Word from Coach

Word from the Coach (via email)

--- On Sat, 10/3/09, Larry Hoff wrote:

Hi Jim,

This is exciting. Not sure you are still up, but I will be watching Toby's spotter for a couple more hours. May have to get one of those things. Tell Dan, in my eyes he's the champ in this challenge. I know it had to be bad for him to leave. Tell him I know Verlen is very, very proud of him.

These's guys are the best. I feel very honored to have been able to meet them this spring. I can say the same about you and your son, Jim and daugther Karen. You've done well my friend.

Coach

Coach finished his Wisconsin River trip

I got a message from Coach yesterday (Tues Sept 29) that he was back from Branson and headed back to the Wisconsin River. His plan was to drop his canoe and gear at Muscoda, drive his car to a park about a mile down the Mississippi from it's confluence with the Wisconsin (Wyalising State Park), then hitch hike back to his canoe.

I got another message this evening (Wed Sept 30) that he had put in and had finished paddling down the Wisconsin. He arrived at the Mississippi about 2:15 PM then spent time trying to find the right channel to get to his car. Confusion at the end but success overall.

He will render a final report and send some pictures in a few days. He sends his regards to the Ultimate Kruger Challengers.

So he has done it (and by himself). All the way from headwaters at Lac Vieux Desert at the edge of Michigan's UP to the Father of Waters. As I predicted he turned left at the Mississippi but he did not head for New Orleans. A gutty performance from a man who has earned my ultimate respect. In my prime I don't think I could have kept up with him.

He and his performance reminds me of that old joke about the guy who was proud of always doing things the hard way. One time his son asked how he was conceived. The father replied proudly "Standing up in a hammock!"

Ultimate Kruger Challenge 2009

The Ultimate Kruger Challenge 2009 is underway.

The Challenge, a project of the Verlen Kruger Memorial Association, is to paddle and portage all the way across the Lower Peninsula from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan starting at the mouth of the AuSable River at Oscoda. The Challengers will go upstream on the AuSable to Grayling, then make a 7 mile portage-on-wheels via Highway M72 to the Manistee River where they will put back in and paddle the rest of the way to Lake Michigan, a total of 271 miles.

The "Tres Amigos" - Mark Przedwojewski, Dan Smith, and Jack Murgatroid - started up the AuSable yesterday afternoon about 4:30 with the intention of finding a high and dry campground before the storms hit. A message from Mark at 7:15 PM said they had pulled off and set up camp.

They are paddling Kruger Seawinds. Mark P. has a new Spotter on his. You can follow their progress on Mark's Kruger Canoe Adventures blog, of which Brian Weber of Wisconsin is the Blogmaster.

Bob Bradford and son Mike in their tandem racing canoe planned to start this morning. A message from Bob last night said they saw "three bums" heading up the river. I'm trying to find out more about the Bradfords' canoe. They also have an active Spotter.

I think there is a 100 miler in-one-day on the Manistee on October 1 involved with all this. I'll let you know when I get it straight.

No word from Coach yet after his Branson trip.

Coach is off the river

On Sunday Coach went to the Packers game then returned to his takeout place at Prairie du Sac. Stayed in a motel. He was pleased that he had no more dams to portage but was concerned about low water.

Monday he paddled to Muscoda. I don't have details. Camped out Monday night. Woke up at 4 AM. Raining outside. Also raining inside since he did a lousy job of re-water proofing his old fly. He got soaked. I'm thinking of taking up a collection to buy him a decent tent and fly and a Verlen Kruger-type comfortable mattress.

Here is how he described some more of his miserable day Tuesday: "I did not have a confirmed ride back to Prairie du Sac, so I hid all my gear in some brush and went to a local gas station to see if anyone stopping for gas would give me a lift. The first person took me about 10 miles. Then at another gas station I got a ride for about 20 miles and at a third I got a ride back to my car. I quickly hurried back to Muscoda, packed up my stuff and headed for my sister's all the time thinking how I was going to finish this trip." Then he tells a garbled tale of missed phone calls and wrong dates but he finally got home and went to Branson, Missouri, as scheduled.

On the way home from Branson he intends to put back in the river and finish the trip to the Mississippi. I'm afraid he will turn left and head for New Orleans.

