DAY 55 TenaCity to WindyCity Runyak
TenaCity to WindyCity Runyak
May 12, 2021
Flint to Chicago DAY 55
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It's about time. I've been waiting 7 months for this day. I really missed my runyak expedition. I watched the May weather forecast until it was warm enough, and slow enough winds to paddle. My faithful paddle partner could not make it, she was in San Francisco. This would be my first solo day since DAY 40 of the 2019 season. That would have been on the Manistee River near US31.
This is Duck Lake State Park
I arrived at my launch and where I left of last October. It was about sunrise, this pic was taken when there last October.
I did not run first as usual. Knowing the run would be twice as long as the paddle, I wanted get going while there were no waves.
The video shows that one can't get much better conditions when launching from a beach, no worries of getting the cockpit drenched when pushing off.
Again as usual along the coast of Lake Michigan dunes are common... okay maybe not on the Wisconsin side.
No Waves Here
Beautiful but not much happening. With no action taking place things begins to get boring, believe it or not.
So any boat takes you out of the boredom moments. On the horizon I videoed the ship coming into the Muskegon Harbor. Watching the the Milwaukee-Muskegon ferry coming across did end the monotony. This is one of two ferrries that operate between MI and WI. The other is from Ludington to Manitowac WI. On DAY 49 Kate and I watched that morning as The Badger left for Manitowac.
Video that documents my arrival at the mouth of the Muskegon River. Careful don't let the sun blind you.
In a half hour after video-ing the mouth, I landed at Muskegon Beach to end the 10.2 mile paddle leg of the runyak.
DAY 55 landing and DAY 56 launch. Muskegon Beach
Now the hard part of the day's runyaking. Because of no bridges over Muskegon Lake, which forms near the Muskegon River's mouth it would be over 21 miles to get back to my van by running. I knew from the get-go I would not run the entire distance. I would do what time and my legs would allow. I began the leg portion by just shuffling along at a 16 min/mi pace, which is not even a brisk walk pace for me. This is where at times it crosses my mind to break the runyaking rules that say the return has to be totally done on foot. It would be so much easier to paddle back across the inlets than run all the way around. In my 171 day of runyaking expeditions there have been 3 times I broke the rule. Twice I had no choice, crossing from USA to Canada in Detroit, then back again near Buffalo. The third time was Port Maitland, ONT. mouth of their Grand River. That day I swam across the Grand instead of running 17 miles around using the nearest bridge. To do that, I would have had to drive a total of 500 miles just to complete what a 10 minute rule-breaking swim would take. Even I am not that anal about rules.
I reached where I had cabled and locked my bike that morning at Pointe Marine, in North Muskegon. It was a distance of about 10 miles. I could have quit for the day but the un-ran gap would be over 11 miles. I'd have to run it before I started another runyaking leg of DAY56.
I rode the bike back to the van at Duck Lake State Park, following that I drove back around Muskegon to fetch Swiftee at Muskegon Beach, south of the mouth. When heading back to do another run segment I could not help stopping at a dairy bar and treat myself to a peanut butter cup flurry.
I next drove to Muskegon State Park Beach and parked the van there, That would take about 3 miles off the 11 mile run gap. Riding the bike the three miles back to Pointe Marina there was pipeline construction in the road, fortunately it would not hinder the biking and running route but when returning for the bike the van would need to take a lengthy detour route.
When starting the second run, knowing it was just three miles, I picked up the pace, this time at a meteoric 12 min/mi pace.
To finish the day I had to drive back to Point Marina and pick up the bike. I found there was no detour, the work crew had packed up at 5 o'clock and opened the road.
When driving home I was unsure what my next trip would include, since I had to make up the 8 miles of the 21 mile meant to be done on the DAY 55 leg
May 16, 2021
On Saturday night three days after DAY 55, Hope an I packed a air mattress in the van and began driving to Muskegon, to finish DAY 55's run. We drove there in a different van, I traded in the 2010 Chrysler Town and Country for a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica.
I hated the Town & Country but kept it two years and a half years. I'm still getting used to the Pacifica, but so far I'm loving it. We napped inside the newer van on the air mattress at a rest area near Muskegon. Next morning after hitting Starbucks she dropped me off where I quit for the day four days earlier.
At about 3 miles into the run, unknown at the moment, I passed the 1000 mile mark of the Tenacity to WindyCity Expedition. Using Google Maps I was able to find the exact spot on Scenic Drive.
At this spot on Scenic Drive while running north to Duck Lake T2W Expedition hit the 1000 mile mark
Waiting for me in the van at Duck Lake State Park when I arrived was Hope. It wasn't 10:00 am yet so we enjoyed the rest of the day in Grand Haven, mouth of the Grand River, the next running obstacle to get around. As of today I have ran 484 miles and paddled 521. That 37 mile differential will diminish in the near future as I run extra miles to get around the mouth's of Grand, Macatawa, Kalamazoo, and St Joseph rivers. Before runyaking Lake Michigan, the extra paddle distance was accumulated with the windings of Manistee and Au Sable rivers.
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