Matt's Lake Superior Kayak Circumnavigation Journal

Mouth of the Big Two Hearted River, MI to Grand Marais, MI: Daily miles 27.3, Total miles 985.0

Today was a very relaxed day.  I was more than ready to get on the water and get into town. I have reconciled the fact that we have to stop the trip and go home and now I just want to get on with it. The sun was warm and the wind was light all day.  We took it slow with a lot breaks to allow Hannah’s shoulder to rest.  We stopped for lunch on a crowded beach where tons of people were searching for agates. Apparently that is a popular pastime. We have seen it all over since we got back in Michigan. A woman walked by and asked and about our trip. Turns out her and her husband canoed the Inside Passage from Seattle up to Alaska about 20 years ago. Pretty sweet.  The miles after lunch were easy and it was cool to watch the dunes start to build as we made our way toward Grand Marais.  The harbor was a zoo with tons of boats and a crowded beach. We landed and changed in the bathroom before heading out to find dinner.  We sat in a pavillion overlooking the harbor, ate sandwiches and drank a few beers.  We hung around town, made plans for tomorrows and travels and are just waiting for the sun to go down so we can camp on the beach.  I am so excited to see my dog tomorrow.

Matt | Uncategorized | 08 12th, 2009 | No Comments »

Big Two Hearted River, MI to Big Two Hearted River, MI: Daily miles 0.0, Total miles 957.7

The day dawned cold and wet and I was reluctant to greet it.  I didn’t get out of the tent until 9:30AM and found cold fog and 3ft waves.  We don’t have the previous sense of urgency due to our ride situation over the next few days. There are only a few spots in the next 50-75 miles where the road comes to the shore. Munising and Grand Marais are our best options because they are easy to access and Hannah’s parents can find them easily. It would be a tough stretch to nock down the 70 miles into Munising if there is any bad weather so that leaves us with Grand Marais, which is only 25 miles from here.  We opted to wait out the fog and cold and then just got lazy when the sun finally broke through. We just laid around and Hannah rested her shoulder. I feel a little bad about not making any miles on an easy paddling day but it really doesn’t matter in the end anyway. I walked to the campground for water and met some folks from Missouri who gave me a bag full of fresh garden veggies.  It was a really nice break from the salty noodles we have been eating.  I am getting really excited about going home for a short spell and getting to see our dog.  This leg of the journey has been tough. It has tried my patience and offered up constant challenges. I am glad for the short break we are about to get.  But for all of the difficulties, it has also been an amazing experience with some shining moments.  I know that when we come back out on the lake after going home it won’t be the same.  I had hoped to make it around the lake in one shot and be back in time for Hannah’s presentation and thus give the trip some continuity. This wasn’t to be and the weather in Canada quickly dashed that hope. Going home in the middle of the trip feels a little wrong but I know we will be back out to finish. For all of my misgivings about breaking up the paddle I also feel this will give us a chance to let go of some of the tedium, exhaustion, and long building dissatisfactions of the last two months and get a fresh start with and an opportunity to enjoy the last 200 miles.   This trip, aside from an epic journey, was supposed to be enjoyable. It has been a slow downward slide for a few weeks and I am glad for a chance to see things with refreshed eyes. I am excited to see what the rest of the summer brings.

Matt | Uncategorized | 08 11th, 2009 | No Comments »

Whitefish Point, MI to Mouth of the Big Two Hearted River, MI: Daily miles 24.3, Total miles 957.7

