Ultra-Mitt (the waiting game)

Worse then flight delays out of Chicago O'Hare International Airport, we wait for the weather to freshen up and give us safe passage; in the mean time, Here's a tidbit I found interesting;

Lake Huron, named for the Wyandot Indians, or Hurons, who lived there, is the second largest Great Lake by surface area (23,000 sq miles) and has the longest shoreline (3,827 miles), taking into account its many islands.

The Great Lakes have over 30,000 islands, the largest island of any body of fresh water is Manitoulin in Lake Huron; it's one bad ass island, 1068 sq miles of pristine shoreline begging to be explored. 

The name of the island is the English version, via French, of the old Odawa name "Manidoowaaling", which means "cave of the spirit", named for an underwater cave where a powerful spirit dwells.  (yeah I know it's in Canadian waters) Manitoulin Island contains a number of lakes of its own. In order of size, its three most prominent lakes are Lake Manitou, Lake Kagawong and Lake Mindemoya.  I think it only fitting that ManitouCruuiser put this gem on his list of places to paddle.

"Anything with Manitou in it has to be good" - unknown salty dog

Stay salty my adventurous friends,

Kap aka the Capt'n

Ultra - Mitt Great Lakes Storm "Freshwater Fury"

With Hurricane Joaquin raging south east of our location I thought we would explore the biggest storm cell to hit the Great Lakes:

The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the "Big Blow," the "Freshwater Fury," or the "White Hurricane," was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Ontario from November 7 through November 10, 1913. The storm was most powerful on November 9, battering and overturning ships on four of the five Great Lakes, particularly Lake Huron. Deceptive lulls in the storm and the slow pace of weather reports contributed to the storm's destructiveness.

The deadliest and most destructive natural disaster ever to hit the lakes, the Great Lakes Storm killed more than 250 people, destroyed 19 ships, and stranded 19 others. The financial loss in vessels alone was nearly US $5 million (or about $119,310,000 in today's dollars). This included about $1 million at current value in lost cargo totaling about 68,300 tons, such as coal, iron ore, and grain.

The storm, an extratropical cyclone, originated as the convergence of two major storm fronts, fueled by the lakes' relatively warm waters—a seasonal process called a "November gale". It produced 90 mph (145 km/h) wind gusts, waves over 35 feet (11 m) high, and whiteout snowsqualls. Analysis of the storm and its impact on humans, engineering structures, and the landscape led to better forecasting and faster responses to storm warnings, stronger construction (especially of marine vessels), and improved preparedness.

Ultra-Mitt - bye bye New China

On the road again we say good bye to the sweet digs of New China, new friends of the Tribe and the hospitality of the Regatta Bar.

 

 Lunch stop at Hungry Howie's proves interesting: Manitou in a state of famine walks into the hair salon by mistake ends up getting a perm and highlights. He's talking Gluten free - with a bacon doo.

 

 500 feet felt like 500 miles as uneven road, pebbles and traffic were very trying today.  New venue with a surf report pending. the woods will be nice to block the breeze which is still whipping pretty good. 

 

A walk to the beach shows breaking waves and surf like conditions. Makes the painstaking walk worth it, but non-the-less reaffirms we wait it out till conditions improve.

Ultra-Mitt - up grade

New China, MI - turns out to be one of the friendliest places on the map; neighbor of the Regatta Bar sees Manitou nesting on the wind torn shoreline and invites him over to camp in his yard with fire pit, running water and flush toilets.  Could it get any better?  Manitou takes a stroll a round the yard and sees a small girls bike missing 16'" wheels; "could it be?", he asks himself --- that would be awkward. (see previous post)

Swaddled and all tuck in, Manitou waits it out in his new digs; Manitou reports he would rather be out on the water, but this is a great opportunity to meet some really cool people and share the moment.

Ultra- Mitt - if you build it

 A man's gotta do what a man 's gotta do... repairs on the go; a cure for saggy britches.