Coach on the Wisconsin - Day 6

Coach reported to Karen Friday morning. He talks fast and we have trouble spelling some Wisconsin names but here goes.

He spent the night near the Petenwell Dam. On Friday morning, as planned, he biked around (rather than paddling/portaging each) three dams with one trip when he arrived at Wisconsin Rapids downstream of Stevens Point. After the third dam as he was about to put back into the river a native told him the channel he was proposing to put into led not to the river as Coach had believed, but yet another dam. With that information Coach abandoned the river route and bicycle portaged about 9 miles to Nekoosa on roads that ran along the river.

He put back in the river south of town and paddled downstream into the Petenwell Flowage - I think the second biggest reservoir on the Wisconsin. As he was standing in the water to enter his craft, a passerby advised him to "Get out!" of the water because what he was standing in was a toxic algae bloom. Once in, it was an easy paddle across the flowage.

He planned to go through the Wisconsin Dells (Portage, WI, approx. 300 mile mark) but we do not yet have a report.

A recent story on NPR about toxic algae blooms.

Coach on the Wisconsin - Day 5

When he arrived in Stevens Point last night Coach did not stay in a motel as planned. Instead he ended up camping after dark in some park. Awoke this morning to find he was laying next to a "No Camping" sign in a wet sleeping bag. Four more dams yesterday plus he wasted an hour not realizing he was circumnavigating a large island. He thought he was still going downstream until he saw the same two fishermen for a second time. I'm confused just trying to describe it. Maybe it is because he Emailed me directly instead of using the Karen connection. In a late morning call to Karen he said he was looking at maps of what he was facing downstream, the second largest flowage on the entire river plus 3 dams at Wisconsin Rapids. Thinking about wheel portaging all three in one long trip. We will have to wait for the next report to find out what he decided. There may be an interruption coming up since he says he's going to go to the Packers game Sunday.

Coach on the Wisconsin - Day 4

Noon call from Coach. He is at the Rothschild Dam on the south side of Wausau. That means he paddled late again because he is far beyond yesterday's goal of getting south of Merrill. He camped at Gilbert Park on the north side of Wausau. If you are following Coach on Google Earth or Google Maps you will see that the river and the highways are never far apart on this stretch. He had to portage five dams yesterday. He says the dams are driving him nuts since it takes so long to get around them. The portages are 1/4 to a mile long and he's glad he has his traveling junkyard folding bike portage rig. He's dreading the portage at the paper mill at Mosinee where he hears he will have to call the mill and wait for an escort to arrive and take him across their property. I sympathize. I looked at the papermill complex on Google Maps Satellite. It's a big and complicated beast. The Wisconsin is an industrial river many places. Also spectacular other places. The weather is a bit cooler and he has a tail wind. He plans to stay in a motel at Stevens point tonight (River Mile 205).

Coach on the Wisconsin - Day 3

Noon call from Coach from Tomahawk. He said it was absolutely gorgeous there. I assume he meant the river and environs not the town.

Last night he camped in the woods at Kings Dam upstream from Tomahawk. That means he got through Rhinelander yesterday afternoon and portaged the dam there. He says he has portaged "5 or 6 dams" which also means that he has lost count already. There are 26 total on the whole river.

He hoped to portage 3 or 4 more today and get south of Merrill which is River Mile 138. Then he intends to slow down a bit. He didn't say how late he paddled last night. Karen doubts that he will really slow down. We'll see.

Merrill is about as far south as Northport at the top of the Leelanau Peninsula (the "Little Finger") in the Lower Peninsula.

Coach on the Wisconsin - Day 2

Another call from Coach just before noon today. He said it was a long night. Ended up throwing his sleeping bag on somebody's dock. He has gone through the Rainbow Flowage (pictured above - they call backwaters behind dams in Wisconsin "flowages") and has made the portage. The Rainbow Dam is about 12 miles southeast of the town of Woodruff, my favorite Wisconsin town. Lovely warm day, no breeze yet, nice lazy river. Intends to make Rhinelander this afternoon.

Coach on the Wisconsin River - Day 1

Coach called Karen at noon to say he was on the river and paddling. He had first put in at the US 45 bridge because he had been advised that the first five miles was impassable but then he ran into some canoeists who said that it was fine so he pulled out and went back to the beginning at Lac Vieux Desert. He put in at the dam and is now going downstream.

