Dan Plath, founder of the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association, has been an incredible bundle of energy recently on behalf of the region's paddling community. He and his group are setting the standard for paddling clubs like CASKA and the Illinois Paddling Council.
Dan was lead organizer of the a two-day Burnham to Marquette Water Trail Expedition from 12th Street Beach in Chicago to Michigan City, Indiana. The Expedition commemorated the 100th anniversaryof Daniel Burnham's famous Plan of Chicago. It also marked the dedication of the Southern Lake Michigan Water Trail, which adds a northwest Indiana water trail to the existing Chicago lakefront water trail.
Due to a work commitment, I only had time to join the group from 12th Street to Calumet Park. The Expedition continued on to overnight camping at Marquette Park in Gary, Indiana and then a second day of paddling into Michigan City. At each stop the paddlers were welcomed with speeches by representatives from environmental groups and park districts. Perhaps even more gratifying to the paddlers at least were the wide assortment of snacks.
About 40 paddlers registered at 12th Street Beach. Most paddled the initial leg of the trip to 63d Street beach. Many others joined the Expedition along the way. There was a mixture of boats, including sit-on-tops, recreational kayaks, and sea kayaks.
It was rainy when we left 12th Street. The winds and waves were out of the northeast. From the beach house wave conditions didn't look too bad. A fair number of the paddlers had limited Lake Michigan experience. I'm pleased to say that Dan drafted CASKA members to serve as flank and sweep paddlers because of our familiarity with Lake Michigan paddling.
Expedition put-in at 12th Street Beach
The initial speakers included Mark Thomas, the Chicago Park District's Chief of Staff. In large part through the efforts of Dan and his colleagues when organizing the Expedition the Park District has decided to put more emphasis on the Chicago water trail and is providing more support for a variety of human powered craft in the shoreline waters.
In a later conversation I had with Dan he expressed his deep appreciation for the Park District's support. He also expressed some frustration with the "bureaucratic hoops" he had to jump through to obtain permits and the like from the Park District.
When the group made it out to open water it found that conditions were more challenging than expected. There was an ugly 2-3 foot chop that was compounded by rebounding waves from the hard break walls and boat wakes. Even experienced paddlers had to stay alert to stay upright and on course. Two support boats circled the group and assisted as necessary. A couple of paddlers dumped and were efficiently helped back into their boats. Some paddlers chose to land at the beaches between 12th Street and 63d Street. They and their boats were shuttled ahead to 63d Street. A number of people clearly pushed their personal limits and made it successfully to 63d Street under their own power.
The situation could have deteriorated badly had a few more boats tipped over and been blown too close to shore. Fortunately, the available beaches gave people a chance to get off the water relatively quickly. It was key to the safe passage that most people who should have gotten off the water to protect the safety of the group (and themselves) had the good sense to do so.
Next time with such a heterogeneous group it might be good to give folks an opportunity to test the conditions and opt to return to the launch site before the group embarks for good. This procedure might have eliminated some of the early on-the-water drama.
When we arrived at 63d Street Beach it was still raining and the cool breeze yielded some chilly paddlers who congregated at the beach house.
Bill Burton at 63d Street smiling to keep teeth from chattering
After the speeches, six of us paddled to Calumet Park and met up with the others. A nice lunch spread in a pleasant, high-ceiling meeting room was there to welcome us. Even more welcoming were the paddlers who gave us a round of applause for making the 63d Street to Calumet Park paddle. (Truth be told, there were no 6-8 footers out there like we might have told them!) It was good to get warm, plow through the lunch items, and mingle with a group of enthusiastic paddlers.
By now the weather was improving. The group headed to off to Indiana and the heart of the Expedition territory. Hopefully, we will have a report about the rest of the Expedition from one of the participants. I paddled back into a modest but still irritating headwind to 12th Street, arriving a bit before sundown.
Dan Plath and his NNN colleagues deserve a big round of applause for the Expedition and their continuing efforts to improve the paddling environment for the benefit of all of us. CASKA and other Illinois paddling groups have a new, and higher, performance bar to meet. Dan and his colleagues appear to be interested in working with us on a three-state Lake Michigan water trail. That sounds like a worthy project, a path well taken.
Media Coverage of Expedition:
Tom Bamonte
