Erie Trip
By John Pollard
Sorry this has taken almost 2 weeks to write, but I’ve finally taken the time to write up a description of my kayak trip.
In preparation for the trip, I had to buy or borrow camping equipment, food, etc. All this stuff is stowed in compartments that are in the bow and stern of the boat. Weight isn’t too much of an issue. Space is at a premium, however! We had to fit everything we needed for a week into these compartments!
There were 5 other guys on the trip; John Lane, his brother Rex, Rick Taylor, Curt, and Larry Krall. Brian Marcus was also with us on the first part of the trip. All of them much more experienced than I am. Two of the guys have been kayaking since the late seventies. I am 15 years younger than the others, so I figured my youth would help me keep up. And my kayak happens to be a pretty fast boat, so that helps, too.
We paddled 6 miles from Lakeside Ohio (near Cedar Point) up to Kelly’s Island on Friday and camped there overnight. We were planning on doing a lap around the island on Saturday, as a part of a larger, organized event. We bagged out because the weather was windy and very cold.
We hiked around Kelly’s Island instead of paddling. I saw the grooves in the rock formed by glaciers. We watched the Ohio State game at a pub in the tiny downtown area of Kelly’s. We also could see our next destination, Pelee Island, off on the horizon.
Sunday we got up, packed all our stuff into the boats and left. The weather was perfect, if a little cool. The water was flat. It was about 13 miles to the campground on Peele Island. Since it is Canadian territory, we had to call in to customs and tell them we were there. That’s some tight security.
Monday was our long day. We paddled 3 miles up along Pelee’s coast to the north point of the island. We rested a bit, but there were tons of biting flies, so we didn’t stay long. The water was somewhat choppy.
We left and paddled northeast to a giant platform sticking out of the water. It is a beacon that marks a major shipping channel in Erie. The waves had grown so large; I could sometimes not see the horizon over the next wave. We gathered up at the beacon and looked east and west for barges.
There was a barge in each direction, headed towards us. We decided to cross, figuring that we’d make it in time. We were fine, but I was somewhat concerned. (Read: scared) The shipping lane is only 3/4 mile wide, which we can cover in about 15 minutes.
I was feeling weak by the time we reached the shore of Ontario. I wasn’t able to take my hands off my paddle long enough to take a drink from my water bottle for the whole stretch from the north end of Pelee Island. Once we landed, I pigged out on some energy bars, pretzels, and water. We rested about 45 minutes before heading out once again.
This time, we decided to head directly back to our campsite, instead of retracing our earlier path. This meant 12 miles in the boat. That’s roughly 4 hours.
We had to wait for a barge to pass while on the return trip through the shipping lane. We sort of debated on trying to beat it. Since we were a little tired and there were no more barges in the distance, we decided to let this one pass and cross at a more relaxed pace.
Monday we paddled a total of 28 miles over the course of about 8 or 9 hours, including the rest stops. So we took Tuesday off from paddling and explored the island. There is a tiny town and a nice winery. Not much else. It’s beautiful though.
Wednesday we paddled back to Kelly’s. At this point, I was pretty used to the larger waves in Erie. And the water was a little calmer.
Thursday was only 6 miles back to the mainland. The wind had shifted and was at our backs. One of the guys showed me how to catch a ride on the waves. I surfed for a bit of the return trip. That’s when I realized I had gotten really comfortable on the waves.
Once back on the mainland, we napped for a couple hours, ate dinner and drove home. And I slept for most of the next day, too.
We went about 70 miles over the whole trip. I was only a little sore after the 28 mile day. Mostly I was tired. It might have been from sleeping in a tent as much as paddling so much. I was glad to get back and eat hamburger and drink a cold beer!
The trip was great. Sometimes it was a little dull (when the water is flat and you’ve paddled for hours on end), sometimes it was exciting (when waves wash over your deck), and sometimes it was scary (when a barge is coming towards you). The scenery was beautiful.
Jeff Haven paddles the Current River, MO. Photo by Toni Hartley.