I looked for the dam on Google Maps and Google Earth. I couldn't positively locate it but there is a nice photo of the beginning of the Wisconsin on Google Earth. I entered "Lac Vieux Desert Wi" to search.

Coach called again at about 8 PM. Said he was getting close to Eagle River. Beautiful day, nice winding creek, great weather, trees changing, nice current. Sounded like he was going to keep going. He doesn't pause to smell the water lillies.

Coach on the Wisconsin River - Preliminary Report

Larry "Coach" Hoff plans to launch his Kruger Seawind expedition canoe on Lac Vieux Desert (from French for Lake of the Old Clearing or Old Garden) on Sunday September 13 2009 and go all the way down the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi River by September 22. As usual, he will look like a traveling junk yard with his folding bicycle portaging rig stuffed in behind the seat.

Coach, shown here with his gear during the 2009 Hugh Heward Challenge. Nancy Anderson looks on.

Lac Vieux Desert, the head lake of the Wisconsin River, is a relatively large and shallow lake which lies astraddle the UP/Wisconsin State Line southeast of Watersmeet. It's drainage area is one of only two places in Michigan in the Mississippi watershed. (The other is in the Lower Peninsula in Berrien County at the Indiana border.) Thus if you put some used beer in the woods up there it will eventually flow into the Mississippi, down the big river past St. Louis and New Orleans and end up in the Gulf of Mexico....a long trip.

The Wisconsin is that state's longest river at 430 miles, some 160 miles longer than the Grand, Michigan's longest river. Quoting from Wikipedia: "It flows south across the glacial plain of central Wisconsin, passing Wasau and Stevens point. In southern Wisconsin it encounters the terminal moraine formed during the last ice age, where it forms the Dells of the Wisconsin River. North of Madison at Portage, the river turns to the west, flowing through Wisconsin's hilly Western Upland and joining the Mississippi approximately 3 miles south of Prairie du Chien. Although the river was originally navigable up to the city of Portage 200 miles from its mouth, it is now considered non-navigable beyond the lock and dam at Prairie du Sac."

The Wisconsin exits Lac Vieux Desert at its southwest corner the promptly turns northwest almost reaching the Michigan border before it turns south again approximately paralleling US 45.

Coach anticipates some problems with low water at the beginning. We'll see whether he does the upper river by canoe or bicycle.

Coach's latest adventures; Jon Holmes' log

I encourage you all to go to Coach's website and read what he has written about his UHHC experience. Click on Current Journal to read his blog, which includes his latest - and final - post about the Challenge, "May 4 - Hammond Marina to Chicago." You can also see where he will be going next. Now that we know Coach, we will be following his exploits with interest. 

I have been emailing Jon Holmes' log entries, and his account of the trip is also excellent and very instructive for those who may want to think about this or similar challenges. If you didnt' read the log entries in my emails, or to read the entire log from start to finish, click here.  Jon has also started a blog, where we will be able to follow his ongoing "Adventures on the Grand." Schedules for Jon's kayak instruction are available on his website, www.advonthegrand.com

I am encouraging the Intrepids to add their stories to the record of the UHHC 2009.

Jon Holmes, on the river

Nancy Anderson, Coach, Jim in Dimondale

UHHC-Final Thoughts, Summary and Thanks VII

A reminder: You can see my 1790 narrative on line. Google "Across Lower Michigan by Canoe 1790".

 

Thanks again to the eminent Bob Bradford for honoring the Challengers at the Belle Isle start. His photos of the Challengers touching the wall at Hart Plaza over where Hugh and his crew started on March 24, 1790, give me particular satisfaction. Those and the photos of the Intrepid 3 paddling in the Chicago River really close the loop. With Neil Miller and Brian Prodin carrying a canoe and pack across the portage and swamp on the same day as the Challengers' start, nothing is left undone but to tell the stories. Verlen would have been proud.

 

A week ago today I joined son Jim for the soup bar at Mike's in Dimondale. I hobbled out into the kitchen to shake Mike's hand and thank him for feeding the troops the morning of the 50 Miler. He has a Hugh Heward Challenge T-shirt coming.

