Around the Great Lakes » Tent Bound

The Repair

Bryan — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:15:39 +0000

This week, I’ve decided to take a rest. My thoughts are that I can rest a nagging pain in my arm, let the blisters heal completely, rework some food drops, and fix the crack in my kayak’s seat before it gets too big. Additionally, I have the time to install a backband into the kayak that I like.

This is a new kayak for me and although I did get to paddle it before the trip, I didn’t get to paddle it for 8 to 10 hour days to figure out what I wanted to change in outfitting. After the first 300ish miles I figured out that my foam pillar backband didn’t cut it. The decision at that point was to put a backband in that didn’t pinch my butt between the seat and backband or take the seat out and put a Happy Bottom Seat Pad into the boat.

I actually find the NDK seats comfy, so I wanted to get a backband that would work. I ordered an IR Reggie backband, which is what I have in my Romany. For fun, I took the IR band out of my Romany while I waited for the replacement to show up. It pinches my butt.

To fix the problem I compared the height of the seat back to a few other kayaks and figured out that it’s way too high. File and sandpaper in hand, I worked at lowering the seat about 1/2″ and more in places. I redefined the curve of the seat back to be much more comfy. It now works great — no pinch. A great approach for those experiencing the same problem and who don’t want to remove the seat. I actually recommend that NDK deepen their seat in the back, and lower the top for every boat. They’d have a better seat.

The other problem is the developing crack. I sanded and chipped away the gel coat to find dry carbonfiber. When making an object out of fiberglass or carbonfiber, like my seat, the manufacturer has to wet-out the cloth with an liquid epoxy which hardens and solidifies the cloth into shape. Carbonfiber is extremely hard to tell if it’s completely wet-out. In this case, NDK didn’t get everything wet-out, so I have to do it for them and then repair the gel coat. With drying time, this is about a full day of work.

It’s sort of nice to have time off, but the problem with taking time off is two-fold for me. It moves the finsih date into the first week of October and I’m getting very very very antsy. I want to be on the water.

On the personal side, I do get to spend time with Ilena, which is good. The bad side is that I found out that my landlord is putting our house on the market, so we may have to move before the trip is finished if the house sells. Grand Marais is an extremely hard town to find a rental that is affordable, so we’ll see what happens. I almost wonder if finding jobs elsewhere and moving out of town wouldn’t be easier than finding a new place to live in the area.

For those concerned, I’m not even close to giving up, and I could have put-up with these issues on a shorter trip or if I was just attempting one lake, but one thing I learned on the AT was that if you had an issue and didn’t fix it, it’d still be bothering you weeks and months into the trip. So, I’m fixing it now.

Pilgrimage

Bryan — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:19:39 +0000

pilgrimage (Plural pilgrimages)

2. A visit to any site revered or associated with a meaningful event.

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tails, a pilgrim’s tale, begins set in the spring, the time of rebirth. It starts out flowery and then gets all A Knight’s Tale.

I read the entire poem plus much more of Chaucer in Middle English when in college. Each spring, I like to return to the book to read the opening and be reminded that this season is the time to start out on new adventures after a winter of dreaming about them.

I’m not the only person thinking about or starting adventures this spring. Below is a list of a few expeditions I know about. If you know of others, please, add them in the comments.

But first, the opening to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tails:

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open eye-
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.

Summer Expeditions

Hiking the Cascade River with Diane and Diane

Bryan — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:11:05 +0000

Cascade River State Park is located in Minnesota directly on the Lake Superior. It’s 10 miles east of Lutsen, Mn and 10 west of Grand Marais, MN. There is a kayaking campsite on the Grand Marais side of the river with a three-sided lean-to and a good beach for landing near the river’s mouth.

When paddling near Cascade River State Park, it’s worth landing on the beach and hiking a short trail from Highway 61 up along the river to a bridge and back down again. This section of the Superior Hiking Trail leads past some of the prettiest waterfalls in Minnesota, and in spring, you may see whitewater kayakers plunging down the waterfalls.

Here’s a video from a hike I did on April 25, 2009:

Exploration and Adventure Near Home

Bryan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:43:28 +0000

Bryan Hansel (me) kayaking at 121 in MN.