The day started pretty much like every other of the trip: we woke up, ate a pop tart and listened to the weather while we packed up camp.  The lake was calm with a stiff breeze blowing in our faces. Hannah’s shoulder was really bothering her so after five miles we pulled off and took a rest in the sunshine.  We made another seven miles before lunch called us into shore. We ate some Ramen noodles and Spam and Cheese tortillas; a picnic fit for a King.  We relaxed for two hours to allow Hannah’s shoulder to rest a bit. We watched some ants haul a fly across the beach. It was cool to see two ants drag something five times their size fifty feet to their hole in a very short time period.  I know what you are thinking: Life isn’t real exciting out here.  During our break the wind died and the little bit of waves went flat.   We made good time the rest of the day along the non-descript shoreline.  We passed the lighthouse at Crisp Point, which wasn’t on our map, and saw a dredger in action at the mouth of Little Lake Harbor.  We decided to call it a day at about 7:30 as we rounded another featureless point.  As we made our way around we saw people everywhere on the beach, apparently there was a campground. We moved a ways down and set up on the cobles.  We are camped in Hemingway country tonight at the Mouth of the Big Two Hearted River. It is a pretty spot and although the story isn’t set here, it is set about 20 miles west on the Fox River, I can see how he was inspired by this area.

Matt | Uncategorized | 08 10th, 2009 | No Comments »

Tahquamenon Bay, MI to Whitefish Point, MI: Daily miles 22.1, Total miles 933.4

The predicted storm hit us this morning with a vengeance. At about 4AM I was awoken by bright flashes and soft thunder.  For the next 2.5 hours the tent never darkened and it was never quiet.   The amount of lightening was impressive.  It was a constant series of bolts, one after another. It made me pretty nervous to be camped on the beach with aluminum tent poles.  With the lightening came a torrential downpour.  When we got up this morning the cockpits of our boats were half full of water.  The storm kept me awake half the night so we opted to sleep in a bit.  When we did hit the water around 9:30AM it was calm and sunny.   The water stayed really shallow all day and we stayed close to shore and enjoyed a leisurely morning.  At noon we stopped in Paradise for a resupply.  You can call me Jimmy Buffet because all I did this morning was dream of A Cheeseburger in Paradise.  It was a log walk to the actual “town” from the beach at the community center where we stashed our boats.  We stopped at a restaurant and I got my burger. It was huge and exactly what I needed.  After lunch Hannah went back to the boats and I went off to find somewhere to buy some groceries. It was slim pickings at the little store but I got what I could and carried it back to the lake. The rest of the day found us paddling miles and miles past houses and resorts.  The sand beaches looked so inviting and seeing all of the people on lawn chairs enjoying a relaxing day in the sun made me wonder why I chose something so hard to do this summer. We rounded Whitefish Point around 6PM and headed just up the beach to camp on the cobble.  There were tourists everywhere.  They all seemed to be searching the beach intently for a nice stone to take home as a memento. Some even had buckets full of rocks. I walked around the lighthouse and closed shipwreck museum and it was weird to be around so many people after weeks of isolation. We saw a few freighters rumble past, going around the point, and we ate a very dissatisfying dinner and now we are going to bed.

Matt | Uncategorized | 08 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

Pendills Bay, MI to Tahquamenon Bay, MI: Daily miles 17.0, Total miles 911.3

It’s funny how a day such as yesterday, that went so perfectly, can be followed by a day like toady.  We got off to a good beginning with a good nights rest and an early start.  The waves were small and the wind was light and trailing.  Hannah’s shoulder was really sore after the big miles yesterday and the hard winds the day before.  The wind built slowly throughout the morning and the shoreline was incredibly shallow, less than a foot deep in some spots, and it made for increasingly larger surf.  Many half hidden rocks and sand bars made for tough paddling in the 2-4 foot waves.  A hard rain started around 10:30AM and effectively sunk our motivation.  We pulled onto the first nice sand beach we could find, which happened to be at a scenic turnoff for the nearby road.  Hannah set up the tent and seemed intent on staying but I wanted to move on.  I hiked around a bit while Hannah rested.  Eventually the wind stopped and the lake calmed so we headed out to make some more miles.  We only made it four more miles before the darkening sky, disappearing beach, and threat of developed shoreline pulled us from the lake.  We pulled up on a less than ideal beach, ate a less than ideal dinner and are going to bed feeling less than ideal.  Hopefully the storm they are predicting doesn’t make much for waves as the tent is set up about 5 feet from the water’s edge.

Matt | Uncategorized | 08 8th, 2009 | No Comments »