Around the Great Lakes

Kayaker Plans 5-month 3,800 Mile Circumnavigation of All Great Lakes @ Grand Marais Harbor, United States

2009-03-03T05:17:56.000Z

Grand Marais, MN - February 14, 2009 – On May 2, photographer, writer, guide Bryan Hansel will paddle out of the Grand Marais, MN harbor on a 5-month, 3,800-mile solo kayak circumnavigation of all the Great Lakes. During this expedition, Hansel will attempt to become the first person to complete this circumnavigation by kayak. His goals for the trip are to produce a coffee table photography book, to promote paddlesports participation and resource protection on the Great Lakes.

“With this trip, I plan to call attention to the increasing pressure placed on this area and highlight the world-class paddling opportunities. I believe that by increasing paddlesport participation, we will advance resource and wilderness protection,” Hansel said. The Great Lakes contain roughly one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water, they’re surrounded by eight U.S. States and one Canadian province, and have over 10,000 miles of shoreline. Formed just under 10,000 years ago as the last glaciers retreated, this young drainage basin is home to over 33 million people. This unique resource is under constant pressure from pollution, invasive species, and urban sprawl.

During the trip, Hansel will update his expedition blog found at http://www.aroundthegreatlakes.com with journal entries, photos, and descriptions of the areas he’s paddling past. Using his cell phone, he plans to post to frequent updates to Twitter (http://twitter.com/bryanhansel/), an online service that allows people to stay connected. “With the website, I’m building a resource for paddlers who want to learn more about all the great places to paddle on the Great Lakes. I want to provide testimony that great expeditions are possible near home, and for 33 million people the Great Lakes are that home.”

Along the way, Hansel will meet up with local paddlers to resupply, and for short day or overnight paddles. He believes it’s important to connect with locals to discover their experiences and passion for the lake. “The more we can share our individual passions for the Great Lakes, the greater that passion will become,” he said. He’s asking interested parties to contact him from his website.

Hansel estimates a finish date of September 25th and he’s planning to paddle home to Grand Marais with a group of friends. After the trip, from the best photos taken on the trip, he’ll produce a photography book about exploring the Great Lakes from the viewpoint of a kayak. But, he said, more important is the experience of exploration and the people I’m hoping to meet.

Bryan Hansel’s Around the Great Lakes Expedition is sponsored by Kokatat Watersports Wear, Epic Kayaks, Enertia TrailFoods, Java Juice, Seals Sprayskirts, Pacific Outdoors, Action Wipes, Aquapac, Big Sky International and 6d6Designs. Sponsorship opportunities available. Learn more at: http://www.aroundthegreatlakes.com

Contact Bryan Hansel at:
Around the Great Lakes Expedition
web: www.aroundthegreatlakes.com

Trip Launch @ Onion River, United States, Minnesota

2009-05-03T08:58:42.000Z

It was 41 degree F, partly cloudy and winds out of the West as Bryan began to pack his boat for his five month journey. A small crowd turned up to wish him well. He was filled with great excitement as he headed off into the Lake Superior, paddling out from the Harbor. As he ventured off he headed West. The wind picked up slightly and the sun came out. He stopped at lunch time for a short rest and lunch at Cascade Restaurant with Ilena. After some much needed food, he suited back up and ventured out into a strong West head wind. Several more hours of paddling and he arrived at his first camp spot, at Lutsen Resort to meet up with a friend, Jeff and Ilena. Good food and company with a few visits from friends, made for a good evening for Bryan. It was early to bed and early to rise for Bryan on his first night. Bryan hit the water on his second day with continued 10-15mph West winds, making paddling a challenge. By late day the wind calmed some, helping to ease the challenges of the wind and the new adventure. Tonight Bryan will be having a treat from Jeff, homemade camp pizzas and brownies. It should be a nice evening. The temperatures have warmed to the 50’s and the evening is looking calm and cool. Bryan would like to thank everyone for their support and hope you will continue to follow along on his journey.

