Mike Stout did something few people have done— or should do. He paddled his kayak from Grand Portage to Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. An experienced open water kayaker, even Stout had trouble at times as he navigated the 72.5 miles in a little over 27 hours over a two-day period. Stout said he wouldn’t recommend other people try this feat. It’s too dangerous, he said.
A 56-year-old Prior Lake resident successfully paddled from Grand Portage to Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, a journey of 72.5 miles across Lake Superior, in a kayak.
At times Mike Stout, who owns a marketing firm, found the experience exhilarating. At other times it was harrowing.
Stout, an experienced open water kayaker, began his trip on the evening of July 18 and finished shortly after July 20, completing 27.5 hours of paddling.
Careful planning had gone into this adventure. After studying weather forecasts, Stout determined that the first leg of his journey between Pigeon River and Isle Royale, a distance of 22 miles, would be the most difficult. But that didn’t turn out to be the case.
“The scenery along this section of the Pigeon River is stunning,” he said. “‘The tall cliffs and islands which frame the final part of this tributary remind me of the Pacific Northwest or New England.”
Instead of difficult early travels, he found the first leg of his journey to be uneventful. It took just six hours for him to arrive at Grace Harbor on Isle Royale, where he camped for the night.
The next day Stout emerged from his tent to a warm, bluebird of a day. Before he set off for the final 48-mile crossing, Mike said, “I placed my makeshift waterproof backpack with my extra sets of gloves, wool hats, North Face weatherproof shell and insulated jacket in my rear hull. At the time, even I know this is not a good idea.”
It wasn’t until Stout left the protection of Grace Harbor and headed out into a long stretch of open water that he turned on his handheld, marine radio. “I caught the latest storm making its way through Minnesota to the lower parts of the Upper Peninsula and couldn’t help wondering how large and far reaching this storm may be, and why didn’t I notice it before?”
When Stout left the harbor, just off Cumberland Point, the weather took a turn for the worse. The wind picked up. The sky turned gray. The waves began to churn. The temperature dropped.
“I was worrying that Lake Superior had changed and I was no longer welcome,” Stout said.
Over the next 20 hours, Stout would face mild to strong winds and one- to two-foot sometimes choppy, sometimes rolling waves. He worried about getting hypothermia as he battled what seemed like impenetrable currents. The last mile, exclaimed Mike, the winds and whitecaps all worked against him.
As he passed the entrance channel to the Keweenaw Peninsula, he saw his girlfriend, Michon Jenkin, waving to him. “As I headed into the shore I scanned the beachfront. It was made of pebble-sized rounded stones. I picked up my speed and crashed into the beach, not worrying about damaging the bottom of my boat.”
Stout said his abdominal muscles were sore when he finished. Michon told him, “There were 1,000 angels on you.” Later he learned that if he had paddled any slower, he would have almost certainly been caught up in a thunderstorm.
Stout said he wouldn’t recommend this paddle for most people. “This feat was only possible due to year-round training and conditioning, which included having paddled 1,238 miles since last season and several trips this year between 60 and 90 miles each. While I encourage others to seek greater challenges and adventure, this is one I suggest they do not consider.”
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