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Day 245

8/7/2010

10 Comments

 
Daily Stats
Start: 9:45 AM - Park Place of the North Campground (Escanaba, MI)
Finish 4:15 PM - J.W. Wells State Park, MI
Time: 6:30 hours
Daily dist: 19 miles
Total dist: 5000+
Companions: None
Weather: Partly cloudy, south wind 10mph (headwind), 70’s
Notes: Headwind had me in a foul mood but Wisconsin is near!
There is no denying that today I was in a bit of a funk. Perhaps I was coming down off the cloud of being with family over the last four days, or perhaps it was the reality of paddling into a brisk headwind, yet again. The day actually was beautiful with partly cloudy skies and temps in the 70’s. It even started out great with breakfast with my parents and warm hugs (with “See you in four days” promises) before I launched from the beach at the end of the muddy boardwalk near camp.

It was the wind.
That being said, I made fairly slow progress covering only 19 miles in six and a half hours before I spotted a rare undeveloped beach just a mile shy of the state park I had planned on stopping at. Compared to state park campgrounds with flushing toilets, grassy campsites, and vending machines, I vastly prefer to set up camp on a brushy beach in the middle of nowhere. The reason is simple... gear handling.
 
On an undeveloped beach all I have to do is pull my kayak above the surf zone then pull out just what I need for camp and carry it mere feet to where I set up. A state park generally requires a fairly long walk to the ranger station to check in. Another walk back to the boat for all of the gear which then needs to be carried (usually way off the beach) to the campsite. Depending on how frequently visited the beach is I can either lock the kayak up to a tree or transport it up to camp as well. Of course, in the morning the whole process (sans check in) gets reversed. All told it commonly takes at least two hours extra effort to set up in a state, or county, campground.

Picture
A little strip of expedition camping heaven
After a long day of slogging into the wind I wasn’t exactly excited about the promise of all that gear handling. That’s exactly why I got down right excited when I spotted the beach I’m on tonight. In the time it took me to completely set up today I would have still been in the ranger’s hut dolling over $20 for a campsite at the stat park. The site itself would have undoubtedly been wedged between two gigantic RV’s with air conditioners and TV’s running. These weedy, driftwood filled beaches I end up on may not look like much but they’re heaven to me, and I’m going to miss them.

A highpoint of my day was when I was able to bring in a NPR radio station rom Wisconsin. That signal (coming in loud and clear from Egg Harbor across the bay in Door County) was a sign of just how close I am to my home state. In fact, if all goes well, I should be past or near the Michigan / Wisconsin state line by mid day tomorrow. Now if only I would start hearing from some Wisconsin paddlers as well as radio stations.

10 Comments
Aaron Stachovak
8/7/2010 08:26:28 am

Well this Wisconsin paddler is TIRED! We took second this year being beat by .2 seconds - YES, POINT TWO seconds. Our dream of a threepeat was crushed in the amount of time it takes to pop open a beer... At least next year I can hope for a world class paddler on our boat helping us reclaim our first place trophy!

We are excited to see you on Tuesday! Dig deep and get your but going...

stove

Reply
pa
8/7/2010 10:04:21 am

Hi Jake,
We made it home safe and sound after a quick stop at the casino.Ma and I have the $10 rule as you know. Anyway after one pull on the machine I doubled my $10 so was looking for ma to quit. Since I couldn't find her I tried one more dollar and two more pulls ending up with another $50. Then I found ma who was $4 up so we quit as winners for a change.Don't tell the indians.
We had a great time with you and all and are anxious to see you at the end of this adventure.
Love ya,
Dad

Reply
Jan Kleck
8/7/2010 10:27:56 am

I am so excited for all of you. The end of THIS adventure will soon have changes to it - but I do not see this adventure ever really ending. The memories will not allow that, nor the offshoots that will happen - books, contacts with the people you have met, and then there will be all those new experiences that will happen because of THIS adventure. Many of us will want to watch your career forever. Thanks for sharing so much with so many. Blessings for your future.

Reply
Neil B
8/7/2010 01:38:04 pm

ATTENTION ALL!
As Jake's 'official statistician' I would like to officially announce that Jake has surpassed 5,000 miles! Find it all on his Trip Log.

(he actually did a few days ago, but his slacker stat guy was out of town.)

Reply
larry deibert
8/8/2010 12:50:15 am

The "Portage Bell Ringers", Kathy and I, look forward to seeing you again. What a trip!

Reply
Tootie
8/8/2010 12:51:15 am

Congratulations, Jake, on passing the 5000 mile mark! What an accomplishment. Glad the folks were able to join you as well as your brother and his family. What darling boys, Luke. Be safe in the rest if your journey home.

Reply
Pam Bentien
8/8/2010 03:11:46 am

Hi Jake!

Greetings from Troy NY. I've been thinking about you a lot lately, as you get closer to your destination. The T-shirt came just fine, and arrived on a Mon. so I could wear it on our ADK paddle day Tue. I spent this weekend with some of my OldSongs friends who were visiting from out of town and telling them about our passage through the Waterford Locks. I just caught up with a few days of the blogs and am glad things are going well. Best wishes for the rest of your expedition!
Pam

Reply
Aaron Stachovak
8/8/2010 04:01:03 am

Check it out!!!!!

Jake is back in Wisconsin -

cue the Stachovak boarder crossing music.......
daaaa da dat de da daaa da da --daaaaaa de daaa - daaa de dat daaa da de daaaa...

Reply
Larry
8/8/2010 05:06:06 am

Nice work Jake! Sorry I can't be there for your party but this has been an incredible journey and I'm glad Otto and I could share a little part of it.

Reply
Lyn Stachovak
8/8/2010 05:07:14 am

Aaron... Glad you did the border, county and bridge (only big bridges) music for me. It wouldn't be possible for Jake to come back to Wisconsin without it.

Can you believe this - Luke asked Noah if Dad and I hummed a song when we crossed the Mackinac Bridge and Noah said NO!!!! Luke was very upset with us for that, but I set the record straight. Of course we did the "song" - just pretty hard to keep the tune up for 5 whole miles. We also did the "song" when we crossed the Wisconsin/Michigan border for the boys. What was Noah thinking? I think we even hummed a few bars when we were on the Badger before landing in Manitowoc???

It was great seeing Jake again. Now I can hardly wait to get to Green Bay on Tuesday. I can't believe Jake is coming home - where have the last 8 months gone?

Mom

Reply



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