Mark reports 6:42pm
The river is raging - the soggy bottom boys have been hoofing it, making their way to the comforts of Unadilla Boatworks.
Big shout out to Ron Sell owner operator who has offered a hot shower and a dry place to sleep. He restores boats and builds wooden kayaks and canoes...imagine that? I wonder what they will have to talk about?
"The river is rising with all the rain, there are sections that I wouldn't run down river let alone trying to paddle up river" - Mark P.
Mark reports the fun meter is running high despite the weather and river conditions, which as I write is getting worse with the temperature dropping. It appears the Intrepid 4 can't stop laughing; personally I think its dehydration and hypothermia setting in.
They have nicknamed this section the "Highway to Hell" as their goal is to make it to Hell Michigan by tomorrow night. Blisters are abundant.
Factoid:
There are two leading theories cited by residents for the origin of Hell's name:
The first holds that a pair of German travelers stepped out of a stagecoach one sunny afternoon in the 1830s, and one said to the other, "So schön und hell!" - translated as, "So beautiful and bright!" Their comments were overheard by some locals and the name stuck.
The second holds that after Michigan gained statehood, George Reeves was asked what he thought the town he helped settle should be called, and replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell for all I care." The name became official on October 13, 1841.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Larry Hoff
Larry is alive and well. He has a great accounting of his first three days on the Ultimate Hugh Heward. Click here to be inspired.
Ultimate Hugh Heward Update #12
Mark reports 7:12am
Pouring rain and fast moving water seems to be the theme of the UHH challenge thus far. The Intrepid 4 are planning on making Dexter, 17 river miles away.
Lots of downed trees, snags. log jams and other nastys; They saw another canoe wrapped all bent and tattered in a log jam yesterday.
They are a head of schedule despite the conditions. I personally call that good planning.
It appears that the section around Ann Arbor ("Treetown" as us locals like to call it) is running extremely fast. This supports Larry's decision to portage this section by bike.
Dan Smith made some calls and it looks like they have found a guide that knows this area and is willing to share his knowledge and get them through this section safely. Now when Dan and Mark, Toby and Charlie get a guide, you know this is tough going.
They are on the move and back in the water.
Pouring rain and fast moving water seems to be the theme of the UHH challenge thus far. The Intrepid 4 are planning on making Dexter, 17 river miles away.
Lots of downed trees, snags. log jams and other nastys; They saw another canoe wrapped all bent and tattered in a log jam yesterday.
They are a head of schedule despite the conditions. I personally call that good planning.
It appears that the section around Ann Arbor ("Treetown" as us locals like to call it) is running extremely fast. This supports Larry's decision to portage this section by bike.
Dan Smith made some calls and it looks like they have found a guide that knows this area and is willing to share his knowledge and get them through this section safely. Now when Dan and Mark, Toby and Charlie get a guide, you know this is tough going.
They are on the move and back in the water.
Mark SPOT 4-19-09 9:33pm
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.2654,-83.6453&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=42.265257,-83.644474&spn=0.004049,0.007038&t=h&z=17&layer=t
For some reason this particular map could not be embedded into the blog, If you zoom in you can see the portage trail river left. That is one big dam.
I missed Mark's call last night, but by comparing tracks and Toby's OK message I can see they stopped around 7:30pm and Mark's OK message still has them in the same location at 9:33pm. I would assume they spent the night there.
For some reason this particular map could not be embedded into the blog, If you zoom in you can see the portage trail river left. That is one big dam.
I missed Mark's call last night, but by comparing tracks and Toby's OK message I can see they stopped around 7:30pm and Mark's OK message still has them in the same location at 9:33pm. I would assume they spent the night there.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Ultimate Hugh Heward Update #11
Mark reports 6:47pm
Larry has taken out at Dexter and is riding his bike and putting back in at the Grand River. Mark reports Larry is in great spirits and enjoying his adventure across Michigan.
As reported earlier, the river narrowed quite a bit as seen on Toby's SPOT Tracker. The Intrepid 4 as we are now calling them are portaging on Huron River Road and plan to hump gear and soul to the Superior Dam. Charlie having done this section before had good insight and the group agreed... "We're walking"
Larry has taken out at Dexter and is riding his bike and putting back in at the Grand River. Mark reports Larry is in great spirits and enjoying his adventure across Michigan.
As reported earlier, the river narrowed quite a bit as seen on Toby's SPOT Tracker. The Intrepid 4 as we are now calling them are portaging on Huron River Road and plan to hump gear and soul to the Superior Dam. Charlie having done this section before had good insight and the group agreed... "We're walking"
Getting the hang of it
Well it has only taken me the better part of 2 days to track down Jon's SPOT and updated current and past locations. John is in an Eddyline Kayak
Looks like we got a race going on.
Looks like we got a race going on.
I have put both Toby's and Jon's SPOT Tracking links to the top left of the page for easy access. -
Jon's Tracker - Click Here
Toby's Tracker - Click Here
Comment Appreciation!!
Thank you all for your encouragement - I will forward your comments to Mark so he can pass them along!
paddle paddle...
paddle paddle...
Ultimate Hugh Heward Update #10
Toby's Tracks have the intrepid 4 off of Ford Lake and making their way up the Huron River.
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From the looks of things they may be stopped at Riverside Park. The shelter of the river's banks should offer some comfort from the wind and rain as they forge forward. But they will be hard pressed fighting the current as the river narrows dramatically in this next section.
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Mr. Woodruff's blog offers good color to the event... He had me at "kind a like herding cats" More of the writings of Jim Woodruff can be found at: The Topologist's Blog
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From the looks of things they may be stopped at Riverside Park. The shelter of the river's banks should offer some comfort from the wind and rain as they forge forward. But they will be hard pressed fighting the current as the river narrows dramatically in this next section.
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Mr. Woodruff's blog offers good color to the event... He had me at "kind a like herding cats" More of the writings of Jim Woodruff can be found at: The Topologist's Blog
Slideshow from the start of the UHH 2009
http://picasaweb.google.com/thetopologist/UHHC2009Day1#slideshow
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Big thank you to Karen Stock (Jim Woodruff's daughter) for sharing her pictures.
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Big thank you to Karen Stock (Jim Woodruff's daughter) for sharing her pictures.
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