Hey folks, I'm new to the forum and wondered if anyone knows much about the history of Lake Michigan Circumnavigation - I'm currently gaining sponsorship, you can have a look if you'd like; feel free to critique. Suggestions/Ideas welcome.

Mat

Kayak 2 Climb 2012

Hi Mat-

You seem like a really decent, sincere person, and that's why I'm writing in response to your request for suggestions / ideas about your proposed circumnavigation of Lake Michigan.

Earlier this year, another decent and sincere paddler, someone with a good deal more kayaking experience than you, drowned on Lake Superior while attempting a solo circumnavigation to raise money for a good cause. Here's one account of the tragedy: http://www.canoekayak.com/touring-kayak/loss-on-lake-superior/.

What you're proposing - a late-season, solo circumnavigation of Lake Michigan - is a similar undertaking; one that will very likely turn out to be the last trip you ever take. As things stand on the eve of your departure, you have almost no chance of surviving the attempt.

The biggest problem you face is that you don't have the experience or knowledge about open-water kayaking to appreciate just how dangerous your proposed trip will be. Michigan is huge lake, with lethally cold water, guaranteed bad weather, high winds, big waves, and very rough conditions that you are not, by any stretch of the imagination, prepared to encounter. I don't mean that as a personal criticism; it's just the reality that you're up against: you're proposing to pit your limited skills and experience against very dangerous conditions in an unforgiving environment where you have zero margin for error. In other words: One mistake = you die.

On your web site, you mention your serious injury and a recovery that's still in progress:

"a complicated tibia break in two places and a complex series of fractures in my ankle which to date have left me with a limp, severe pain, and an unknown window of recovery".

Your proposed trip would be tough enough if you were traveling as one of a group of expert paddlers. But you're not an expert paddler, and you're going solo, in rough weather, with a bad injury from which you have yet to recover.

You also point out that you essentially have no plan for the expedition:

"The Plan: This is the best part. I don't have one. I don't overthink things, its a big lake with a fair number of cities of towns along the way (Chicago and Milwaukee to name a few). I will leave with approximately one weeks food rations, and minimal equiment, a tent and clothing - I'll figure the rest out along the way."

You make that statement as if being unprepared for a very dangerous undertaking was a virtue. It's not. It's a clear indication that you don't give nature the respect that it deserves. In my 40+ years of outdoor experience, that's the most dangerous attitude that anyone can take into the great outdoors.

You're a climber, not a paddler, so as a fellow climber, let me try and put all this in perspective: what you're proposing is like a 5.7 climber, with no cold-weather experience, announcing that he's going to attempt the solo, off-season climb of a heavily glaciated, high altitude mountain. It doesn't make any difference how many towns or cities are nearby; if you're by yourself, lying at the bottom of a crevasse with a broken leg, you're as good as dead.

Mat, I sincerely hope that you'll reconsider your decision to attempt the circumnavigation this year. Give your injuries time to heal, get a lot more open-water kayaking experience, learn about the lethal nature of cold water, get the right gear, plan meticulously, and then do the trip with at least one experienced mate. I'm not overly optimistic that what I've written here will change your mind, but since you placed your request on this forum, I felt obligated to try.

Moulton Avery

Matt please heed Moulton's advice. It is very good advice.

Chad

Moulton, first of all thank you so much for your detailed and thought provoking reply. Reading that definitely helps me re-assess my approach and preparation. Any time any of us can jolt the other back into a closer scope of reality and bring us down from the clouds that we sit on occasionally is extremely beneficial.

