Statue of Liberty-runyak-Gateway Arch
DAY 75 FLINT TO ST. LOUIS
DAY 2 CHICAGO TO ST LOUIS
September 18, 2022
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Alas, some days do not go as planned, and DAY 75 was one of them, and it started with an awesome idea. An idea that began weeks prior. Always before the actual runyak I look for
possible launches and landings.
The planned water route for connecting Lady Liberty to the Arch out from Chicago is: the Chicago River/Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, to the Des Plaines River, to the Illinois River, to the Mississippi.
Weeks
before this Chicago trip, I searched using Google Earth, to find exit points for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. They were
scarce because miles of industrial shipping complexes, the canal seemed to be nothing but seawalls and boulders. There were two marinas but they were gated, not meant for public use. I did notice that after the second day of runyaking, the canal
would be paralleling the Des Plaines River. Knowing a river would have more
access points I began looking for places to portage. When I saw the spot where the
Des Plaines River first approached the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, right there on
the map was the Chicago Portage National Historic Site. They had me when seeing
the word “portage.”
Clicking on the link led to learning the importance of the site. It was where Marquette and Joliet portaged in 1673 from the Des Plaines to the Chicago River. The portage between to two rivers is what led Chicago to grow and one day become US’s second largest city. I was fascinated by the idea of crossing footsteps of Marquette and Joliet (the awesome idea mentioned in my opening paragraph.) But knew it was a long shot. I left a message at the site asking if it was still possible to portage at the historic site:
Please
don't laugh, but is it feasible to still get to the Des Plaines by traipsing
the old portage somehow? I'm from out of state, that is why I might seem to be a little naive. I'd be portaging a 9.5 ft kayak. So far I've paddled it
from NYC to Chicago, I would like to get to St Louis before ending my paddling adventure. I've overcome many obstacles in the 1,900 mile paddle thus far. Is this too
tall of an obstacle to even consider?
Being a pessimist, I was expecting to get a negative answer,
but the response was that “it’s absolutely possible.” The responder went on to give me instructions,
even finished the instructions by saying, “but you can’t do it while
drubbling.” Awww, a wise guy. This stranger obviously took the name and Googled
it.
I measured how far the my portage would be. I found that I'd only be carrying Swiftee three quarters of a mile. I was elated and responded to the Chicago Portage messenger:
That’s good news. That sounds awesome. 11 miles is my longest portage so far,
so I think I can handle it. No drubble huh? Guess I'll leave the basketballs at home then.
(Not till after DAY 75 did I learn the historic portage was 6 mile or more. The original Chicago River itself, was not as long as I believed it to be. Check maps above and below for clarification. The present sanitary canal, CSSC, was dug at the turn of the 20th Century from around Damen Ave. in Chicago, to where the 17th Century explorers exited the Des Plaines River.)
When getting to Chicago Portage I had to wait for Dan, he'd overslept. So, I went and
looked at where I’d be exiting the canal to begin my portage.
Holy Crappinoli, there wasn't anything like a landing, just a 15-foot bank of
boulders at a 60 degree angle. DAY 75 plans were immediately aborted. When Dan arrived,
he looked at the slope of rock and tried to talk me into it. I flat out told
him I was too old, my balance is not what it used to be, I'd lose balance and fall, let alone try and shoulder a kayak as I went up the crag.
Together we searched further down the canal where a portage might be possible. After more than a half mile of walking we came to where the I-55 interstate crossed the canal. There, the underpass was built up with rocks, but not as steep. We agreed it would be possible to land and drag kayaks up to the service road. From there, we left the underpass and went looking for an access to the Des Plaines River. Four tenths of a mile from the underpass I found a way to get into the Des Plaines, though not easy. It was through thickets of burdock. I got covered with their annoying burs in the search. Even later, after my clothes went through the wash, they still vexed me, I was finding them in my socks. I gave up, threw them away.
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Dan would not be paddling with me the following day (DAY 76), he’d be heading back to Michigan. He wouldn’t need to portage to the Des Plaines River. He'd just need to get his kayak to his vehicle. Hah, the service road to our landing (I-55 underpass) was gated. Which meant he’d have to portage a mile or so to his vehicle when we finished paddling.
He came up with something better. When walking the service road, Canal Bank Road, Dan saw a downed fence between service road and the off ramp of I-55. He knew he could save much portage distance if he left his truck parked on the I-55 off ramp. I really have to hand to to Dan, he went the extra mile today to put the train back on the track after the DAY 75 plan had became a train wreck.
