The Error . . .

The Great Circumnavigation Adventure!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

- Douglas Adams

If one sets out to navigate the waters surrounding Drummond you should always be mindful of the fact that perspective changes and what is familiar from land is not always so clearly recognized from the cockpit of a low riding kayak. 

There are no excuses for what happened. And despite what others may think, I feel the events of the past 24 hours played a part in the scene that played out on the first leg of our voyage.

The stage had been set and our destiny sealed. We paddled to Canada. It was meant to be. The sirens of Wheeler Reef called and we didn't resist. They laid in wait singing song for song.

And we paddled on! 

It was the first gust of the day that startled me awake. Had me call out to Nella that we were in the open waters of False DeTour Passage and closing fast on Wheeler Reef and Kichener Island! 

No big deal! Really. To fear is one thing.  To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another. We simply regrouped and headed back towards Drummond and a point just north of Bass Cove. 

Our adventure had begun! 

The Launch . . .

The Great Circumnavigation Adventure! 

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

- Howard Thurman

After all the planning, after all the conversations, after all the good-byes the only thing left to do was to shove off. And so we did. Into the bright sun and the clear, calm waters off Scammon Point. 

Our plan was to navigate counterclockwise around the Island, stopping as the urge or need arose. Hoping to make our planned campsites along the way while there was still enough natural light to pitch a tent, cook a meal and enjoy the sunset. 

They say adventure is nothing more than bad planning, and even though I had carefully plotted and laid out our intended itinerary great weather and bad planning lead to adventures we had never expected and thoroughly enjoyed! 

It all started when I realized I had attached my map to the deck bag UPSIDE DOWN! 

 

The Dedication . . .

The Great Circumnavigation Adventure! 

My Great Circumnavigation Adventure was dedicated to my father - who passed away the night before our launch @ 11:30PM. A strong, independent outdoorsman with a zest for life that he shared with all who knew him. His spirit was there with each paddle and at times I could hear him quoting lines from *The Song of Hiawatha* - one of his favorites. 

In loving memory of my father 

Lowell Wheeler Wilds

November 18, 1932 - August 14, 2011

 The Song of Hiawatha  by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

By the shores of Gitche Gumee,

By the shining Big-Sea-Water,

Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,

Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.

Dark behind it rose the forest,

Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,

Rose the firs with cones upon them;

Bright before it beat the water,

Beat the clear and sunny water,

Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. His love for life, his strong work ethic and his faith will live on through his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We are all stronger for having had him as our role model. Love you Dad! 

 

The Plan . . .

The Great Circumnavigation Adventure! 

Plan your paddle. Paddle your Plan! 

Friends have asked me to provide my paddle plan. I don't tend to write in list format unless I am making a list but I think in order to get through all the questions that have been asked this is the approach I will start with . . . who knows where I will end up! 

Gear:

Barry and I are *gear freaks* and have spent our lives together adventuring. Plus we run an online outdoor adventure store. What we didn't have I borrowed from my oldest son or bought just for this trip. Space is an issue and so some of my camping gear wasn't suited for this voyage. 

Purchases included a small Pelican case that I outfitted with an updated First Aid Kit, including a compact pill organizer for my daily chemo meds.

Another addition was a Voltaic Fuse Solar Charger for recharging my iPhone each night. No I am not intending to call or text all day, every day. The iPhone is being used for running my GPS tracking system. It will also be used for two daily text messages to my granddaughter relaying my location. 

Because I need to limit iPhone usage to only those two activities I needed a camera I could rely on for photo journaling. My wonderful husband, Barry, bought me an early present for the trip. The Panasonic Lumix. Waterproof to 33 feet, dustproof, shockproof against a drop of up to 6 feet, and freezeproof down to -10°C. No more fuzzy iPhone photos! Love you Bear!

With the wind playing a HUGE factor in the success of this adventure I also purchased a Harmony Gripper Elite Spray Skirt.  No point in getting soaked and/or swamped if I can avoid it! The skirt has proved to be a bonus and a negative. Bonus - I stay dry in wet weather. Negative - it eliminates the possibly of Chloe' riding along AND seriously restricts my movement in Solo Paddle Recovery maneuvers because of the built-in *hoop* system for greater leg room.

What am I paddling?

A Calypso 12. Designed specifically for women, with a lighter weight and lower cockpit walls. For full-day or overnight tours on calm water, or with a spary skirt on whitecaps. Sold by LLBean. Mine has the optional rudder system. I added a SeaLine Baja deck bag (borrowed) for additional storage.

Safety Gear:

PFD, Throw rope, Strobe beacon, air horn, whistle, iPhone WITH two extra external batteries, hand-held marine radio, flashlight, glow sticks, flare gun w/eight flares, Leatherman, folding saw, matches, lighter, compass, laminated maps, water purifier, duct tape, extra carabiners, First Aid Kit, sunblock. Lots of sunblock! 

