Canoe the Campus to Coast
PADDLING
BY REBECCA BARTON-DAVIS
Each spring, 100 adventurers pack their canoes at the Potter Park Zoo in Okemos, near the Campus of Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan. The day(s) ahead will involve living out of the canoe for an approximately 160-mile adventure down the Red Cedar and Grand Rivers, ending at the terminus at Lake Michigan in the town of Grand Haven. Most will carry all of the gear and supplies they need in their canoe, towing it over the seven portages that lie ahead. Unlike the AuSable River Canoe Marathon, the Campus to Coast is the entry point of canoe racing for many of its participants. Some will never do another race, but as a member of the MSU Outdoors Club (the race’s host organization), many will take on the challenge.
Founded in 2010, the Campus to Coast started as a collegiate-only challenge, opening up to other competitors starting in 2013. Solo paddlers and teams of two to four racers sign up in one of three divisions: collegiate for student teams, expedition style for those wishing to carry all their gear and complete the race entirely unsupported and river runners for those who wish to make use of a support team. Canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards have all completed the event. The only rules in regards to craft are that they must be human powered, meaning motors and assistance from non-racers is prohibited, unless in the case of medical emergency. In the spirit of a college-sponsored event, the rules specify that paddlers can leave the river to pick up pizza, but pizza cannot be delivered to the river – no support from friends, family or delivery people allowed.
All teams during the nine years of the event have competed expedition style, showing that paddlers attracted to the Campus to Coast relish the challenge of relying only on themselves. This year’s event is May 10-12, one month later than in previous years. The hope is to keep entrants out of the snow and ice, thus increasing safety, although this will probably result in slower times because the river flow is less after the initial spring melt-off.
The first 2 miles on the Red Cedar provide excitement in the form of log jams, sweepers, couches and other obstacles to avoid as the racers make their way through the MSU campus. Once the river flows into the Grand, a few quick portages in succession get the teams to Grand Ledge, where the river is mainly bordered by state land for the next 25 miles. Another couple of portages take the racers through Portland and Lyons before paddlers pass through Grand Rapids, where they choose between a short portage, which has racers zig-zagging through fishermen and rapids, or a longer one that bypasses the tricky section of river but adds to the time carting the loaded canoe on land. After leaving Grand Rapids, paddlers enter the final 35-mile stretch to Lake Michigan and Grand Haven State Park. A “short cut” through the braided channels as the Grand approaches the lake is a final test of the competitor’s navigational skills and can change the outcome of the race.
Mark Rowe and Lauren Fry (Team Go Frowe), participants since their first Campus to Coast in 2014, were brought in by their “Team Kruger” friends. This group is inspired by the Michigan legend Verlen Kruger, who did a 28,000-mile solo canoe trip around/through North America, and a 7,000-mile fur trader route crossing from Montreal, Quebec, to the Bering Sea in Alaska over the course of a single summer with partner Clint Wadell. Rowe and Fry are drawn to the event due to its expedition style – carrying all gear, sleeping, cooking and eating while all in the canoe. Lauren says they enjoy the challenges that come with doing long-distance events, both physically and mentally and are happy to have events so close to home. The team has mastered creative ways to sleep in their canoe in shifts and also cooking warm meals with a jet boil while on the move – both skills are vital in such a long race, especially when the weather can get below freezing. After completing their first event, Mark and Lauren had expected to improve their finish time, but due to a strong headwind and heavy rain which turned to snow in the night, their projected 27-hour race turned into a 33-hour slog.
Paddi Thornburg and Andrew Weeks (Team Istasca Idlers) are newer to the race, completing their first in 2017, but the challenge keeps them coming back. They come from a background of adventure racing and have transitioned their skills to long-distance paddling. They have built a sail for their boat that doubles as a tent style shelter in case they need to pull over and sleep. They have a different strategy than Team Go Frowe and have paddled the whole distance with no sleeping shifts, which can be especially challenging after the 24-hour mark. In their first year of racing, both Paddi and Andrew had vivid hallucinations due to exhaustion. Paddi heard a marching band that turned out to be a gaggle of geese, and Andy saw a German Shepard that turned out to be a snow blower. Besides the lack of sleep, portaging a canoe weighing 100-plus pounds seven times is harder than the actual paddling. Andrew decided to run one of the dams in a high water year and met a large standing wave at the bottom. This saved time, but the team felt lucky that they didn’t sink the canoe in the process. Each year of competition brings new challenges, but creativity overcomes the obstacles. It adds to the appeal of the expedition-style paddling race.
The real stars of the event aren’t the seasoned veterans, but the collegiate entrants, who are often finishing their first long-distance event. Outdoor club members race together in whatever boats they can rent, borrow or buy, trying to beat the 57-hour cut-off time. There aren’t any fancy paddlers or lightweight camping gear, instead, teams opt for five-gallon buckets with lids or garbage bags to keep their supplies dry. The Outdoor Club prepares its members for the event by hosting a number of training runs and safety courses, which makes the event accessible to first-timers. The Campus to Coast is the “capstone” event of their paddling program and is somewhat of a rite-of-passage of the Outdoors Club members.
Interested in learning more? Register or follow the tracking of this year’s competitors at msuoc.org.