With that being said, I also feel I have lead you astray a bit... or misled you so to speak. In addition to being a rock climbing instructor, I am also a sea-kayak and white water instructor, having logged over 1,200 hours in open ocean conditions around the world. I have circumnavigated New Zealand's southern most island in a self-built kayak (which included a 12 hour passing of South Cape at 27degrees Fahrenheit), as well as a 14 day unassisted, 500km kayak from the Northern most point of New Zealand to Auckland in 3-6 metre breaking seas . Now, I only write that as I want to ensure you that I do have some degree of experience and I don't want you to think that I'm some arrogant kid that's throwing all caution into the wind. I understand rough seas, weather reading, kayak rolling and rescues etc and so forth - with THAT being said I am aware, and now even more so thanks to your reply, that this is not a journey to be taken lightly. Thank you once again for your reply. The leg is healing, and though I do walk with a limp, I am capable of movement if needed. Any further advice or suggestions are welcome, and it very humbling to know that someone whom I've never met would take the time to express that in a detailed blog post.

Sincerely,

Mat

"29-knot southwesterly winds as he rounded Pigeon Point, with 4- to 6-foot waves marching across 42-degree water" - these conditions are also conditions that most of us are aware head some caution. Its a tragic story, one I have not heard of until now. I'll drink a pint in his honor along the way no doubt and listen to any other advice with open ears.

How does kayaking around Lake Michigan further the cause of building an artificial climbing wall in a village in Africa? I could see the connection if you were touring the rock gyms of the country giving slide shows and fund raising but this seems very unrelated. How much do you hope to net for the project by doing this trip?
I also have to ask, is that really the best use of funds for a village in Africa? Artificial climbing walls need constant maintenance and are a constant source of clients for local emergency rooms.

Hi Matt-

Thanks for your reply; it certainly paints a very different picture from the one I got reading the fundraising info. Solo ups the ante considerably, as does cold water, but that's your call, and it's my hope that you give it all the consideration that it's due. On Superior, Robert Weitzel's inability to self-rescue proved fatal.

Sea kayaking has been my anchor during the roughest period in my life, and I hope it serves you equally well. On the higher end of the skill scale, we're a small but plucky tribe, and I, too, have been really moved by the number of mates who took the time to throw me a line when I was foundering.

I wish you a speedy recovery from your injury and success in your endeavor to raise funds. In my view, the only important connection is what it means to you, and what it will mean to the people with whom you connect in Africa.

Best Regards,
Moulton Avery

Thanks Moulton, that means a lot. I can John Wayne with the bast of 'em, and if the sea is too rough for that I'll always have my paddle float. As for the previous comment about the relevancy of the wall, and how it relates to paddling - the 3 minute video I recorded on the Indigogo fundraiser explains these questions in detail, but in brief I'm building a series of bouldering walls which require absolute minimal maintenance, no ropes or gear etcetera - but I can see how impractical you would have deemed an actually climbing wall with top ropes etc would have seemed:) As for the fundraiser, I guess to me it just seemed to all be lumped into the "outdoor recreation" pile, where I'm doing a difficult task, to bring attention to a campaign that will raise money... I'm not up to climbing El Cap unfortunately. I'm an outdoor instructor and am therefore attempting an extended outdoor related feat to raise money for an outdoor related activity. As for a better allocation of funds/necessity for a 3rd world country, here is my logic (sound or not) Western society supplies 80 Billion dollars in food annually to the countries I'll be working in.... I can't make a dent in that with my 2 grand. The Peace Corps has thousands of volunteers (including myself) providing education needs so no need to raise money for that... I want to build recreation area's because that is (in my opinion) the most overlooked and underestimated need in many of these countries; quality of life. They've been playing soccer for hundreds of years, lets give 'em something new:)

Hi Mat-

It was NickJC who made the relevancy comment, not me.

My point on solo was that if conditions are rough, a paddle float self-rescue (including reattaching the skirt, pumping out the cockpit, recovering the paddle and detaching & securing the float etc) may not be possible. That might well have been the reason that Robert Weitzel was found without his boat. On the other hand, maybe he lost his grip and his boat blew away; happened to me once. In rough, cold water, solo = zero margin for error.

I've to this day never gone over an not been able to roll up, but I always plan as though it could happen. Each comment is definitely making me more precautous and aware. Does anyone know of a good program to download topo and maps and charts so I can laminate them for the trip?