Duluth Area, United States @ Duluth Area, United States

2009-05-06T02:22:07.000Z

Leg One @ South Shore & Apostles, United States, Wisconsin

2009-05-08T00:27:23.000Z

I’m huddled under my sleeping bag in the Apostle Island waiting as the temperatures drop below 30F with an accompanying storm front that the NOAA Near Shore Marine Forecast tells me is going to bring snow and 2 to 4 foot waves. In the background I can hear the sound of calming waves and around me the chirps of birds and hardly a breath of wind — a relief from the last six days of wind.

The last seven days have been a whirlwind of travel, adapting my habits and learning new systems of camping to deal with new equipment and responsibilities, and have served a bit of a trip shakedown and training segment. It’s a relief to have made it to the point where I’m at right now, and things seems just to click last night on day 6.

Everything kicked in last Friday. I took the day off of work at Lutsen Resort , packed up my gear, and got ready for a going away party. Ilena and I meet up with a group of friends at Hugie’s Tacos in Grand Marias, MN, one of my favorite restaurants, and then had a fire in my front yard. My friends Holly and Todd whipped up wicked strong Mojitos. I consumed two of these minty summer Cuban drinks and knew I was in trouble for day one. At 10pm, we all came into the house to watch Kevin Jacobson’s news story on me. It ran four times on Friday. Everyone liked it. Then Todd and Susan broke open the bottle of champagne and the toasting began. Everyone toasted. John Amren, owner of Superior Coastal Sports, toasted, “Here Here Wow..” In my tipsy state, that toast seemed like a good idea to tweet. Remember what they tell you about not tweeting when you’re drinking.

The next day turned out even more people when you count the number of people watching on the harbor webcam. I paddled away, but first paddled towards the breakwall just below the lighthouse, so I know I’ll cross my path when I return. I made good time to Cascade Lodge where I was to meet up with Ilena for lunch at noon. Carin, a friend and work associate, her husband Luke, and their daughter Ruby just happened to be driving by heading for Duluth when they saw me pulling off the water. They ran down to say hi. What a great chance meeting. Ilena got there shortly after and we ate. I had a big breakfast burrito. Then the wind started and it was a haul to Lutsen Resort, the official, because I told everyone I was going to camp there, first campsite. I pulled in about four and short after, my friend and photographer, Jeff Scott showed up to celebrate the start of the trip. We got our tents set up just as Ilena showed up, and then shortly after Scott Harrison and Nancy Burns of Lutsen Resort brought beers down. Adam and Mica Harju showed up and despite their and our Mojito hangovers, between 7 of us we did manage to gulp down the beer.

Scott and Nancy are veterans of many long canoe trips up in the barren lands, and Scott reminisced about some of the trips they had up there including one where they had to haul 600 pounds of food. And one where the met a solo man rowing a Gruman canoe with a rearview mirror set-up, who was confused about his compass readings. He thought he was going crazy, but it turned out the be a local magnetic disturbance.
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On day 2, I made it to Sugarloaf Cove. Jeff spent the day out photographing waterfalls, which were ranging. I had earlier in the day gone through the Temperance River which had 4 foot standing waves in it as the mingled with the 1 to 2′ waves on the lake. I lost site of land and everything around me for a bit as I paddled through the current. At the campsite that night, Jeff made us two big pizzas in his backpacker oven. When we woke up in the morning, there was frost over everything. We moved our tents to the beach to let them dry off in the sunrise, and Jeff made pancakes.

Day 2 also involved one of the prettiest hidden gems on the northshore of Lake Superior in MN. From the Onion River to Tofte the lake is characterized by cliffs, small caves, pocket beaches and a few coves. In one location, a waterfall plunged directly into the sea.

