Kayaker looping the eastern states paddles by county shoreline
by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor
Kayaker Jake Stachovak is living a dream and those who ever have just wanted to take off and go. He paddled by the coast of Presque Isle County last week nearing the end of a 5,000-mile journey literally around the east half of the United States. Stachovak?s adventure, which he calls the Portage to Portage Paddling Project, took him from his home in Portage, Wisconsin down the Mississippi River, through the Gulf of Mexico coastline, around Florida, north through the Atlantic coast, and up the Great Lakes before getting back to Wisconsin.
He started last December and made it to the 40-Mile Lighthouse Park last Thursday afternoon, where he was greeted by Tom Ogden of Rogers City, who had been following the trip via Stachovak?s Web site. Stachovak says when people ask him why he is doing such a trip, he says he hopes to know the answer by the time he is finished. ?Really it is just a sense of curiosity that I have had, just to find out what is around the next bend in the river or lakeshore. Just a giant curiosity, I guess,? he said. ?That and the physical skill challenge of it all.?
Starting in early December in Wisconsin proved to be a gamble, as the trip became snowed out after three days. He didn?t want to miss deer hunting season in Wisconsin, so his trip started the week after Thanksgiving Day. ?I got caught, so my parents had to give me a ride to St. Louis, so I have a little gap to fill,? he plans to stop in his hometown for a reunion with friends and family, then ?fill the gap? by paddling down to St. Louis. Stachovak has been kayaking for 11 years, and is also a coach and frequent kayaker in the big waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. As for the general reaction of people when they find out about his adventure, Stachovak said that varies.
?Some people are envious of doing something big and exciting. They don?t necessarily envy sleeping in a tent every night,? Stachovak said. He said he had some slack time between a move from California back to Wisconsin so he decided the time was right for the trip. ?I have no apartment and no job, so I have time to kill,? he said. He said he has worked as a carpenter for the past 20 years, minus a few years working at a kayak shop. A few sporting goods company have supplied him with gear, but other than that he has no sponsorship.
?One of my biggest expenses is my cell service to get the Internet. The blogging, which I try to do as much as I can, is one of the most expensive things I have going.? He makes about 25 nautical miles per day, with eight hours of paddling spending about half of the nights in private homes and the rest camping in his tent. ?The camping is fun and the kayaking is fun, but the constant gear maintenance is starting to get old,? he said. Four bags of gear are stuffed inside the boat, including a global positioning device, which broadcasts his location to his Web site and e-mails to his
He hopes to arrive in Wisconsin the last weekend of August. He optimistically thinks he could make the Wisconsin coast by next weekend. The entire winter leg of the trip gave him a rough start, he said. That leg included some of the coldest winter weather ever in Florida, having his gear stolen and later recovered, and getting maced by some ?thugs,? he said. ?I am kind of glad starting when I did, because everything was easy after that. I have always wished that somehow some man in black would sneak up behind me and whisper ?the worst is over.? But I truly think that is the case now,? he said.
The Odgens treated Stachovak to a tour of the area, including the Calcite quarry, and a kayak trip down the Black River in the two days he stayed in Rogers City. Ogden?s son Duane, who lives near Stachovak?s home in Wisconsin, noticed Stachovak?s story in his local newspaper and persuaded his father to contact the kayaker. Stachovak crossed under the Mackinac Bridge at 4 p.m. on Saturday, stopped at Epoufette Bay on the northern shore of Lake Michigan Sunday at 1:30 p.m. before bringing in for the night east of Naubinway. Stachovak?s travels can be followed at portagetoportage.com.