Michigan City Harbor Entrance--Next Stop Chicago
By: Tom Bamonte
Photos: Tom Heineman, Humberto Garcia, Tom Bamonte
Almost a decade ago four of us--Dave Kaknes, Mike Agostinelli, Tom Heineman and I--had attempted the crossing from Calumet Park on Chicago's far south side to Michigan City, Indiana. The forecast that day was for modest north winds, but conditions picked up quickly once we passed the Calumet Harbor breakwater. Soon we were paddling in fairly high swells and the wind made rafting up for breaks difficult.
I was a relatively new paddler. When we heard on the radio that this unexpected summer wind was going to reach gale force I called the trip and we headed to shore, landing on the west edge of the Indiana Dunes State Park. Since then, I have often regretted that call because making that crossing was important to all of us and we already had covered over half the distance. That regret was more than matched by the appreciation that no one in the group--all much more experienced than I--had attempted to talk me out of that decision. When the weakest link on a crossing says go to shore, generally the best call is to go to shore, especially if it offers sandy beaches like the Indiana shore.Flash forward to last Sunday, August 1st, and another band of four--Humberto Garcia, Sarah Hartman, Tom Heineman and I--set off to do the crossing once again, this time from Michigan City to Calumet Park. Our preparations seemed more matter of fact than the preparations for the crossing years before. In the intervening years Tom and I had done many crossings, Humberto is one of the strongest paddlers in the Chicago and this year Sarah has methodically worked herself up to 40 mile paddles with a covetous eye on an eventual "true" crossing of Lake Michigan.
Group at Launch Site (Tom H., Sarah H., Tom B., Humberto G.)
Peg Heineman kindly accompanied us to our put-in at Trail Creek Marina in Michigan City and drove the shuttle vehicle home. We really appreciated her effort, which was well above and beyond the call of duty for a kayaker spouse. The Marina is across the river from a gigantic casino boat and complex. There was no charge for the launch from the gravel strip at the north side of the ramp and the facility had picnic tables, restrooms and the like.
There was one awkward moment at the launch site. Tom, a mathematician who prides himself on numerical accuracy, exclaimed to Peg that "August is our wedding anniversary. I can't believe we've been married 26 years." There was a pause before Peg responded, "Tom, we've been married for 36 years." I don't recall Tom's reply, but it was endearing enough to spare him getting thrown in the river.We launched at about 8:30 a.m. (Chicago time). The advantage of launching from the Trail Creek Marina, rather than the Washington Park Marina at the edge of the Lake, is that you get to paddle down a river under a few bridges, past an old lighthouse and out through the harbor into the lake.
Michigan City River Scene
Michigan City Lighthouse and Stack
The transition from river to lake is always interesting and winding your way into a large body of water just adds a bit of drama. Michigan City has a long harbor mouth and then, suddenly, you are in open water.
The weather started strange. Clouds filled the sky, not quite fog and not quite storm clouds. There was a modest chop and a bit of a head wind. As we followed a steady course--273--the dunes gradually curved away. We never lost sight of the land entirely, but the shore was enshrouded in a haze.Humberto Garcia
There is not much to say about a crossing in good conditions. We took regular breaks and took turns chatting each other up (Q: "What's been up with you?" A: "I'm having a mid-life crisis and enjoying every minute."). Mostly, we just paddled, taking in the scenery and the texture of the water while letting our thoughts bubble up for examination. Sometimes these thoughts are profound, sometimes they are technical ("how can I make my paddle exit quieter") and sometimes they are more prosaic ("how good those french fries are going to taste when we get done").
We stopped every 90 minutes and rafted for a break. Tom and I especially enjoyed getting in the warm water and stretching our tired limbs (among other bodily functions). When you are six miles from shore, hanging on to two sterns and enjoying the warm water, the quiet and the enormity of sky and water, the simple joy of kayaking just takes over. I guess it takes lots of maturity and plenty of paddling skill just to get to a state where you can truly enjoy and the childish pleasure of gamboling around outdoors.
Break Time Mid-Trip
Navigation was a challenge, even though we were steering a straight course that was almost due west (273 according to the experts). Compasses and even GPS units are never in perfect agreement. And on the open water distant boats that seemed anchored in just the right alignment to our course had a disturbing tendency to actually be moving and thus lured us off course as we followed them. Our group course turned out to be an amalgam of our individual courses and in the end we steered a pretty straight line for a group of strong individualists.