 

In the afternoon Pat Harrington and Robin Barfoot put Pat's ugly "stolen Winona" (he can tell you it's story) in the river behind my house for a run down to Grand Ledge. It was pretty funny to watch. To put it as kindly as I can, Pat's canoeing outfit is "colorful". His dog is shakingly averse to canoes and water so the launch involves getting Robin into the bow seat (with a double-bladed paddle and the bow pointing upstream), then Pat throws the dog in and Robin grabs his (or her?) collar. Then Pat tries to avoid doing the splits as he pushes off and jumps in as the current grabs the canoe and makes it do a 180. They're off!

 

Pat and Robin were responsible for setting up the refreshment stand at my landing on the day of the 50 Miler. The cluster of DALMAC flags that still decorate my river front are from Pat's garage. As I sat down there observing all the activity some canoers would stop and some would look over curiously but keep on going (the racers wouldn't even look up). Robin was acting like a sideshow barker trying to get them to come ashore. She would shout "strawberries"...."lemonade"...."Coors Light"...or "This is Jim Woodruff who started the Challenge..."  I kinda felt like she was calling to reluctant canoeists  "...come on in and see the old freak who started all this foolishness..." Again I thank them both.

 

Sincere and loving thanks from GPa to Karen's husband Ken and Jim's wife Deb and daughter Jessica for giving up the time and companionship it cost them to have my two kids supporting me in this great endeavor. 

 

I have about run out of thanks. Have I forgotten anyone? 

 

Coach is telling his story on his blog and as of this morning he has only to tell of paddling into the Chicago River to finish it.

 

Jon has told his story in three chapters that Karen has Emailed to you all, #3 going out yesterday morning. A compelling tale full of good information. I thought as I followed his spotter day by day from April 17 on that his lone-wolf approach would cost him much of the fun of the journey, but reading his story you eventually realize he wasn't in it for fun but rather as a test of himself, his chosen watercraft and his high tech gear. In my opinion he, his Eddyline sea kayak and his gear passed with flying colors, as the saying goes.

 

I had a long call  from Dan about at the end of happy hour last evening. He is anxious to tell his story but he is going to do the Bushwhaker 150 with his nephew first. He says he has some stories to tell about Toby's doings. I hope that motivates Toby to speak for himself.

 

Toby's tracker shows that he is paddling down the AuSable right now.. I think Charlie may be with him.

 

As of today, I don't know what Mark's plans are with respect to telling his story. As one of the "Big Dog" Intrepid 3 Challengers who made it all the way to the Chicago River we want to hear more than what is on his website. For example, did they really camp at Warren Dunes when Toby's Tracker stopped at Grand Mere State Park miles up lake? Tell us about the Marina/Casino campout at Hammond and about the Kruger Sea Wind parade to and into the Chicago River and its canyon. I heard pieces of the stories at our party at Frank's Press Box but I want to hear more.

 

One more guy I want to hear from is Mike Smith, the guy whose bad back kept him from becoming a Challenger. He bird-dogged the Mouseketeers around lower Lake Michigan and  is the one who arranged for the legendary Hammond Campout. Tell us how you did it, Mike. 

 

Final thoughts: As I sit at my computer the night before this is sent out I am thinking of Verlen. The leaves have come out so I can no longer see his gravesite from my place like I can in the winter. There are some special ties between some of the participants in the 2009 Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge and the legendary long-distance canoeist. 

 

That includes myself. He and I shared the special comradeship of the members of Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation"...children of the Depression...veterans of World War II. We both had a special love for canoeing, his physical, mine intellectual.

 

Dan Smith had a special paddling relationship with Verlen who took him canoeing in the Canadian wilderness and had him along on his 80th birthday cruise down the Yukon. Dan can tell us more.

 

Mark P was the canoe-designing-and-building wizard's apprentice and is his successor in the Kruger Canoes business. He can also tell us more.

 

Charlie Parmelee is Verlen's successor as the Rivermaster. He is Rivermaster of Grand River Expedition '10 and will be "herding cats" for 13 days down the Grand next July.  While I had to keep track of only five or six cats during UHHC, and they were all experienced paddlers, his herd will consist of 50 or 60 various and sundry watercraft, many with inexperienced paddlers...but at least he will have them confined to a single river.