Years ago, a man named Jim had taught me to climb. I was in one of his climbing classes where he taught and guided some 50,000 people world-wide. He had traveled the world, put up over 600 new routes in the Andes, and still had time to teach climbing. Years after I took that climbing class from him, we ended up working together selling camping, climbing, and paddling gear. I’d come into the store with stories of what my friends and I had been doing over our days off, and I’d often bring in pictures of the places we’d been. Jim always seemed amazed. I remember one day the best, he looked at me and said I’ve been all over the world and I didn’t realize what we had here in Iowa.

And what we had in Iowa was pretty substantial. Through the years, exploring the steep gullies of the Mississippi River valley my friends and I discovered frozen waterfalls to scale, swift creeks to paddle, hidden perfect limestone to climb, beautiful valleys to camp in, steep trails to mountain bike, caves to crawl in, and much more. If I hadn’t believed that adventure can be found near home, I would have never discovered, seen, or enjoyed everything that my home state had to offer.

A picture of me in Virginia on the AT.

On one of my most memorial near home adventures that I would have missed if we hadn’t gone looking, my good friend Steve and I found a gully that we suspected was in Pike’s Peak State Park, but we weren’t positive. We started up the gully only to find a short frozen waterfall. We climbed up it to find another and then another. Eventually, we were below a steep 20 foot fall that I led. It was short, so I didn’t bother to put in any ice screws in, but I ran into a metal fence at the top. Somehow I managed to get under it, and reveled in the surprise on Steve’s face when he joined me at the top. At that point we knew we had left the park.

Another memorable trip was when we decided to run the Buffalo Creek, which I wrote about in Iowa Paddler. The Buffalo Creek runs only a few days a year after heavy thunderstorms. Steve, my friend Chris, and I decided to give it a go without knowing what would confront us. The creek was fantastic and provide great deal of swift water for Iowa. When we started to dodge cows standing in the water, we knew we were in an adventure, but the best part of the trip is when we discovered an electric fence over the creek. Chris couldn’t believe that it could be live until he grabbed it to push it over the boat. The result was quite shocking for him.

Picures from the day I finished the AT.

Over the years, my adventures started to take me away from Iowa. On my first big trip, I bussed to Maine and hiked to Georgia on the Appalachian Trail. I backpacked and climbed in Colorado. I moved to Rapid City and climbed in the Black Hills. I scaled Devil’s Tower. I road tripped to Vermont to climb ice in Smuggler’s Notch. Went to Mexico. I attempted Long’s Peak in winter. Lived in Texas. Climbed and hiked up several of Colorado’s 14ers. Backpacked 100s of miles in the Smoky Mountains. Tripped for countless days in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Visited Yellowstone. Explored Aruba. Backpacked in Glacier National Park. Kayaked 560 miles of the Mississippi River. Canoed the Voyager Route. Kayaked and traveled in Norway.

As I’ve looked outward for my exploration and away from the place I live, I’ve ended up missing out of some local gems. The other day on a training paddle from our local surf break at 121 to Grand Marais, I explored the shoreline and discovered a cave I’ve kayaked by a couple of times and driven past often. There it was when I opened my eyes and looked for something new.

The cave I discovered the other day.

Just over theÂ winter, I ventured out onto a frozen Lake Superior to a cave that I guide people past daily in the summer. It doesn’t look like much in the summer as we paddle past, so I usually don’t point it out, but last summer it held ice until June, so this winter I decided to check it out. I found a beautiful ice cave big enough to hold 20 people and it had full ice pillars, an ice wall and an ice floor. Something that I took for granted all summer long turned into something spectacular in the winter.

As I leave on my upcoming adventure, I’m happy that I’m starting from and finishing in my hometown of Grand Marais, MN. It seems fitting to me that this adventure starts only a few blocks away from my front porch. And it seems fitting to me that I’ll beÂ able to explore, make personal discoveries, and adventure in the backyards of 33 million people.

When I think back six years ago when I left retail, I remember Jim talking about starting up his guiding business again to lead another trip to Africa and Kilimanjaro. It sounded like an fantastic adventure, and I wished that I could have gone. Still I can’t help but hope that my Iowa adventures inspired Jim to get out and explore his own backyard. I hope that by attempting this trip and by getting it publicity, I will be able to inspire people to adventure and explore the Great Lakes. And I hope that it will help people to see that great expeditions are possible near home.

Inspiration from Hiking Grandparents

Bryan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:05:35 +0000

Inspiration: An agency, such as a person or work of art, that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention.

