By: Tom Bamonte
In this age of Google Earth and ubiquitous GPS it sometimes seems if there nothing new to explore and name. That would seem especially true on Chicago's lakefront, traversed by millions of vehicles, pedestrians and boaters each year. Leave it up to Dave Strauch to discover something new here in our home paddling territory.
Five of us met at the Jackson Park boat ramp on Sunday, June 26: Dave, Denise Poloyac, Zach Carrier, Gary Steinbauer and I (that's four lawyers, but who's counting). Conditions were near perfect for a pleasant summer paddle--not too warm, not too windy and water not too cold.
We headed for the 68th Street Crib and then turned south and paddled towards Calumet Harbor. The harbor is surrounded by a massive breakwater with an entrance on the northeast side. Large ships regularly slip behind the breakwater and head up the Calumet River as far as Lake Calumet.
We should have plotted a course before we left because the route from 68th Street Crib to the opening in the breakwater is not readily apparent to the naked eye. Nevertheless, we were able to find the opening without going too far out of the way.
Northeast Entrance to Calumet Harbor
Once we were inside the breakwater our goal was the Hammond Lakefront Park and Bird Sanctuary, which lies between State Line Generating Plant on the west and the casino complex to the east. The sanctuary has an easy beach for landing and walking trails. It is a decent alternative to the more manicured and crowded Calumet Park complex that stretches north of the power plant.
Beach at Bird Sanctuary
After an early lunch we headed back. A ship and barge passed in front of us in the channel that runs through Calumet Harbor. This was a potent reminder that anyone who paddles in this area must keep an eye out for big boats, which move surprisingly fast. The edge of the channel is marked by a couple of buoys and one should take care to stay outside the channel except when making a direct crossing.
Calumet Harbor Entrance: Shipping Channel in White
Inexplicably, I had gotten the idea that it would be a good exercise for us to paddle to the north edge of the breakwater and then haul our boats over the breakwater. Remembering some of the conditions a group of us had encountered in Maine last summer, I thought this would be good practice for hauling boats in rocky environments and getting in and out of our boats in somewhat challenging circumstances. A portage over the breakwater also would cut down on the distance of the return trip by sparing us having to paddle out to the northeast opening.
When I shared my idea the lack of enthusiasm with which it was greeted was immediately evident. Zach summed up the sentiments of the rest of the group, "why should we risk breaking our legs," so we opted to retrace our route. Later, when I saw the condition of the north breakwater and the slippery rocks I realized that this probably was a wise group decision.
During our discussion of whether to scale the breakwater, Dave wondered aloud if it were possible to cross the breakwater right where it ran into the land at the old Republic Steel site, which lies just north of Calumet Harbor. When we passed out through the entrance to the breakwater we decided to hug the breakwater until we hit the shore just to see if there was a doable crossing where breakwater met land. Along the way we steered close to the massive rocks that make up the breakwater--rock gardening Midwest style.
Dave turned out to be right. On the north side of the junction between land and the breakwater there is a pocket beach. It has a steep slope and might feature dumping waves in conditions.
Breakwater Meets Land: Pocket Beach to the Left
It is maybe 100 yards from the beach over the base of the breakwater to a rocky but serviceable launch site on Calumet Harbor.
Launch Site into Calumet Harbor to Dave's Right and Behind; Beach is to his Left
I suggest we should call this stretch "Dave's Portage," as it was Dave who first thought of the possibility of a shortcut into (and out of) Calumet Harbor. It is a doable, shorter alternative to paddling out and around to the entrance to the breakwater. The beach offers the opportunity for a break and a whiz and maybe even some surfing and boat control practice opportunities in the right conditions.
Unfortunately, my camera battery died before I got a decent set of pictures fully documenting the portage and a portrait of Dave for posterity. I also can't vouch for the legality of stopping at the beach and making the portage, but the area seemed just about as empty as it can get in a major metropolitan area.
On our way back we hugged the abused shoreline of the razed steel mill site and crossed north through a stretch of open water to Rainbow Beach, where we practiced a few rolls and rescues. From here it was a short glide back to Jackson Park Harbor, where we encountered Jim Des Jardins and Beverly Serrell heading out on the lake in . . . a sailboat. I felt sorry for them that they weren't in kayaks, but they seemed happy as clams. We soon made it back to the boat ramp, having covered a bit over 17 miles.
Dave's Portage. Imagined, discovered and explored. A spirit of discovery rewarded even in our own much paddled back yard.