Have I left anyone out?

 

And so it ends, everybody safe and somewhat amazed at what we pulled off. 

Coach's post on the 50 miler.

Don't miss reading Coach's blog post about the Hugh Heward 50 miler. Outstanding. 

Click here to read the 50 miler post.

Click here to read the whole blog.

UHHC 2009-Final Thoughts, Summary and Thanks III

Continuing:

 

To Jon Holmes. What a man! I had doubts about a sea kayak going upstream on the Huron, getting over all those dams and bushwhacking up Hell Creek, but obviously he did it and fast. I'll bet he used that two-blader more as a push pole than as a paddle going up the creek. Since he didn't communicate with me at all I don't know how he did it. I am hoping he will write the complete story and share it with us. He missed out on my beer and pizza party at the Damsite Inn in Hell but made it to Chuck's fancy luncheon at the English Inn. Maybe that's a sign of his discriminating taste.

 

I was reduced to following his Spotter which I did religiously. I admit to being a Luddite on GPS gadgets before this trip started. I didn't see why in hell any canoeist or kayaker  cared where they had been a half hour ago, but now I see it isn't for them, it is for us who are trying to follow and find out what they are doing and where they are. I am a convert. In Jon's case it turned out to be important when he and Rusty headed straight across the Lake for Chicago from Michigan City, a stunt that I thought showed more guts than sense. I followed them all the way and sensed that they were moving slower as they approached Chicago. It turned out that they had run into waves and had a real struggle getting to shore at the Planetarium. I was prepared to call the Coast Guard if they stopped.

 

Jon said he considered the trip a test of himself and was happy to be alone. He passed the test with flying colors but I think he would have enjoyed the companionship of the other Challengers. He and Coach sprinted out ahead on the Detroit River and took opposite sides of an island and never saw each other again. I don't know to this day who was ahead going up the Huron. Jon was the first into Chicago but at the Planetarium rather than at the Chicago River.

 

While Jon was going up Portage Creek he went through Hell only about and hour or two ahead of the Intrepid 4's arrival. Patty Pape was there to greet both and had photos of Jon on the water (including the one above).

 

We had a great time at the Damsite Inn. Lots of paddlers and family and locals. As is tradtional I picked up the tab. My thanks to the nice waitress who took care of us. She decided what kind of pizza we should have and was quick with the beer refills. We toasted Verlen and Hugh.

 

Daughter Karen is looking forward to choosing a man-sized kayak at Jon's shop for her large sized sons.

 

More tomorrow.