The question of inspiration pops up in many conversations as I talk about my upcoming trip. How do I get inspired to complete a trip where I’ll be away from my loved ones for five months, where I probably won’t be able to eat enough food to maintain my healthy weight, where I’ll be putting significant wear and tear and fatigue on my body day after day for five months, where I’ll be without wage in an uncertain economic time, where I accept the risk and dangers of these inland seas day after day?

For me inspiration comes, in part, from my grandparents. Grandparents, our elders, lived their lives, made right or wrong decisions and came out wiser.

Grandparents like Grandmother Josephine Mandamin, who walked 17,000km around all the Great Lakes, provide inspiration that long distance human powered travel is possible. Or Grandma Gatewood, age 67 in 1955, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, which is not an easy feat, proved and continues to provide inspiration for long distance hikers and ultra-light backpackers alike.

“I thought it would be a nice lark,” Grandma Gatewood said about hiking the Appalachian Trail. Then she added “It wasn’t.”

When I hiked the 2,169-mile Appalachian Trail, the image of Grandma Gatewood with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder and a shower curtain for a tent hiking on a lark crossed my mind many times. And now that Grandmother Josephine Mandamin finished her round-hike of the Great Lakes, she’ll be on my mind as I attempt the same in a kayak.

Famous grandmothers aside, my main inspiration comes from my grandparents and my parents who are now grandparents. On my mother’s side, I have distant memories, mostly just images, of my grandparents. They died when I was young. I remember my great grandmother Dot who lived in a little old house as a happy woman. On my father’s side, I remember both my great grandmothers and my great grandfather Web, but my grandmother Charn and grandpa Dick were always a constant in my life.

My grandmother surround by her children and in-laws.

My grandmother Charn, the pillar of the family, always kept my grandpa Dick in line and is the only grandparent still with us; my grandpa Dick passed away in 2007 shortly after my friend Steve and I paddled on Georgian Bay. We raced back from our trip, so I could visit him in the hospital before he passed away. I know Grandma Charn will be cheering me on around the Great Lakes while worrying about my safety — just as my mother will.

My Grandpa Dick at the Upper 40, our original homestead in Iowa.

Grandpa Dick was always an important person in my life. I remember him as serious when he needed to be, lighthearted the rest of the time, he was the kind of person that always had an unusual joke.

He used to joke, “A guy jumps off a 40 floor building, half-way down, someone yells out to him, how’s it going. He yells back, so far so good.”

He flirted with all the young ladies until my grandmother scolded him. He was a force of positive always on the look out for something to appreciate. Even something as simple as a car on the dirt road would give him enough enjoyment to let the rest of us know there was a “Car on the dirt road.”

When I look back at everything he accomplished it’s hard not to see him as an inspiration; he built over 1,000 homes for 1,000 families, he developed a major portion — an entire mile — of Dubuque, IA, he founded a prominent builder’s organization in IA, was a Mason, survived two bypass surgeries, developed a neighborhood on Sanibel Island, helped form the building codes that are a model for the rest of the country about building in hurricane zones, he loved the outdoors, raised birds, hunted, fished, and he did so much more. All these accomplishments aside, he was inspiration for his children and their children because he possessed a kind supportive and stern nature that we loved. Even now, almost two years after he passed, knowing that he’s and his force of positiveness is gone brings tears to my eyes.

My grandfather's funeral in Northeast Iowa. The rain cleared to give us just enough time to say goodbye.

Although, I paddle this trip for myself, it’s the inspiration from my grandfather’s life and others like him that showed me if you keep moving forward, great accomplishments abound. And although, I’m the only adventurer currently in my family, the only one that attempts trips like this, I know that my family supports the decision I make, and I can draw inspiration from that support.

It’s that daily inspiration from my loved ones that continues to drive me forward in this life to attempt to accomplish my dreams, and I’m happy that my inspiration comes from them. Thanks everyone and I only hope that I’ll be as wise as you someday.

Lake Superior March 31 Storm

Bryan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:55:24 +0000

Just a little storm on Lake Superior today. Winds at 25 gusting to 40mph. Waves up to 6′, but mostly in the 3 to 4′ range. Lots of ice on the lake, but it got broken up today, so we should have good paddling from here on out. Just small pancake ice and skim ice from now on, I suspect.