Kayaking trip to Grayling, MI

So this past weekend my friends and I decided to reinforce our sea legs. Special thanks to Brad and the rest of the Hummel family for hosting the event. As the title says, this took place in Grayling, MI. The trip was preceded by a visit to Ann Arbor, so that we could see the special screening of "A Scanner Darkly", which was a pretty decent movie.

We started the activities early Saturday afternoon, once we all woke up. Both Chris and Brad took kayaks, I had to do a canoe, because I couldn't balance in the kayak at all. Once my paddle hit the water, it was almost guaranteed that I would tip to one side or the other. On the other hand, a canoe is large and more steady for me. So you're thinking, he did better this time, since the Island Lakes fiasco , well thats not an entirely true or false statement. I did have sandals this time so there were no cuts on my feet, but I did manage to crash and overturn the canoe a bunch of times. Including this one time where the water was too deep, and jumping back in was pretty much impossible. I tried anyways, and kept tipping right back in. For those of you who don't know, when the canoe takes on water, its best to empty it. To accomplish this, you have to capsize the canoe, and lift it over your head from either end until its dry. Then you have to flip it in mid air so that it lands proper and doesn't take on any more water. Now imagine me doing this time and time again... almost an exercise in futility. On top of that, I realized that some local was watching me the whole time, so this made me mad. So, the more I failed, the more I got pissed because I knew that the guy was laughing at me. So the more mad I got, the more I fell in. In the end I had to swim behind my canoe until he was out of line of sight before I could get back in.

The main difference between the Manistee river and the Huron river (at Island Lakes) is that the Manistee is narrow and very shallow at times. There were a lot more obstacles in the way, including logs, trees, and people partying. The best part was all the pretty girls in bikinis. That almost took away the pain of embarrassment.

The plan was to go to the first stop, I think it was called the CR 612. When we all got there, we all agreed that we would go to the next stop, because everyone had plenty of steam left in them. The next stop was a rental place called Long's Canoe Livery. I forgot all about it and kept going. Brad was ahead of me the whole time, so from time to time I would ask the people in the water if they seen a guy in a kayak, wearing a blue shirt and a white baseball cap. They would answer, "yeah, you're about 10 minutes behind him." I kept hearing this, even after I passed the stop Brad took. I guess I shouldn't rely on info from folks who party on the river all day drinking beer. To them every guy who passed them was in a kayak, wearing a blue shirt and a white cap. Lucky for me the rest of the gang realized what had happened, and they packed up the kayaks and went to the next stop, Shell Haven Livery.

I was very very happy to see them, although I found out later that I was minutes away from being abandoned. I'm sure they were joking... well I hope they were, otherwise who knows where'd I end up. Just as a going away present, the river made me tip one last time before I could get out of the water, this time, my back crashing onto a rock. It hurt like hell, but I had to take it like a man, too many pretty ladies around. Despite the pain, the afternoon was awesome.

The next day we decided to hit the river once more. This time we only had time to hit the first stop. Brad ended up getting tangled up in tree stumps, loosing his glasses in the process. We tried for about an hour to find them on the bottom of the river, but no luck. We figured they got covered up by the sand or our stomping in the area. We had to get Brad out of the water and ready for pickup, when we discovered the his cell phone got water in it, despite being in a zip lock bag. So, the new plan, Chris and I were to continue along to the CR 612 stop, meet up with Brad's parents and let them know that we need to get Brad. By the time Chris and I arrived at the stop, our pickup was already waiting, and before we could load up the equipment, Brad arrived in his Jeep. He managed to get to his parent's cabin on foot.

I've come to the conclusion that no matter what I get myself into, there will be some kind of drama. From now on taking things as they come, rolling with the punches, hoping for the best. Nothing is easy, especially when you haven't done it before. This weekend coming up we're back at our old stomping grounds, Island Lakes. We're doing "surf and turf" and we're ready this time. I'm sure that if not I, someone will be hurt or stung by bees, or fall into some wolf dookie. You'll hear about it, I guarantee it. Peace.

Map of kayak / canoe trip

Total Distance: Brad and Chris: 8.33 milesMarty: 11.19 miles

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." -Christina Baldwin