Together we both walked a mile back to our vehicle, drove down the expressway, exited, parked his truck on the off ramp, he then got in my van, and we drove to where the previous day, DAY 74 ended, Mayor Daley Park Boat Launch.
I did not run to Daley as was planned. So much time
was wasted (all because of a wild goose chase I was sent on by the message sent from Chicago
Portage Historic Site) that there would not be time for the run
segment, only the paddle. I would have to get up early the next morning and do the
run segment.
At Daley, when prepping for the launch, Dan could not find
his expensive paddle. He figured it must have somehow got lost when landing the
day before. He asked the attendant of the launch, Mario, if he’d seen it. “Yes”
was his answer. He’d found it on the dock, figured it was ours, since we were
the only kayakers that day. “It looked like a very expensive paddle,” Mario
said. He hoped we’d return for it, but when he left that night, it was still
where he placed it. Sometime after he left, and when we arrived someone had taken it.
Fortunately, I always carry an extra paddle inside Swiftee’s hull. Why? I never want to be up the proverbial creek without one, so I carry a spare. Dan, for today anyway, would have to use my cheap wobbly one, instead of his hi-tech one.
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We launched and paddled 7.1 miles. All along the way we were reminded we were in a sanitary canal:
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At times it seemed we should be wearing hazardous waste uniforms
After landing beneath I-55… getting the boats up to the service drive the was quite the strenuous undertaking.
Dan was willing to give me a hand up the slope, but he deferred knowing my runyaking rules. I don’t allow any assistance with Swiftee. Especially when portaging, and in this case the portage to the Des Plaines River began as soon as Swiftee was taken from of the canal. Another runayak rule is, I have to “drag or carry the kayak,” using a dolly or any wheeled device is prohibited. The rules go back to the days of solo runyaking to Lady Liberty, when nobody was around to give a hand. When I began the westward runyak to Chicago, I invited others to paddle along, but made my solo runyaking rules clear, one being NO HELP MOVING SWIFTEE.
From the overpass I carried Swiftee .40 mile to the Des
Plaines River, then went back and helped Dan move his kayak the rest of way back to
his vehicle. His vehicle had been parked on the off ramp for nearly four hours.
On his windshield he found a note left by the police. In a polite tone, it more or less said,
sorry for his transportation problem, but take care of it within twenty-four
hours. I laughed, knowing the truck was in perfect running condition. It reminded me of when leaving my van for a few hours at the Birch Run Rd. overpass
of the Flint River once when paddling, When I came back there was a sticker on the windshield, one
that was a pain in the ass to remove. Dan’s notice was very kind in comparison.
Dan and I said our goodbyes right there on the off ramp, and
he was on the road back to Michigan. I headed to the Downer’s Grove hotel where
Hope had been all day. Upon my arrival neither of us were happy campers. Me,
because the day had not gone as planned, and still had to get a run in before I
could start DAY 76. She, from being in the hotel most of the day with no car.
The next morning I got up at 5:30 to finish DAY 75’s runyak. First I planted a bike where yesterday’s paddle began, at Mayor Daley Park Boat
Launch on Chicago’s Lower East Side. The run would start at the Des Plaines
River, where Swiftee was left un-cabled overnight. I had no worries about him
being taken for he was in a place where nobody had likely step foot in a year or two.
The 8.8 mile run was quite pleasant, 2.5 miles of which were ran on Old Route 66, Ogden Ave. Three suburbs, Lyons, Berwyn, and Cicero were run through before being back in the big city. The only Chicago neighborhood I ran through was Little Village, or La Villita, known as "Mexico of the Midwest," where 80% of the residents are of Mexican decent. It was about eight a.m. when running along 31st St. in LaVillita, where there was is much industry. I passed many food trucks selling breakfast burritos to the laborers heading to time clocks. My only patronage to them was saying “mañana” as I jogged by.
Arriving at the Daley launch on foot, DAY 75's runyak finally
ended… but I had to get back to my van. I un-cabled the bike, and reversed and the route I'd just ran, all the way back to the van.
On the drive back to the hotel, so I could begin DAY 76, I stopped at Panera and picked food for Hope, who again would be hotel bound the entire day. Only by choice, I might add. Her other alternative was to come along, she would have a vehicle that way, but she chose to have the comfort of the hotel suite.
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Still amazed at your "tenacity" in completing this journey!!
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