Safety Plan: 

Plan your paddle and paddle your plan! When in doubt - head to shore! 

Meals:

Dehydrated all the way! Space on a 12 foot kayak with only one dry well is a HUGE consideration. I have enough Enertia Trail Foods  for 7 days (we expect the trip to last 5 to 6 days - it doesn't hurt to be over-prepared!). I will be cooking them via a JetBoil stove. Water will be supplied via a MSR Expedition Water Treatment system. 

Health Concerns:

I had my monthly injections just before heading up here along with blood work to have a baseline for my doctor's to refer to. Based on those results I was given a *good to go* send off from every member of my team.

I take daily chemo drugs and have filled my 7-day organizer. I have an *emergency med* that I take if I feel a flare coming on. Trust me - I know the signs by now - and I have packed enough to handle any situation. Epi-pens and benadryl are also packed. As is an emergency supply of Altraban (a potent Rx antibiotic) and 7 Flextor patches for pain relief at night after a long day of paddling. 

Advice:

I have relied heavily on the advice of my oldest son, Aaron. He is an international rep for Marmot, Keen, JetBoil, Camelbak and Vasque. He knows the gear world inside and out. And is also a very experienced kayaker. I have nothing but respect for his opinion(s). He has let me know that this adventure is more than do-able - even solo if need be. But also cautioned me to not do anything stupid! 

Barry wishes he was going with me - first for the adventure! Second because he worries so. I have had many close calls over the years and he never takes a single day for granted that we are able to spend together. We have shared my plan and practice adventures daily. He is the stable, logical one in this marriage and told me to have fun BUT don't drown on him!  

I have also sought the advice of Jay Bouwkamp - a dear friend who has completed this trip in a canoe. He had some harrowing experiences and I learned a lot about what not to do. 

I can't thank Gerry & Betty Bailey enough for all the information they have shared. Gerry painstakingly plotted distances on a map for me, while Betty marked out all the remote State owned lands where a kayaker can easily beach to set-up camp. They also provided me with the Camp Registration Cards required by the DNR for camping on State owned lands. 

 

LAUNCH DATE:

Really! 

Final Thoughts: 
I have learned that the richness of life is found in adventure. It develops self-reliance and independence. One's life then teems with excitement. There is stagnation only in security. In relying too heavily on one's comfort zone.

The Idea . . .

The Great Circumnavigation Adventure!

Why? 

Like so many advetures the idea rose spontaneously from being casually mentioned during a conversation over drinks with friends at Chuck's Place.

It quickly took on a life of its own.

Why set this particular goal? There is so much I have given up. So much I use to do I am not able to do now. I am a former adrenaline junkie who still needs a fix now and then. The doses are much smaller and they have to last me much longer. But once an addict, always an addict. 

I have no fears about the trip. Not now anyway. And I don't think there will be along the way. You block your dreams when you allow your fears to grow bigger than your faith. 

What do I fear? I fear sitting back and watching the world pass me by. I fear not feeling my heart beat. I don't fear dying. I fear being alive and not living. 

This Great Circumnavigation Adventure is just another way to prove to myself that I am still alive. That I am still living! 

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing". 

~Helen Keller

A Sense of Wonder . . .

                                                                                 

A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune, that as adults, most of us have lost this true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring.


 
 “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder,” Rachael Carson wrote, “he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”


 I was blessed to have the companionship of my Great-grandfather and later, after his death, the encouragement of my Great-grandmother to continue poking around on my own. It is this indestructible sense of wonder, this unfailing love of woods and water inherited from my Great-grandparents that has often sustained me in adulthood.  

And it is this same inborn sense of wonder I hope to help my grandchildren keep alive. A sense of the beautiful, the excitement of the new and unknown, exploring nature by becoming receptive to what lies all around them, inspired by long lazy meanderings through the woods and along the waterways of Drummond Island. 

 

“This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." - John Steinbeck

 

Photos taken during a recent Great Adventure with Grandma on Drummond Island.

The children are my beautiful/handsome grandkids - Riley, Connor and Savannah.

Drummond in the Spring

Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.

The following poem was written by my granddaughter, Madison Rain Baker, in response to an English class assignment this spring. My heart sang when I read it for the first time. Who knew our family traditions - centered around time spent on Drummond - would have such an impact? Strong enough that a young, gregarious teenager would feel compelled to capture those feelings in prose? 


Drummond in Spring

Drummond Island is a friendly place.

Filled with different people

and different race.

Trees line the road like a trophy case.

Every day you meet a new face.

  
Surrounded by a big blue lake,

Sometimes I sit on the shore when there's too much to take.

We pull into the cabin and see the familiar image of the tan cabin with a green door.

Last time I left here I didn't want to go and I wanted more.

 
 
After we unpack we head down to the boat,

The red chipped paint sets a float.

We all sit down prepared for the cold sting

As our ears begin to ring. 

                        

This is Drummond Island in the spring

When the birds come out ready to sing.

by Madison Rain Baker