 Another angle - cart was customized with 16 inch wheels; a few years ago; Manitou got into it with a 4th grader on the playground and swiped "her" wheels

 

 Making it all happen, Carla from the Good Samaritan Pallet Factory; have wood will travel!

This is a test of the emergency cart building system; I repeat this is only a test; if this were a real emergency buy a new cart.  Either that or one too many at the Regatta Bar

Ultra-Mitt - the adventure continues

Lets first just start by saying Manitou is safe and made the right call getting off the water; but lets also say he is one crazy dude having an adventure of a life time.  (you can't make this stuff up)

So back to the Ambassador Bridge two nights ago at around 1130p he was pulled over by the border patrol who saw suspicious activity (paddling a worn torn canoe at night).  The threat was ominous, armed with nothing more than a jug of SPIZZ and a boat that looks like it was from hell and back - he had to be smuggling something?  BP detained Mark for about 30 minutes as they tried to sort out what this rabble-rouser was up too - enter the cool writings of you know who (me) and a well designed website they surmised Manitou was for real after checking things out and everyone calmed down. Personally I was hoping for a full cavity search and a tear down of all gear, but internet service was good and they could see he was who he said he was.

So Manitou has pulled out and camped for the night; assessing the weather it looks like 5 days of shear hell on the water; Station in Port Huron is showing 30kt winds and 6-7 foot waves at the offshore buoy... the narrows of the river were ridiculously rough - so the walk ensued.

The cart under heavy load started to deteriorate and Manitou came upon a pallet factory (tearing apart old pallets for firewood) and asked for some assistance - with a little ingenuity and some strapping the cart was good to go.

Go where you ask? Off to the Regatta Bar home of Killian's on Tap and water front accommodation; the proprietors were eager to help and share in the adventure; even offered their own story of the narrows where smugglers crossed the border into the US from Canada.

We're looking at a 5 day weather hold so to speak - 26 miles to Port Huron - and 5 days to get there, no problemo.

Ultra-Mitt Overview Map

The Ultra-Mitt route looks something like this.

Ultra-Mitt - the kruger handbook

Look familiar UF participants past and present

You've heard me reference in this telling tale and previous stories (embellishments of fact true or not) of the  "Kruger Handbook"  - every Kruger Canoe owner gets one, it's part of the Kruger experience.  Now shhh, we got an adventure going on.

Page 1, chapter 1 first entry out of the Kruger Handbook- "Keep it moving" - OK so Mark checks in and informs me he has found shelter; already has his tent up and has a fully belly (there is rumor he went to Dairy Queen, denied service - bought the place so he could make a triple cheeseburger with organic soybean and essential oil ); going to grab a hot shower, slip into his jammies and sleep for the next 12 hours.

The plan: keep it moving; tomorrow if conditions still look dicey - we walk.

Manitou came prepared, he brought his cart; Quote "I never paddled in more confused water. Between wind waves, tug/freighter waves and never ending seawalls of doom - it's a washing machine x20"

So it's a two day stroll of picking pebbles out of your shoes and sore feet to get up to Lake Huron by foot and cart; now luck plays a big part as we hope the weather cooperates when he gets there.

Stay Salty,

The Capt'n

Ultra-Mitt 2015 weather moves in

The adventure takes a turn as weather builds and conditions become challenging; this is what defines these challenges; it will be interesting to see what Manitou does during the next few days. Stay tuned... we will keep you posted as things develop.

Ultra - Mitt - St. Clair Lake

Pushing on through the wee hours of morning; Lake St. Clair (French: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named after Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day it was discovered by European explorers. It is part of the Great Lakes system, and along with the St. Clair River and Detroit River, Lake St. Clair connects Lake Huron (to its north) with Lake Erie (to its south).

It has a total surface area of about 430 square miles (1,100 km²) and average depth of just 11 ft (3.4 m); to ensure an uninterrupted waterway government agencies on both sides of the lake have maintained a deep shipping channel through the shallow lake for well over a century