Day 3 is a blur. I’ve paddled much of the day before, so I just wanted to put it behind me. I went all the way to Split Rock Lighthouse and stayed in the run down watertrail campsite. I spent about 45 minutes working on the site to make it camp-ready and then walked down to the backpacking site which was pristine. I should have check it first. I developed a few muscle aches and most of the 19 plus blisters on my hands this day. Luckily at the end of the day, I had a strong tailwind which developed 2′ seas to help push me along. The boat felt a little wonky though.

hansel_bryan_090505-134The next day, I left Split Rock and paddled down to Gooseberry. I wanted a picture of the waterfalls and I wanted a break from the steep Lake Superior 2′ to 3′ foot seas, strong wind, cold water and air. The first of that size I’d been in this year (except for the brief time in the Temperance River current). I made my wave up to the office and meet Carla (?), a kayaker who just bought a fiberglass kayak. Then I walked around the park and read up on the CCC history there. There are many stone buildings and picnic tables at the park that the “CCC guys” built. They’re in good shape too. I ended up spending much of the day in one working on computer stuff. I turned the day into a short day to work out my computer systems.

Just after dinner time, a strong thunderstorm blew through the area. I coward in my tent remembering what my WFR instructor said. He said the number one cause of death among outdoor education professionals is lightning. The storm brought endless lighting, echoing thunder. The tent shook from the wind.

In the morning Paul Sundberg, park manager and nature photographer, visited with me and got a picture for park records.

From Gooseberry, I paddled to Duluth. The 38 mile day was non-stop travel. I went from the remote part of the shore to a busy shipping area. The first ship of the trip was the blue research vessel that has shown up in some of my pictures previously. And according to guide book author, Andrew Slade, who let me stay at his place on Park Point, the vessel is the sister ship to the one that went down in the book, A Perfect Storm.

Andrew and Sally Slade showed me a little trail magic and made me breakfast the next morning. It was a welcome reprieve from the business of the first few days of the trip. The extra calories and coffee they feed me are still kicking me along to Bayfield.

They saw me off and I paddled into Wisconsin, and chocolate red waters. The shoreline between Duluth and the Brule River is completely different from the northshore. On the northshore, you have stone beaches, cliffs, and crystal clear water. On this section, you have red clay cliffs slumping in the the lake, dark water, and shallow waters. At the base of each clay cliff there’s a sand beach. Did I mention shallow water? I had to travel off of shore a bit to stay out of the weird breaks that the 1 to 3′ waves would break over. The boat handled better when I moved weight from the front to the stern hatch. The Explorer is a nice kayak, but it’s no Romany.

I camped on a nice beach past the Brule, and I tried to get out of the wind somewhat, but it was blowing hard enough for NOAA to issue a small craft advisory, so it was hard to do. I spent time reorganizing, deciding what I really don’t need to send home, and I dried out everything that was wet from the rain of the last three days. I also took a three Action Wipe bath, which felt great. Too bad it does de-stink clothing. The sunset was fantastic.
By Herbster, the shoreline transformed again, to less red clay cliffs, lots of red sandstone, beaches, and crystal clear water. It’s hypnotising to watch the patterns in the sand under the clear water. I paddled a good distance today to get from the Brule to the Apostle Islands, but the best part was at the end when I paddled the sea caves. I’ve been wanting to paddle this section for years, but just didn’t motivate this way. There are caves, arches of all sizes and you can paddle through many of them. If you’re a sea kayaker, this must be on your to-do list. Fly here this summer and do it. I wish I had time to paddle out to Devil’s Island to see the caves out there. They’re suppose to be better.

In the morning I head over the Bayfield or Little Sand Bay in 4′ waves. I’ll have to cross a shallow section between Sand Island and the mainland, which looks interesting on the chart. There will probably be breaking waves in there if the 4′ waves show up.

Then it’s a day off to rest, resupply, and see Ilena. The first leg of the trip that served as a trip shakedown is almost over, and I’m starting to have energy at the end of the days and not hurt so much and just want to crawl into bed. Still, I can’t wait for a day off just to hang tight and explore Bayfield.

Waves were only 2′ this morning.