UHHC Party

L to R: Jim, Mark, Dan, Toby, Charlie

I got a call yesterday afternoon to join the Challengers at Frank's Press Box on West Saginaw at 5 PM for a get-together celebrating the successful conclusion of the 2009 Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge.   I did as I was told and arrived at Frank's a little before 5. It's only a couple-three miles from the River House and being a local I know enough to come at it from the east so that it is a right turn off Saginaw. Those who came from the west (during rush hour) had hell making the required left turn.    When you go into Frank's from the bright sunshine through either the patio entrance or the front door it takes a while for your eyes to get used to the gloom and when you are as old as I am and use a cane it is even more difficult. The net result was that I made my grand entrance by stumbling through the waitress' alley and had to zigzag around the bar to get to where the customers ought to be. I looked around and didn't see anyone who looked like canoeists so I worked my way back to the Gunfighter's Corner and  took a seat at a table against the wall. Soon out of the gloom came Mike Leyrer from Portland to join me. Shortly thereafter his wife who I think is named Betty joined up.   If you have never been to Frank's Press Box let me describe it. Big and dark and smokey with big TVs all over the walls with all kinds of sporting events going on, even polo. And the waitresses..... I think the best job in the place would be that of whomever interviews and hires those waitresses, maybe one of the best jobs in Delta Township. Does that make me sound like a Dirty Old Man?   Mike and Betty and I are talking when the Challengers start arriving  That changes the whole tone of the party. Tables start getting shoved together and waitresses show up with pitchers of beer in each hand. No nursing of long-neck bottles for the Big Dogs.   Dan, Mark, Toby and Mike Smith arrived together. Then Charlie and finally my telephone-off-the-hook savior Bill Westen who also lives in Delta Township. Mike is the hero of the day since it was he who arranged the casino and marina campout at Hammond. They all swapped stories and filled the rest of us in on that memorable affair. I am counting on one of them to share that story by Email, also the story of the parade through the Chicago Canyon.    I have received an Email from Coach Hoff this morning thanking all and expressing his appreciation for the experience of joining the Intrepid 3 for the finish of the Challenge.   When Charlie arrived he handed me a gift bag with a fancily wrapped package inside. I handed it to Toby who was sitting next to me and he pulled out one of the multiple shivs he carries (he makes knives as a hobby) and he slit it open with authority. It turns out to be a bottle of South African chenin blanc/chardonnay wine labelled "Herding Cats". That got a big laugh of course. You can be sure it will be a very special occasion when I open and drink from that bottle.   It was at Frank's over beer many months ago that the idea of the 2009 all-the-way Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge was hatched. I received a call to rendezvous at Frank's. I think Mark, Charlie and Dan (and maybe Mike?) were there. We talked about Charlie's 2008 Odyssey and someone, I think Mark, said lets go all the way this year. Since I didn't have to paddle I of course was all for this audacious idea. If my memory of this meeting is faulty, someone can correct me.   It was Charlie who invented the term Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge for his 2008 Lake Erie to Lake Michigan trek. We thereupon christened this year's effort Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge 2009. When Charlie later arranged for decals for the canoes the artist spelled Ultimate Ulitimate....that's why I call Charlie my Ulitimate son.  Now, like rare coins or stamps with upside-down airplanes the Ulitimate decals are considered collector's items and the Challengers who affixed them to their canoes refuse to exchange them for the corrected version. Daughter Karen came in and joined the festivities and arranged to get the old man some food. The Challengers were showing no signs of slowing down. When they did eat you could see that they were used to consuming mega-calories per day. They dug into a large pizza and a mountain of nachos like predators on a fresh-killed carcass.   When the party wound down I went out into the parking lot to look at Toby's rig. I found that he uses one of those traveling junkyard trailer rigs like Coach does, only no folding bicycle.   It was a great party and I am honored to have been a part of it. Who knew when I issued that first Hugh Heward Challenge so many years ago how big a deal it would grow up to be?

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

2:30 PM.  They made it, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Call from Dan saying they have paddled into the Chicago River. They are at the Michigan Avenue bridge with all sorts of water traffic around them. Toby's Tracker says 504miles. Mike Smith with friend Darlene Lyons and Coach Hoff are there too. They are paddling in a sort of parade up the Chicago Canyon. Mike, who paddled through it in 1992 after his solo trip from the headwaters of the Missouri River, says it's awesome. Dan agrees. A Chicago Tribune reporter is trying to cover them thanks to Neil Miller.

 

Dan said they have toasted Verlen and they are going to toast me too. I'm honored.

 

The Intrepid 3 took 17 paddle days to make it from Detroit to Chicago. The Hugh Heward party took 26 paddle days to make the trip in 1790, 48 days overall.

 

Our congratulations to the Intrepid 3, Mark Przedwojewski of Irons, the builder of Kruger Canoes; Dan Smith of Portland, Chairman of the Verlen Kruger Memorial Association; and Michigan native Toby Nipper, of Ft. Myers, Florida, long-distance canoeist extraordinaire.

(Photo thanks to Google images)

UHHC Progress Report - Monday, May 4 - 6:43 a.m

Yesterday morning the Intrepid 3 + Coach informed Mike Smith and I that they were not planning to make the Chicago River until Tuesday. After some palavering Mike and I figured they should be able to make it by today, but they needed a place to camp last night, a daunting prospect given the industrial nature of that coast between Gary and Chicago.   I went to work with Live Search Virtual Earth which has Birdseye views. I followed along the shore locating every waterfront park and scoping the possibilities for camping, stealth or otherwise. I passed descriptions of each park to Mike and enlisted the aid of Neil Miller, one of the portage/swamp trompers. Eventually I got out of the loop by asking Mike and Neil to message each other directly. Smart move. I went down to the river and took a nap and when I got back up to the house and pulled up Toby's Tracker I saw that they were heading right for a casino and marina in Hammond, Indiana. All had been arranged by Mike and Neil.    Go to Mark's blog to see how they were treated when they arrived and a neat picture of the place.    Later There was a message from Dan on my answering machine saying that they only had 13 more miles to go to the Chicago River. Mike is on his way to Chicago this morning with his van and canoe trailer. Neil regrets that he can't be there too.   The Intrepid 3 will paddle up the Big Lake past Chicago's impressive lake front and into the Chicago River, finishing their mission. Coach and Mike will join them for a canoe parade through the Chicago "Canyon".    I will put out a bulletin as soon as I know they have made it.

