I have blister’s from my rudder pedals. I guess 12-15 hours a day in a kayak will do that to you.
There have been long days and I have knocked out a lot of miles. Chuck “Papa” Hill and Eric “Rookie” Snyder joined me on the first day. The paddling ended at 10 pm. I got an earlier start the next day and that day ended after an exhausting 3 hour battle with 4 miles of the St. Mary’s wind tunnel. My goal was to get to Lime Island and hopefully a cabin. My kayak’s rear end seemed heavy and unstable. Upon getting to the south of Lime Island, I marveled at how difficult it was to cross a “river“. I was exhausted. It was 9 pm and I still had another 3 miles to find out if I could even get a site. I actually knock on the keeper’s door at 10:25 pm and they gave me a cabin for $65.
While unloading my kayak, I discover all my gear including the sleeping bag were soaked through. The dry bag leaked too! Just my luck. I stayed on the island and scrounged some old silicon, tried to reseal the bulkhead and dried my gear. Today, I discovered it is leaking by the rudder! When battling the seas, the rudder was constantly underwater - causing the compartment to be full of water. Oh well, I try to fix it tomorrow.
Today, I paddled 36 miles from 6am to 7pm and arrived at Sault Ste Marie and my first opportunity for internet access. Today was very windy. It started windy and stayed windy. The St. Mary’s River is a very windy river. On the bright side, I was able to use the sail down wind for 9 miles. I am very worried about using the sail in strong winds, miles from shore. I was able to max out at 5.5 knots, but then, I started surfing 3 foot waves. Anyone that has surfed waves in a kayak knows it can cause a turn and roll over quickly if you can’t maintain control. Through the run down wind, I notice my rudder was increasingly sloppy and slow to respond. Finally, it couldn’t control the boat. I braced hard to keep the yak straight. The wind kept pushing and gusting harder. This went on for almost 7 minutes. I was at the edge of loosing control and at times I could see we were doing almost 10 knots. Finally, the wind paused and I was able to turn quickly into the wind, and I lowered the sail, but it got stuck halfway down. So, now I am turning sideways in a 20 knot wind, with half a deployed sail, banging at it and almost loosing it and turning over. (I was still over 2 miles from any shore.) Finally, I realized I forgot to release the line that trims the sail. I yanked it out and the sail dropped. I laughed a deep laugh, let out a sigh and turned back to my destination.
After about 10 minutes, an orange Coast Guard RIB approached from behind me. I thought, “Oh great, what do they want?”.
They came along side at a distance of about 200 feet. We watched each other for a few moments. Then I waved. They waved and then took off.
In retrospect, that was awesome. They would have found me 10 minutes after a major wipeout. I don’t say this very often, but my hats off to the Coast Guard (no matter our past encounters and arguments - service to service, of course).
Well, that’s all for now, I need sleep. I actually felt sleepy while kayaking - that isn’t good. The next couple of days are easy days.
Remember, you can see updates more often on our facebook page. Link below.
Awesome!
The day was spent dropping gear over the expanse of the 300 mile route. The people have been very helpful and willing to accomodate (even the National Park Service and the Mi DNRE). Tomorrow morning after a short spot for my one day partners, we begin the kayak to Government Island. This will probably be the last blog until Paradise - over 5 days from now.
Of course, I always sustain an annoying injury before every expedition and this on was no excepting. The old "sink the knife into your thumb - while cutting something trick". Now I get the annoying pain to accompany for the entire trip. AWESOME!
To keep up to date, I will be posting to the facebook page. Just a quick pick and note a few times a day.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fortune-Bay-Expedition-Team/117284228281641?ref=ts
I will see you back here in 5 days.
It is just a few days until I pass “into the mosquitoes” for 300 miles of peace and selfish company. These past few weeks, I haven’t spent a lot of time talking about the trip, but there were a few who inquired on the purpose of the trip. To which, I didn’t have a good answer.
I suspect that all manner of things will come from this journey. There will be the photos, video footage, reports of successful waypoints, wildlife sightings, interviews of fellow travelers and a detailed description of the entire trip for the benefit of those who will use the information for their own journey. But even with all that activity, I suspect that there is another meaning, a meaning that is deeper and more cerebral.
For all the conversations and preparation, I have not completely put my finger on it, but I suspect it has something to do with the aging process and life “stages”. More to the point, a couple of weeks alone in the wilderness are probably a little about controlling your own “time”. Back in the modern world, of course, we have schedules to keep and those that rely on us to “do our part”. But in the mosquito infested wilds, we have only ourselves and the other entity – sometimes referred to as “the wilderness”. Here, your concerns are “travelling, eating and a suitable place to sleep”. The “time” you keep is your own. You answer to yourself and your personal needs – not the needs of others. For a man, who is a father and is responsible for the wealth of hundreds of families, you may be able to schedule your own time, but you have to always be “available”, so you really don’t have control of your time. Solo wilderness trips seem to be a way of taking control of your time.
