Greetings from the President
I hope everyone has had a great summer of paddling. We are winding down our activities with a few traditional events. November 24 is our 33rd Annual Friday After Thanksgiving Paddle on the Huron River, and Thursday December 21 is our 30th Annual Winter Solstice Paddle. All of the pertinent information is on our Club Meetup site: Lansing Oar and Paddle Club | Meetup There are other paddling activities that will be posted, so subscribe to announcements on the Meetup site if you have not already done so.
The 2024 annual membership dues of $10 are beginning to be turned in and yours are welcome. Our budget allows us to exist as a 501(c)4 non-profit organization and business in Michigan and the IRS. For the past 37 year we have been offering paddling opportunities for folks in the greater Lansing area, Michigan, and beyond. We are all looking for other people to safely paddle together with, along with a high degree of proficiency and respect. We welcome new paddlers with similar interests.
Our next Club meeting is Tuesday November 21 with Tim Novak, Michigan’s new State Trail Coordinator, at Jimmy’s Pub in East Lansing. Did you know the Department of Michigan Natural Resources manages approximately 15,000 miles of trails throughout the state, with motorized, non-motorized and even water trails? Tim will speak to the important role the DNR plays in making sure trails are available and maintained for all sorts of Michigan recreationalists’ interest and give you some insight into the opportunities available for you to enjoy Michigan out-of-doors year-round. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask a question and perhaps even provide your perspective to the person at the top of Michigan’s trail system.
Our December meeting is on the 19th at Jimmy’s Pub featuring Joe Lessard on Paddling Lime Island. The DNR identifies Lime Island as a “hidden gem” that lies in the St. Marys River Navigation Channel. When you read the promotion of this relatively newer Michigan state park, you’ll note it appears to always require a motorized conveyance to get to Lime Island. Likely, this is a reasoned effort to discourage unprepared paddlers attempting to cross the “15 minute” by motorize craft, two-and-a-half-mile paddle across one of the busiest big lake freighter channels you’ll find. Join us in December as participants share experiences and photos of just one of the many terrific paddling options.
The 29th Annual Quiet Adventures Symposium is on Saturday March 2, 2024. LOAPC has long been involved with the symposium. The club has been instrumental in its development and success. They need folks to help plan for the event, as well as on the day of the event itself. If you would like to help, then go to QuietAdventures.org or email Volunteer@quietadventures.org We will have more information in our January newsletter, as well as on our Meetup site.
________________________________________________
I get asked a lot about why I paddle. Sometimes they are general questions from strangers that hear that “he does a lot of kayaking”. Others actually know that I paddle a canoe for the most part. I know how to paddle both, but it is true that I prefer the canoe. I was a canoeist long before I ever picked up a canoe paddle. It’s what I am.
So why do I paddle? I could probably spend the rest of my life answering that question, but fundamentally it is about who I am. When I am in a canoe the boundaries of this world melt away and it feels like anything is possible. It is in the most profound sense that I am in some transition zone from one world into another, and I will get there if I just keep paddling. As the river winds around each bend it feels like the river is actually unravelling before me and the horizon keeps rolling up in front of me.
I have the distinct feeling of being very small and yet infinite at the same time. Of course, a cold and rainy-day kind of puts a damper on that sensation and the consequential discomfort keeps a firm tether on my connection to this world. But no matter how cold and wet it may be the river will always draw me back with the siren song of the sound of moving water. Aching muscles recover, clothes dry out, the sun rises, and I am off onto another adventure. There is a native American saying the you can never step in the same water twice, and the cycle is renewed as my canoe slips away from the shore.
“The beauty of being in the backcountry on a quiet day. Alone in your canoe, but not completely alone. A few friends nearby is a shared solitude.” (Photo by Jay Hanks)
Stay safe, – Jay Hanks
Pine River 2023 Trip Report
October 28, 2023
Up at a quarter to five in the morning to be ready for a 6 AM start for the drive to the Dobson Bridge put-in on the Pine River makes for an early start to a day. Still worth every bit of the early start to get in a run on one of my favorite rivers with good friends from LOAPC. The gauge had been coming up over the past day or two from 251 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 294 cfs on Friday evening so the water levels were looking very good. After the usual flurry of unloading boats & gear (oh yeah, don’t forget the paddles) we ran shuttle down to Low Bridge. At launch, there was time for some of us to get in a round of surfing on the Dobson wave. It’s pretty decent at this water level.
(Photo: Jay Hanks)
Heading down river we found ourselves enjoying the day as it started to warm a bit and there were occasional sun showers. The recent rains had clouded the water, and, in retrospect, I realized that I was not seeing the clay ledges that the Pine is noted for. After a quick 2 hours we found ourselves at the Peterson Bridge access site and time for a lunch break. As we were wrapping up our lunch a canoe livery trailer showed up along with a group of people and several massive coolers. We thought it best to be on our way ahead of that group and so, after a couple of passes at the surf wave, we headed down river. The stretch from Peterson’s to where the river flattens out where the backwaters of the Stronach dam had been is often the more challenging sections of the Pine but today with the higher water level it seemed straight forward. There was usually more than enough water over the gravel bars so that minimal attention was needed to route finding. The clouds lifted more, and the sun showers became more the norm. The glow of the Aspens against the oaks and pines was amazing. All too soon I noticed the logs buried in the banks that signaled that we were nearing the old dam site and the end of the trip. A quick paddle after the old dam site brought us to the takeout and time to load our cars and go our separate ways. All in all, I couldn’t have wanted a better October day on the river. Thanks to Jay and the weather committee for a great paddle.