UHHC Progress Report - May 3

Yesterday Jon Holmes in his Eddyline Sea Kayak went straight across the Big Lake from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore just west of Michigan City and landed right by Chicago's Adler Planetarium. Read the story of his lake crossing below in this message. Jon's trip was a Tour de Force and an accomplishment in its own right, but didn't trace Hugh Heward's route which was the whole idea of the 2009 Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge. So it is left to the Intrepid 3 to track around the southwest corner of Lake Michigan and into the Chicago River as the Heward Party did on May 9 and 10 1790.   According to Toby's Tracker the I-3 plus Coach camped last night just where Jon's Spotter showed he camped the night before. I hope poor Coach got a night's sleep. According to Mark's blog "...he froze his arse..." Friday night.   Coach Larry Hoff's journey across the Lower Peninsula is a special case. Although he left Detroit with the Intrepid 4 and will finish in Chicago with the Intrepid 3 Mouseketeers, his journal "Atlantic to Pacific Log" shows that his trip from the Huron to the Grand was entirely on streets and roads pulling his Sea Wind with his now-famous folding bicycle.   He paddled down the Detroit River, across Lake Erie and then up the Huron about to Ypsilanti, then took to the land. He by-passed the rest of the Huron, all of Portage (Hell) Creek, Heward's Portage, the Portage Lake Swamp and the Portage River. In bicycling along M 52 southeast of Stockbridge he actually crossed Heward's 1790 path.   Neither he nor I are sure where he got into the Grand since he used a State Highway map for guidance. He avoided the first launch site he encountered because of all the deadfalls in the channel of the Grand and entered at a second. I am guessing maybe he he got into the Grand about near Thompkins Corners in Jackson County.   I have already told the story of my family and Nancy Anderson picking him up at Dimondale and transporting him to Portland where we had an enjoyable meal at Jerry's. He interrupted his trek down the Grand and Lake Michigan to join in Chuck Amboy's luncheon at the English Inn and later to do the Ninth Annual Hugh Heward Challenge 50 miler.   I was having a good steak at my son's house when Dan called last night. I have difficulty understanding recorded phone messages but he confirmed that they were camped at Indiana Dunes (by a nuclear reactor) and that they could see the skyline of Chicago. If he said anything else important I will find out when Jim comes over and translates. He and his wife and daughter are going to canoe down the Grand starting from behind my house. Jon's email to me upon completion of his journey: On Sun, 5/3/09, telejon@comcast.net <telejon@comcast.net> wrote: From: telejon@comcast.net <telejon@comcast.net> Subject: The Challenge is complete! To: "James Woodruff" <thetopologist@sbcglobal.net> Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009, 12:06 PM Jim,   It is done!  What a journey and it didn't end quite like I had envisioned it.  I was unable to provide information this week, as my cell phone didn't work out on the lakeshore so I was out of contact until Saturday morning when I had access to Rusty's phone.   The big lake was pretty kind to me until Thursday afternoon, when a sudden squall kicked up 4 footers with driving rain and forced me into Grand Mere State Park.  It was just plain luck I was there as most of  the shorline in that area was all rock rip rap the locals are using to keep their precious lakefront property from washing into the system.  Set up a hasty tarp and planned on making New Buffalo but the wind and rain kept up all evening, so I spent the night in the woods there.   The next morning I paddled in front of the Cooke Nuke Plant, opting to stay near shore rather than go around the bouys which went about a 1/2 mile out into the lake.  Within 2 miles of passing the plant, I was "boarded" by the Coasties for violating Federally protected waters!  The crew was super nice and after issuing me a verbal warning, spent 10 minutes questioning me on the jouney, the challenge, and SPOT technology.  I have nothing but the best to say about our Coast Guard-They are very professional, but personable at the same time, unlike some other marine law enforcement divisions I've had contact with in the past.   So Friday's paddle took me to New Buffalo, where I was to meet Rusty in the afternoon.  It took so long to get there I swear I must have passed it!  Around 2:30, as I was approching their little pier, a kayaker approached me from offshore on the lake.  Turns out it was Rusty, who had arrived early and was out looking for me.  Apparently our small craft are hard to spot!   We pushed on to the Indiana Dunes, set up camp, and were treated to a spectacular sunset right over the silouhette of the great city of Chicago.  Seeing those three tall buildings was like a magnet and I was jumping up and down with excitement at being able to see the end of the journey.   We awoke to very good lake conditions and a great forecast.  As you can tell by our track, we did the 36.4 mile crossing.  Started in light sw winds with 1 foot chop and at the halfway mark, were paddling about 5 mph on glass.  Around 15 miles from Chicago we began noticing small swells in the glass, and I mentioned to Rusty that I saw no boats to have made them and we wondered where they were coming from.  At about 13 miles out that question was answered.  For 4+ hours we paddled into 20-25 mph headwinds and faced 3-5 foot waves.   We had no choice but to go foward, and I am so thankful that my wingman was there.  Can't say there was ever a time where we were scared, but faced with weaking bodies and strenghthing winds, there were moments where options besides paddling on were considered.  In the end, we dug deep, swore loudly at the wind and at a city the apparently didn't want us, and in the end won the battle.   Came ashore at the planatarium at 7:15 pm-11 hours in the kayaks.  Rusty abandoned his boat as he climbed on the seawall and collapsed, dehydrated and slightly seasick.  I hooked his boat up and towed it around to the beach where I clumbsily exited, found my legs again, and with the help of my wife, got our gear up to the parking lot.  Utterly exhausted, we've slapped a few high fives, enjoyed a beer over dinner on the drive back to GR and parted ways at 2:00 am this morning.   I wish the intrepids the best of luck in completing their journey and would have liked to been able to stay to see them come ashore.  I hope we can all get together in the near future and toast this journey.  I have an endless amount of respect and admiration for explorers like Heward who took these trips without the luxury of weather forecasts, gps, cell phones, technical clothing and camping gear, etc...  What really blows me away is that I am ready to settle back into the comforts of my everyday life, while Heward just traded boats and kept right on going.    Thanks for making this challenge available and I look forward to seeing you guys soon.  I should get some pics up sometime this week and will likely continue to send thoughts and insights on my expedition as they come to mind.   To the Intrepids!   Jon