Is it still winter? @ Union Bay, United States, Michigan

2009-05-18T17:49:11.000Z

Saxon Harbor seems so long ago, but it’s only two days of travel away. The weather has been terrible with winds over 50 mph and cold temps, frost, and snow. If my friend Steve reads this, he’ll comment that it’s because I’m camping. His theory is that bizarre weather occurs when I’m camping and he has plenty of stories to prove it.

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The morning I left Saxon Harbor, I paddled along a shoreline that changed from sandstone cliffs to lower hills with mix sand and cobblestone beaches with limited safe landing options. The entire day spent paddling in light chop and 15 knot SSW winds gusting to 25 knots. Combined with the nearshore NOAA marine radio report of the oncoming storm of doom, the landscape seemed slightly ominous to me.

This last week, because the forecast has been so windy from the northwest and cold, I’ve just started calling the NOAA report the scary report. I cringe every time I turn the marine radio on, but it’s almost compulsive to turn it on for a listen just in case something rosy is forecast. “Small craft advisory in effect from…” is the typical squawk out of the radio.

090515-28

On my way to the Porcupine Mountains, I stopped at Black River Harbor where a tank of a fishing boat docked. The dirty white, iron rust bucket named the “King Fisher” belched out a dark diesel cloud. Inside the rusty body, the deck hand, a early thirties or late twenties year old, mopped the deck and greased the parts needing greased. His long hair tucked under a camo hat complimented his missing front teeth that showed when he smiled.

“It keeps me out of trouble,” he replied when asked how he liked working on a fishing boat. It was his fifth voyage, and first full week. A busy week where he helped pull the boat off of the rocks it ended up on after someone released it from the dock.

The fishing operation netted for whitefish, but took in Lake Trout as casualties. The dead Lakers thrown to the seagulls, because the price for their meat at $0.45/pound was much less than the $1.35/pound for the whitefish.

090515-18

I asked the deck hand about the shoreline ahead, and he confirmed what my chart told me, but he couldn’t recall a campground in the area, which is what Google maps told me. “If you go back out, you’ll see bigger waves than two feet. I had ‘em up to the deck on this boat today,” was the deckhands last warning as I left the harbor for the Presque Isle River area.

After finding the river in 1.5′ waves, I couldn’t find the campground, so ended up setting up camp in a flat area away from the river. Then spent the next two days waiting as the winds kicked up to the roar of a jet engine and the waves pounded the shore. To pass the time, I listened to the only radio station I could get, WTIP, my hometown station. Two days alone, wind bound, with the hometown station playing made me long to be home and messed with my head. The questioning began…

On day 14, the weather broke and I raced to Union Bay Campground along a sand and cobblestone beach shoreline, which sifted to upturned ledge rock with no landings. 18 miles later I pulled out at the campground, talked to the ranger, set up tent and waited for the next storm. Ilena came over for the weekend to help me weather the storm. With gusts up to 50+ mph, temps in the 30Fs it was a hard day, and the weather didn’t let up until mid-day Sunday.
A sticker on someone's car in Bayfield, WI. Bite your town's money maker in the foot, eh?

A sticker on someone's car in Bayfield, WI. Bite your town's money maker in the foot, eh?

On Sunday, I decided to take the week off, fix problems with the kayak, like the broken seat, change out some gear that hasn’t been working for me for gear that I’ve used and trusted for years and for ultralight systems that I know work. I’m also resting the body. I have a few nagging issues that developed in the aggressive start of the trip that need to heal, like my blisters on my hands and a few weird aches. I’m also reorganizing food drops this week to boost the calories significantly. I’ve lost over 10 pounds in the first 16 days of the trip.

I’ll be back on the water next Saturday warming up with a 16 mile paddle from Union Bay to Ontonagon, MI — and I thought that Grand Marais, MN was remote; Ontonagon is truly at the end of the world — Hopefully, I’ll get to eat at Syl’s Cafe again. They have the biggest pancakes and serve up a huge plate of food for the price. Makes me feel embarrassed at the price of eating out in my hometown of Grand Marais, MN.

See you on the water soon.

Houghton Area @ Houghton, MI, United States, Michigan

2009-05-28T14:54:29.000Z