Planning

“He who hears the rippling of rivers in these degenerate days will not utterly despair”-==Henry David Thoreau

I have undertaken the same planning for this trip as I did for the Mississippi River trip. I have followed the blogs of several paddlers who have kayaked in and through the Great lakes. I have been in e-mail contact with three of them ,seeking their advice on issues that have concerned me (which has resulted in offers of accommodation and assistance).

I have a ring-binder book for boaties  using this section of the Great Loop (one of four such books covering the entire route) which is packed with information ,in particular details of all the marinas and their facilities and maps showing their location as well as photos (the photos are great for identifying potential free camping spots).

I have also printed charts for the whole trip from the internet. I will discard these as I go to lighten the load.

Last year we drove from NY to the headwaters of the Mississippi, but detoured to the Great Lakes ,hitting them around Cleveland, driving on to Detroit and then around the bottom of lake Michigan to Chicago, so I could get an idea of what the lakes looked like (lots of water I would imagine –Ed). They certainly don’t call them the Great Lakes for nothing.

I plan on writing to several Rotary Clubs in the Detroit area, as I am a little nervous about free camping in the downtown area. I am told it would be on a par with camping on the levees anywhere within a 100 miles of New Orleans, which I was warned against doing by several people in 2011. I am hoping there might be a kind Rotarian who would happy to pick me up over several nights as I paddle through the area. The clubs I am writing to actually meet in facilities right on the water and I might be lucky enough to be passing by the day one of them has a meeting. It would make for a nice stopping place for a meal. An alternative is to keep to the Canadian side where locals apparently still leave their doors unlocked-no I am not thinking of bursting in on some unsuspecting home owner looking for a bed.