Further, there is a point in a man’s life, when he looks back and yearns for past adventures and perhaps greater future situations. I have had past adventures. My college years to my mid twenties were years gallivanting to other parts of the world –conquering, adventuring or exploring. It was an exciting time and as I approach my 40 year mark, I have spent the past decade and a half as a father and husband. It is certainly a rewarding and fulfilling 15 years, but there is that constant bother of commonness or normalness. This normal feeling, for some, isn’t something we are comfortable with.
It’s pretty much just like the sage, unsolicited advice says, “time is quite fleeting”. Those who are just north of their 30’s will know what I mean. Time does accelerate as we get older. More importantly, the dreams that we have been dreaming haven’t happened. One day, we look back and realize that we’ve been planning, but not doing. So, this solo expedition is a way of fulfilling those dreams. The only last hope is that it is the beginning of even more adventures.
Here’s to you, middle age person, because you are the age group most responsible for everyone else. Take some time to yourself – before you miss out.
Normally, this team does not do “gear reviews”. We find it to be quite distracting to outdoor pursuits and at times, great adventures are reduced to a conversation about the pros and cons of a new backpack. Inevitably, conversations around remote campfires turn to the subject of “gear”. The internet is full of gear blogs, opinions about small improvements in material and craftsmanship. The endless pursuit to lighten the load and find the perfect tarp is what we, at the team, call “a distraction”.
Sure there are benefits to backpackers buying and reviewing 5-6 backpacks every year. They provide the needed funds for companies to continually improve their products. They often provide some useful tips and hints for your next gear purchase. That is great; perhaps that is why they go outside, to pass judgment of the labors of others. But, we don’t do that. We are expeditioners and adventurers. While gear is important, we use it to accomplish our goals. The mere purchase and judgment of gear is NOT our reason to be outdoors. We buy it, abuse it, rebuild it, use it again, try to rebuild it – save it in a box to rebuild “someday”, steal parts from it, and eventually, we get rid of it and offer an opinion – when someone asks. But as a general rule, the constant chatter and contemplation of gear (while with the Fortune Bay Expedition Team) is forbidden.
However . . . if an item is “sport changing” or if it is such a rare find that nobody has personally used it (or saw it), then it is fair game. Additionally, a concept that is innovative (even if it steals concepts from other ideas) is something we will discuss and “review”. It should be noted here, however, that we do not talk about the product as much as the application of it. We provide more than a comparison of specification or our personal opinions. Our purpose is to review the concept of the item. Then, through extreme use, provide evidenced based opinions as a product and concept. That said; let us review a product and a concept.
The opening scene is a foggy morning just off the Point Iroquis in
“Two points off the starboard bow!” said the watchman.
“What is it? Native fishermen perhaps?” said the Captain
“Or a reef marker, Sir.”
Crew members gather to starboard and peer with all manner of squints and device. Only then does the sleek vessel escapes the shroud of vapory fog.
“It looks like a kayak – under sail!” The officer of the watch announces.
<<<< (seen fades to black as a volley of cannon fire is exchanged with the sailing kayak.) >>>>
Yep, “kayak sailing”.
While I have mostly considered kayak sailing to be a bit of a novelty, it seems that we have decided to try this concept in expedition kayaking. Often I have dreamily watch short, grainy “YouTube” videos of downwind sails, kites, and out rigged kayaks as they pass quickly through waves, sails loaded with power. As I watched, I couldn’t help wonder how fun that would be.
The concept wasn’t that complicated nor was it terribly useful. You could pop open a huge rain umbrella and you have a down wind sail. Drop a sea anchor and launch a traction kite and you are sailing. But you could only sail down wind. Of course you could sail across the wind or upwind with the Hobie out rigged sailing vessels – with their smooth sailing and huge out riggers – but are they really “kayaks”. The problem with all these rigs is that they had limited applications that excluded them for use in our expeditions.
The concept of kayak sailing was little more than a novelty. Pursuing the use of a sail rig on an expedition would have to prove more worthy than what I was watching. I didn’t pursue a purchase.
Downwind rigs are great, but in my experience, kayakers rarely have the wind at their back. So, carrying a folded sail on your deck for the off chance of a good following wind wasn’t an efficient concept. The out rigged kayaks are great sailing vessels, but the addition of a permanent sailing rig and huge outriggers seriously limited the use of your vessel as a kayak. (have you every taken a class two rapids with outriggers?)