UHHC Progress Report - May 1, 7:15 p.m.

7:15 PM Friday: Dan called. He said the Intrepid 3 plus Coach  camped at Warren Dunes State Park. But Toby's Tracker stopped at Grand Mere State Park which is a few miles north of Warren Dunes. Both are big parks with sand dunes and I don't suppose there is a welcome sign down at the waters edge. Mark's message from last night also says they were at Warren Dunes and has a very nice description of the park. Maybe the battery is dead in Toby's spotter. We shall see.    I'll bet they had a fire on the beach like we did when I was a teenager in Berrien County, except no girls. Dan says its great to be out of the sight of all those million $ and multi-million $ McMansions that line Lake Michigan these days. I have looked at a lot them with Live Search Virtual Earth Birdseye View. Very pretentious and a lot of them even have swimming pools.    Dan and Coach are catamaraned. Toby and Mark are using outriggers. All have sails but apparently they didn't do much good.   If you will look at Heward's Journal Paddle Day 24 which we sent out yesterday afternoon you will see his vivid description of their near disaster when hit by a thunderstorm. I think it happened at or near Warren Dunes.   Jon's Spotter shows that he has reached Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore just beyond Michigan City. He will probably make Chicago today. The 4 will probably sail into Chicago Sunday. Mike Smith is going to meet them there. Poor Mike has had to miss all of this Challenge due to a bad back. He paddled in what he calls "The Chicago Canyon" back in 1992 on his solo trip from Montana. Verlen ad Becky Taylor paddled on the Chicago River with him. He says it is a really impressive sight.