Day 3 and 4
Days 3 and 4
A Day of Misery/A Day of Progress
Gear Talk #1-My Camp Set-Up
I’d stay in my paddling clothes after landing and start the ritual by setting up a standard 10 x 10 poly tarp. (I eventually switched to a Granite Gear silicon-nylon tarp as it packed smaller, was lighter, and dried faster) It rained a lot on this trip, and I got pretty good at tarping up. I’d then unload the kayak, putting everything under the tarp.
Next move was setting up my MSR Zoid 2 tent. It’s a small 2-person tent that afforded me room to change and stash my all my clothes inside every night. It was also amazingly weatherproof and stood up to the most intense rains, winds, and thunderstorms I’ve ever encountered while camping. The floor proved to be exceptionally dry, which was important as I camped in mud much of the trip. Next I put my self-inflating Therm-a-Rest pad in, followed by my two clothing bags. I’d climb in and change from paddling clothes into camp clothes. (I always looked forward to this after spending 8+ hours in damp, smelly paddling outfits.) Now in dry clothes, I’d toss my sleeping bag and a personal effects bag (I had a book, notebook, headlamps, i-pods, phone and toiletries in here) into the tent and bam! my sleeping situation was ready for the night.
At this point I’d usually ping my wife, parents, and the race overseer (Jim) that I was safe for the night. We used SPOT tracking technology, which enabled others to follow our course and send pre-loaded e-mail messages. Portable power was not really a thing in 2009 and it was difficult to find places to recharge cell phones, so I rarely used mine. Phones in '09 were limited in functionality. Poor cameras, limited texting options, no storage, etc… so I carried my SPOT, a digital camera, and 2 i-pods along with my phone.
Now it was dinner time. I’ll write more about meals in a future post but I was always ready to eat! After dinner, I’d clean-up my few dishes, stash the food in the kayak, make sure the cockpit cover was on the boat and head to bed.
April 19th
Day 3 (16.5 miles in 9.5 hours)
Not so much fun today
Got the shit beat out of me going through Ypsilanti. River was fast, strong, and no where to paddle. Plus I’m feeling the effects of overdoing it yesterday. No energy, no power, and a bitch of a river to paddle against. Once I got on the ponds it got a little better. Had some lunch at the dam in Ypsi also. When I saw what (the river) in Ann Arbor looked like, I hiked it! Made it to my Plan B goal, Delphi Mills, and quit early to rest and set up before the heavy rains came. Mission Accomplished! Hope I feel stronger tomorrow and can find the passion that fueled this trip! Miss my family bad today.
The picture on the left is my portage set-up, just below Ford Dam. Those wheels were amazing. On the right was my camp on the 3rd night, just upriver from Ann Arbor. Very wet, very alone,very sore.
I recall waking up that morning in pain from head to toe from the prior day’s paddle. The sun was gone, replaced by a damp, cold gloom which mirrored how I was feeling. I started the day with an easy portage around Ford Dam, but the day went downhill from there. In short time I got to Ypsilanti, where the river runs right through the city. I think they’ve removed the dam in town, but at the time, there was really fast, concentrated water before the take-out. It took me multiple attempts at getting past that water, each attempt sucking more energy and spirit from me. The alternative to not passing was to go ½ mile back downstream to a park and pulling my boat through Ypsilanti. No Thanks! Eventually I found the power to beat the river and put Ypsi behind me, but not until I rested above the dam. This is when my fresh water supply I’d brought from home ran out and I had to trust some new tech I’d brought along to make safe drinking water. SteriPen had portable UV water purifiers for camping and if any water needed purification it was here. I filtered a bottle full of water, followed the UV instructions, drank, and prayed. 24 hours later I was confident that I’d be ok. That Steripen was used a lot during the remainder of the trip on water from the Huron, Grand, and Lake Michigan. Never got sick once.
Going through Ann Arbor was a trip. After my beating in Ypsilanti, I could tell the river here was just as mean, so I portaged through town to the put-in above Argo Dam. I sure got some strange looks from passing cars, but because it was raining hard that whole walk, I had no personal encounters requiring me to explain what I was doing.
Picking my campsite that night was a bit nerve wracking. On my map I’d identified some rustic land on what I think was railroad property. When I got there, the spot was across the river from a bunch of homes on a bluff who had direct site of me. I felt very exposed, but I was wet, cold, tired, sore, hungry…basically miserable, so I decided to camp there. I did my best to put the residents out of my mind and set-up, ate and climbed into bed during an epic rain event. I fell asleep fast, and slept well. I was totally spent.
Overall, I remember being extremely lonely and sad on day 3. I had to laugh, because I was right in the middle of one of the state’s most populated areas and I felt so alone. Going to bed, I had serious thoughts about pulling the ripcord on this whole thing. I vowed to take serious stock of my situation in the morning.
April 20th
Day 4 (19.5 miles in 9.5 hours)
Beat the Huron!
Much better day mentally. I got a great night’s sleep and woke with a renewed spirit. Set a goal to get off the Huron as I packed in the rain.
Wet night, wet day and the temps are getting colder. Around noon I was at the Dexter-Huron Metropark & had to pull out due to a spot of current. Ended up talking to a group of younger (4th or 5th graders?) kids from Ann Arbor. They were under a pavilion & I wanted to be there too as it was pouring. They left & I stayed. Changed into dry top layers & had hot soup for lunch.
For the most part, this stretch of river was easier paddling, probably due to deeper water in some places. I just find the slack seams on the edges then punch through the fast water on the turns. Seems to work OK.
Once off the river (The main body of the Huron) I thought I was home free, but the Portage Lakes were rough, windy, and cold. Fortunately, my time on them was short lived.
Made it a bit up the Portage Creek and found a great little campsite. Quit around 5:30 as the rain was ending. Kind of was able to dry out a bit, had a nice hot dinner then to bed. Tomorrow could be an ass kicker?
On the left is the Barton Pond Dam and the shot on the right is of the awesome portage road around it. Every portage was unique, and not many were as nice as this one.
I remember thinking when I woke up that if I made it through yesterday, quitting was no longer an option. I’d just paddle through whatever had me down. The river was getting shallower and faster the farther upstream I paddled, and the rain was so intense all morning, but even this didn’t bring me down. Running into that school group was one of the first real highlights of the trip. The teacher was curious about my being there and came over to talk. I literally think this was the first conversation I’d had since leaving the group at the mouth of the Huron, and if you know me, I like to visit. He got excited by my story and allowed me to share my journey with the kids, which lifted my spirits even more.
The memorable pavilion at Dexter-Huron Metropark. Note how high the water is. I believe the shot on the right are the rapids at Huron-Mills MP. Had to walk around those!
This was also the day I hit my first major milestone, leaving the Huron. I was excited for a hot second before getting whacked by cold wind on Portage Lake. However, the rain was lightening up and I was fairly protected once on Portage Creek proper.
A huge sign of progress on the left, and almost immediately after I took that picture I was crossing Portage Lake in these squalls. So much for progress.
It wasn’t long before I found what was to become my favorite campsite of the trip. It had a chair! I wouldn’t have to sit on the wet ground tonight. But it was also in the heart of a beautiful wetland and was so peaceful. I owe thanks to whomever owned that land and put a campsite there.
Best Campsite Ever! I'd forgotten about the citronella candle that added such ambiance to my dinner.