– Rich Bailey
(Photo: Jay Hanks)
March 3, 2023
The Quiet Adventures Society is busy planning the next symposium (QAS) for March 2, 2024, at the MSU Livestock Pavilion. Planning is led by the Society’s Board members; Cynthia Donovan, president, Lauren Smith, vice president, Joe Lessard, treasurer, Pat Harrington, director, Gary de Kock, director, and new directors Emma Bailey, Susan Hopp, and Collin Tarr. Returning speakers and exhibitors include Cliff Jacobson, Kevin Callan, and Jerry Vandiver. Advertising has begun with the printing of information cards about the QAS. The cards are on display at the MDOT Welcome Center in Clare on US-127. A bulletin board inside, on welcome center right, has information describing quiet adventures and the upcoming symposium. Check it out on your next trip north. Exhibitor and sponsor registration will be open soon as well as speaker proposal submissions and volunteer options. Learn more about the society, the symposium, and volunteering at QuietAdventures.org or email Volunteer@quietadventures.org
Enjoying the Apostle Islands
In September, I was lucky to have a group of four friends who wanted to kayak camp in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore of Lake Superior. The islands are located off the northern-most point of Wisconsin near Bayfield. Among the gang, were paddlers skilled in navigation, weather assessment and planning. We all had rescue skills as well. I benefited from the skills the other paddlers brought to bear. We all had sea kayaks, although at 15’ 3” my Karla was the shortest boat in the fleet. Dry suits were our fashion statement, as Lake Superior water is cold. Taking dips was refreshing!
We had planned our route and reserved camping sites, but Lake Superior made a few changes necessary. Small craft warnings are nothing to ignore. In the end, after taking off from Little Sand Bay, we spent two nights at a campsite on the north side of Sand Island, two nights on Oak Island and then another back at Sand Island, in the campsite above the caves. Each established campsite came with a bear box, which we were relieved to see, especially on Oak Island as we saw fresh large paw prints along the beach where we parked the kayaks.
I was faced with some of the most challenging conditions that I had seen. The trip from Oak back to Sand Island provided the whole gamut of wind, swells, downpour (I call it a squall). Making it safely to Sand Island, we had an adrenaline kick to play in the sea caves! Three of our group had also gone to Devil’s Island for the sea caves there and said they were awesome. I had a side ache and decided not to go, so I have left something for the next trip to the Apostle Islands. So much to explore. Thanks to my paddling friends, Jeff, Laurie, Chris, and Alex!
– Cynthia Donovan
Sea caves. (Photo by Cynthia Donovan)
Cooking dinner. (Photo by Cynthia Donovan)
A Paddler’s Letter to Santa Claus
Dear Santa,
As you probably know, I have been a very good person this year. I helped organize several trips for our local paddling club, and several people thanked me for doing so. The trip down Roaring River drew several compliments from the EMTs who are permanently at Windowmaker Rapids. They said they had never seen anyone go through the rapids backwards before. I didn’t want to seem like I was bragging, so I just said it was an accident. And please, please don’t mention this to my life insurance agent.
I want to address the incident on the 4th of July picnic paddle. I would like to point out that I did not intentionally flip old Mrs. Merkle out of her canoe. I’m sure that her boat is so old that termites must have chewed almost all the way through the hull anyway, and she would have started leaking even if I had not bumped into her (several times)… She did tell me that her husband had bought the boat during the Eisenhower administration for their honeymoon, so the termite explanation must be considered at least possible.
And while we’re on the topic of the picnic, I had no idea that Eddie Carson was allergic to rhubarb. I thought everyone loved strawberry rhubarb pie – honest!
So here is my wish list:
I would like a new set of kayak bars for the top of my wife’s minivan. Oh, and a new roof rack to bolt them to. The body shop said they could fasten that to the holes where the old one was torn away by that low hanging tree limb.
I would also like a new PFD. The bear that was attracted to the chocolate bars in the pocket of my old one was darted and sedated by the DNR, but the officer said my old PFD was too damaged by the wild chase through the woods before the sedative took effect.
Finally, I’d like one of those jazzy folding kayaks. Apparently, the one that got caught sideways against a rock in Windowmaker Rapids was not supposed to fold that way. I’m hoping the new one won’t be quite so fragile.
Sincerely,
Tony Kuhlman
Copyright © 2023 Lansing Oar and Paddle Club, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Lansing Oar and Paddle Club
PO Box 26254
Lansing, Mi 48910
LOAPC blog 