The concept of beating windward and sailing across the wind requires the use of a board. You must create the winged concept for pressure differences. Leeboards were needed to prevent sliding with because of the wind.
Then, one day along came the “Kayaksailor” – a true sailing rig. Kayaksailor is a rig that can beat windward, reach, sail across the wind. It can be stored on the deck or stowed in a compartment. It has retractable leeboards, a big sail, easy deployment and easy take down. There was little permanent modification needed for the kayak – just the addition of 4 stainless steel hardware anchors.
This rig is compact, easy to use and does not intrude on the cockpit space. It mounts easily and many kayaks will likely have usable mounts already. The sail is just as easy to use as a Pacific Action sail and actually will come down easier. The twin leeboards raise and lower independently. The sail has battens for stiffness in the right places.
Even further, if you have other craft, the sail can easily be installed on another canoe or kayak.
In addition to a very useful concept, the rig is a quality rig. The company “Kuvia LLC” is an American company located in
The biggest surprise came with the easy of use. The rig is very intuitive. You have three lines, two to deploy the sail and a third to trim it. You just point your yak in the direction you want to go and then trim the sail – it was that easy. With practice and experience, you will increase your speeds and the conditions you can sail.
The sail is quite tall, and at first glance it seems that you will heel quite a bit, but the sail is well designed to spill the wind at the top and hold the wind low. During strong gusts, I found myself needing to quickly lean a bit to keep everything in order. Kayaksailor seemed to anticipate this concern of high winds; the rig can be reefed for extreme conditions (15 to 20 knot winds) - all the more reason to consider it for expedition kayaking.
In my opinion, until now, kayak sailing was relegated to be a fun sport on windy days in a limited direction. Something you could use to feel the thrill of sailing down wind. But, the kayak sailor has the potential to change expedition paddling.
Daily expedition distances can be increased. The rig allows for normal paddle strokes. Even if the sail does not obtain full paddling speed, the combination of both propulsion concepts will allow a kayaker to go farter, faster.
Obviously, faster paddling means covering more ground (water) or more time to explore destinations. While this was possible with other rigs, the Kayaksailor will allow you to do it in a variety of directions. This makes for a more reliable source of power.
This all points to a better expedition. Less work, farther distances, more fun, and a back up source of power – the Kayaksailor has raised the bar for kayak sailing and kayak sailing has finally raised the bar for expedition kayaking.
The first expedition for this rig and concept will be the Solo Tri-Expedition in late July. I will use the rig to paddle in two Great Lakes (Huron and
Until next time – thanks for reading.
For a great review visit Tom’s Top Kayaker
http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Articles/SurfSail/kayaksailor.html
Kayaksailor website
Expedition Route
Lowell, Michigan - Fortune Bay Expedition Team announces a 2010 solo expedition beginning July 24th, 2010.
Well, it has been a little while since we dropped words on the pages here. It looks like the time has come to talk about another expedition. The next expedition is going to be pretty much a solo gig. A few staff and members will join the expedition for a short time.
Here is a brief rundown of the plan so far:
The entire trip will be around 270 miles, including 150 miles of kayaking, 80 miles of mountain biking and 60 miles of hiking. The escort of members will begin at Mackinaw with me and cross the straits and disembark the expedition in Detour. From this point, the expedition will go solo. I will be the soloist attempting to continue up the Saint Mary’s River, stopping at
After the Soo Locks, I will enter the respectfully named “Ice Water Mansion” where the “Witch of November” resides - also known as
I will continue to
I expect to log, video tape and share the experiences of this journey as often as I can.
This will all start around July 24th. For now, I am busy preparing. The vast array of my expedition equipment is over a decade old - which is to say that it is well used and much of it is unserviceable. So, I will be replacing and rebuilding some of it.
Of primary importance is the two key pieces of transportation equipment, the mountain bike and kayak. While my mountain bike is only two seasons old, it has met many trails in
The Kayak is actually in terrible shape. Over the past decade the “Pathfinder I” has met every form of water and portage punishment. She has traveled the Arctic watershed, all the
I had thought about purchasing a new yak, however, when I inquired with
I invite you to join me as I go through the planning and execution of this minor journey. I look forward to keeping you posted as everything moves forward. Thanks for reading and God Speed in your own journeys.
Have you ever volunteered to work on a park project, build a trail, stabilize a stream bank, create trout habitat or even clear some trees that have fallen on a bridge? I have and its interesting that I still don't know why - completely.