Even six miles from shore there was more noise than I expected. When we passed large industrial complexes we could hear the clanking of machinery. There was a distant drone of cigarette boats. At one point classical music wafted across the water. It took me awhile to figure out that Tom was playing commercial radio on his fancy marine radio. What we didn't hear was the screech of shore birds, as we were too far out and/or not far enough gone to attract such birds.There were moments, however, when these sounds seemed to drop away, leaving only the slip-splash of one's paddle and the hiss of the hull through the water. These were the special times when we truly sank into our paddle. Nothing matter but forward movement towards a misty goal on route 273.
Paddling In The Calm
A bit past midway in our trip we hit a calm stretch and then seemed to cross a seam of some sort. Mild wind and waves arranged themselves behind us. The Great Lakes Coastal Forecast System for that time shows that there was an unusually sharp line dividing the east and the west winds. With the east wind assisting us and tiny waves pushing us along the paddling got easier and our spirits rose. In these conditions a "true" crossing of Lake Michigan seemed very doable.
Unusual Wind Direction "Zipper" on Lake Michigan
Sarah Hartman Approaching Calumet Park
After packing up we met at Calumet Fisheries for food. Even though our dining spot was sitting on the sidewalk at the edge of the 95th Street Bridge over the Calumet River next to the restaurant/smokehouse and we had paper bags for dinnerware, we had at least as much to celebrate as at any fancy dinner. We had paddled safely and relatively swiftly (for us) across 33 miles of Lake Michigan. We enjoyed the view of the Calumet River and the descending sun and talked while the warm weariness after a long paddle crept into our bones and muscles.
Post Paddle Snack On The Calumet River Bridge
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SOME LESSONS I LEARNED
The risks associated with crossings--e.g., adverse weather changes, injuries, illnesses, equipment failure, bad judgments--increase the longer the group is on the water. The goal of the group should be to maintain as fast a pace as possible without exacerbating those risks (e.g., slower paddler pops a shoulder trying to keep up with group pace that is faster than paddler can handle). When you are traveling at a pace where the risks of going faster match the risks of going slower you are in the sweet spot.
Some things I learned on this extended crossing:-- Breaks. Breaks are essential but eat up lots of time, have inherent risks (e.g., smashed fingers between rafted boats) and often result in drift from intended course. When folks get tired they start to take breaks at every opportunity, slowing forward progress on the last portion of the trip where risks are the highest already. For example, someone stops to take a photo and the whole group stops paddling and soon you have a impromptu 5-10 minute break. Thus, on any significant crossing the group should commit to a schedule of breaks in advance and each member should do their best to stick to that schedule. On this trip we took breaks every 90 minutes and that seemed to work well. Even though we had a couple of unscheduled stops, our total speed was over 3.5 mph while our paddling speed was 4.1 mph.
-- Rafting Up. It takes a lot of energy to hold boats together by hand, especially when one is also fiddling with food, cameras and the like. Better to use contract tow ropes to secure the boats, leaving all hands free.
-- Day Hatch. It is an awkward reach into a day hatch. In addition, the hatch is prone to swamping, as one member of the group found out. Better to raft up with the boats facing in opposite directions and have your paddling partner fish for what you need from your day hatch while you fish out the stuff they want from their day hatch. Remind each other to secure the hatch cover immediately. We had to pump out a day hatch on this trip and we shuddered at how difficult it might have been in 3 foot waves and 20 mph winds.
-- Food. My sense is that many folks don't eat or drink enough on long crossings and they eventually run out of gas. GORP is great, but on a long paddle you need more substantial food. I packed a dozen potato and cheese pirogi slathered with spicy tomato sauce on this trip and ate them all over two breaks. I had a carton of a sauerkraut/split peas combo as the chaser. This was on top of GORP, power bars, and fruit. It is very tough to eat in rough water and the risks of losing your food overboard or injuries from rafted up boats increase markedly. Eat plenty whenever you can.
-- Weather/Judgment. We were scheduled to go the day before but postponed because of marginal weather that included a possibility of thunderstorms. When planning a significant crossing it is important to be very cautious when making the call to put in and to build in schedule flexibility so the group is not so dead-set on paddling on a particular day that you set off in marginal conditions.
-- Bugs. There are mosquitoes six miles out in Lake Michigan. They are very hungry.