Picking the Adventure
2008
Deciding on a Proper Adventure
I've been blessed with the opportunity to enjoy a fairly adventurous life. From growing up literally on the shores of Lake Michigan to leading ski trips to some of Europe's greatest resorts, I've always enjoyed being outdoors and finding the more exciting ways of enjoying it.
In 2001 I was introduced to sea kayaking on a formal level, and it changed my life. At the time I had settled into a career and had recently started a family. Paddling for fitness and pushing my skills on Lake Michigan allowed me an easy way to detach from the normal routines of life. Having found a couple of new friends who were on a similar path both in life and their kayaks, we pushed ourselves to paddle farther and in ever bigger conditions, testing new skills, and refining the basics. Focusing on safety and acquiring new gear, I became an instructor as a way to share my newfound knowledge that brought me so much joy (and justify owning all the gear!)
(Some shots of me in action as a kayak instructor. It's been a fun part of my life to say the least)
For 7 years I paddled and taught at symposiums around the mid-west, bonding with a new group of friends who told stories of their paddling adventures around the world. It was hard not to think big as I listened to stories from the likes of Nigel Dennis and Peter Bray over beers in a bar in Grand Marais. Or want to have the skills of Nigel Foster who taught a group of us from West Michigan one day at Duck Lake State Park.
(Learning to manage large Lake Michigan surf provided some of the confidence needed to attempt this journey. Guiding a few day trips on Lake Superior helped as well.)
In 2008, at 44 years of age, I began to feel a call to attempt a really big adventure. Something that would take weeks, not days. That would require a high level of fitness, test some of the skills I'd refined over years of playing outdoors, and challenge me mentally. The first thing that came to mind was ski mountaineering. I loved the mountains and skiing off-piste. But I wasn't a climber and no longer had connections to that world (I'd lived in Montana for a short time and gotten to know many great backcountry skiers). Besides I didn't have the financial resources for that type of trip. So I began to focus on using my Eddyline Falcon 18 sea kayak.
After filtering through several outlandish options (circumnavigation of one of the lakes, paddling from the Manitous to the straits) I began focusing on the Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge. It presented all I was looking for in terms of time, distance, affordability and location. But before pulling the trigger I needed to run a few tests. So in September and October of 2008 I did a couple of 25+ mile paddles and used a borrowed portage cart known as the Original Swedish Style Folding Cart to do a 1-mile portage/walk as sort of litmus tests to see if this was really something I wanted to do. After each paddle I was encouraged by my enthusiasm and desire to go farther.
On February 17th, 2009, I officially pulled the trigger and entered the challenge. My next post will be about what it takes to prepare for a trip of this scale.