In 2009, the team got together to try and determine some routes for the North Country National Scenic Trail through Lowell, Michigan. We looked at maps, the exisiting trail and went out to field survey and flag new trail. All in all, it was a good way to spend a morning.
Do you know how much that would cost for a survey crew - or even to pay the team to provide the service commercially? About $1,000 I would guess.
After stumbling through the process in the dead of winter, the West Michigan Chapter of the North Country Trail Association took over to finish the job. While the team involved itself some of the process, the trail building team, trail manager and a wide variety of individuals took over to see the project to its completion and the result was a nice section of trail about 2/3rds of a mile long. The trail is designed and built to last over a hundred years with a little maintenance.
What's interesting is there were over 60,000 total hours reported to the North Country Trail Association on behalf of the trail. That's kind of amazing. That is equivalent to a workforce of 30 full time employees. With benefits, insurance, unemployment insurance and taxes, that could be a bill of over 1.5 million - - for free.
Did you know that the North Country Trail only has a $900,000 budget and yet returns over $3.00 for every dollar spent? Now, if you ask me, that is one of the most efficient and effective government projects around.
Personnally, I have dedicated a couple of hundred hours over the past year and things are looking promising to get some major trail on the ground in Kent County. All for a couple of thousand dollars and a lot of "free" work. We could always use a hand - actually we could use a lot of them.
Why do we do it? Who knows, the reasons are many and they matter little in the end. In the end, what remains is a trail that changes lives. A trail that people will take a few hours to a few months to hike. Whenever you are ready, when you have reached a point in your life when you have to leave the world as you know it and do the one of the oldest activities known to man, the North Country Trail will be there. And it will change you - probably for the better.
The West Michigan Chapter was just honored for their trail building with a good article in the local paper - check it out here.
When I was growing up, we did a lot of outdoor things. I lived in a rural community on Rural Route #1. We used to find our hunting area or fishing hole at the end of a two track or along the river or at the back of the Uncle's field. It was easy to find, someone would just show you and you would remember the route and retrace your steps. I used a map on occasion and used techniques (unbeknownst to me) called terrain association and dead reckoning.
Well, eventually I left the "neighborhood" and began exploring unfamiliar and much more remote areas. As an expedition leader, search and rescue member, army Pathfinder, soldier, or forward observer - I had to be more exacting of locations and had to either receive those locations or give those locations to another person over the radio or through a dispatch or in writing. Which meant that I had to learn how to use coordinates. Not only that, but I had to learn more complicated land navigation techniques such as bearing, heading, pacing, hand-railing, aiming off, triangulation, back azimuth and a wide variety of other techniques to find those coordinates.
Today, all those things are second nature and many of my friends are able send or receive coordinates to get to a location - thanks to the Fortune Bay Expedition Team and their land navigation classes.
The advent of the GPS has made coordinate systems more popular with the general population. Simply by entering coordinates into a GPS receiver, one can "follow the arrows" to the location.
But, how does it all work and how can I do it without a GPS? How can I take the coordinates from a GPS and plot them on a map? How can I Geocache without a GPS? Can I take a map and compass anywhere in the world and find my way? Interested in learning to find direction without a compass?
Well, we're in luck, because the team is offering another course on Land Navigation where we will explore all these questions and more. So, if you are interested in Land Navigation Theory and all the details, now is the time to establish a strong foundation.
Click on the Link to learn more.
The expedition will begin in boreal forestland and pass through Bayou areas, small urban areas and urban waterways onto an inland sea (Lake Michigan). Upon entering the open water, the expedition will experience sandy beaches and towering dunes. While camping on/near the dunes, the expedition will continue overland to explore more forestland and dune areas. The expedition will continue past the historic Big Sable Point Lighthouse to a manmade channel, dam portage and into a manmade lake. The expedition will conclude somewhere on Hamlin Lake.
The Expedition will cover over 50 miles; approximately 24 miles of river, 3.5 miles of urban waterways, 20 miles of open water and about 5-10 miles of hiking.
For more information and to register click here
Progress as of March 27th, 2010
Well, as fate would have it, the teams schedule has filled with many activites and we are forced to slow the North Country Trail expedition to one weekend per month. Meaning this blog will get quite lonely if we don't post other things.
So, we are changing the blog to an activites blog to update the membership and public on our activities. We will review classes, trips, other expeditions on this blog. April will have a NCT Expedition Hike, two classes, trail maintenance and possibly the starting of another expedition involving a full length paddle from the headwaters of the Flat River to Lake Michigan. More on all of that later.
For now, here is an update on the North Country Trail Expedition that we started in Yankee Springs State Recreation Area in December of 2009. We have slogged every other weekend through snow, cold and empty forest.
We are 34.95% of the way to the Mackinac. Which means we have hiked 162.15 miles with 301.85 miles to go. The expedition has covered 68.15 miles on roads and 94 miles off road on various widths and surfaces known to be trail.
Future plans include hiking in blocks of 3-5 days. The goal is to finish before 2010 ends. We have had a variety of hikers join us for parts of our journey and others are always welcome. Now we are entering prime hiking weather and soon shall feel the opression of summer heat. We have hiked during rain, snow, cold, dark and light. We have met a few people, but have yet to meet another hiker. Which is interesting. But, since the weather has turned more aminable to hiking we expect to encounter a few walkers in the months ahead.
Stay tuned and drop me a line if you have any questions or would like to join us on a future hike or activity. In a little over a week, we will be hosting an Advanced Outdoor Skills Course, Venture Leader Training at Camp Gerber for the Boy Scout Program, and are working on a plan for a section paddle from Six Lakes, Michigan to Lake Michigan (on alternate weekends).
See you around, thanks for reading!
Nichols Lake Boat Launch to 76th Street Trailhead
Sterling Marsh near 76th Street - Photo by Ron Sootsman
So, a night hike in winter is kind of easy, from a “pathfinding” perspective. On an aged trail there is an indentation in the snow that helps you find your way. Blazes, even in bright moonlight and with headlamps, can be hard to spot on trees, especially if they are faded. But the concave path is pretty visible and easy to follow.
Take the snow away and the task becomes much more difficult. Add the fact that you want to relax and leave your backpack in the Jeep (WITH your headlamp) and things get downright weird.
So, this is how we begin our story. We set off from the
The first time we lost the trail, we simply walked past a turn. The next three times – who knows what, happened. Then we came to one of those trail intersections; the kind of intersection of trails where you have no idea where to go. Typical headlamps are quite worthless when it comes to finding far off blazes. Furthermore, “Blazers” (those who paint the trees for us) – paint in the comfort of daylight and tend to mark for those who travel in good light conditions. Well, we spent 15 minutes looking for the trail. At this point I was a little disappointed in myself for leaving my headlamp in the Jeep. But, the reward for such “accidental wisdom” was soon to come.
Well, we found the trail. Everyone except me had a headlamp, but that didn’t seem to diminish my ability to follow a trail. The lack of a headlamp caused me to pay attention to things. Not having a sense (such as sight) will obviously make your other senses more acute.
Many of my fellow night travelers will tell you that I hate light sources on night activities. They tend to get you lazy and comfortable, in my opinion, and put you at risk of “nocturnal nearsightedness”. Upon first igniting a light source – I immediately begin chastising and belittling the offender. I persist until they give up and turn it off. Then, our night vision slowly returns.
As we continued, I actually paid attention to our location, the map and especially the trail. A trail that has been established for a number of years has a hard feel on your “pedimentary appendages”. As soon as that feeling disappears, you have left the trail and you immediately set about trying to remedy the situation. Additionally, you search for clues just ahead and pay very close attention to the surroundings. This proved to be our best method of night hiking. Our light sources became a way to only “confirm the blazes” as opposed to searching for them.
After this acute adjustment of our senses, we were very successful in keeping on the trail.
After a good night’s sleep, we began again at the Highbank Lake NF Campground.
Hiking in daylight, it was obvious that spring maintenance is still a couple of weeks off for North Country Trail maintenance crews. Dead falls, overhangs, faded blazes and other general degradation of the trail is everywhere.
We also sensed a quiet loneliness that you only get in the off season. During the summer months, the area obviously gets a lot of activity. Today, we could only imagine those sounds and sights of campers and outdoor enthusiasts as they go about their assigned tasks. In this particular loneliness, I actually found myself imagining what the summer occupants see and feel. I tried to imagine the laughter of the kids and the seriousness of dad as he explains the wonders of nature to his half interested off spring. It is weirdly satisfying and lonely - at the same time.
Another neat thing is the clarity of view. This time of year, the leaves are preparing to poke themselves out of their assigned ports into the sun and air, but they are still safely inside the woody protection of mother tree – which means that you can see quite a distance through the unobstructed forest. It is quite different than the green, leafy hikes of summer. It is something I really enjoy.
Well, I have beaten the “old special feeling talk” to death – so I will spare you more of my thoughts.
We ended at
There were 5 of us – Ron, Papa, Eric, West and Me.
We have decided – since we are far from home and drive times are approaching hours – that we will now take fewer and longer weekends. These “longer weekends” will be multiday camp as you hike affairs. This means that those of you who hate snow and would rather hike multi days – can now get off your seating arrangement and come out to hike with us. So, let me know.
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