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  1. #1
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    Video - Fort to Port: 5 Days Solo Kayaking the 137-mile Maumee River

    I just finished kayaking the entire 137-mile Maumee River from Fort Wayne, IN to Toledo, OH. Hammockable every night, so it was a success! I went from 168lb to 157lb after this trip! Crazy amounts of energy burned each day.

    This is my very first “real” Youtube video other than some product reviews, so it was a big learning experience in Adobe Premier Pro. I’m pretty happy with the results though. (added pics below)



    Going into this I joked (and knew deep down) it would be about 20% fun and 80% a straight up endurance test. By 11am on Day 2, it was immediately apparent that the weather would be the biggest obstacle on this trip. The full June sun was absolutely punishing. Then the humidity kicked in. I literally could not drink enough water. Getting in and out of this type of sea kayak, which is like getting into a Formula 1 car, made it nearly impossible to get out every time. I was drinking about 2 gallons of water per day, so my routine was peeing into a Ziploc bag, dumping it, and rinsing out with river water. Dirty.

    My body held up great. Surprisingly my arms were not the slightest bit sore; the same as any day sitting in an office all day. That was very strange, but obviously not a complaint! I popped an Advil the first night and second night just in case as a preventative measure.

    With very little current (dead still most of the time) it made for 7-11 hour days of hard paddling with just a few short breaks and a long one here and there. Longer days included portages. The last day's push towards Toledo was sickening. The sun was stronger than ever, hot, no shade, straight wide runs of river and no apparent flow whatsoever. I found myself hiding under I-90, I-280 and whatever else was on the way for shade.

    They don’t call it the Muddy Maumee for nothing. It was a pretty dirty trip. Right from the beginning I was on all fours clawing at a 45° slope trying to portage the first dam (Hosey Dam) in Fort Wayne. A 57lb, 17’ kayak is very awkward even on small stairs or easy boat ramp portages…I had neither this entire trip. Regardless of the water, it was very refreshing getting a bath most nights. “Reset the clock” I like to call it. Mosquitoes were bad one night, but it didn’t matter because I retreated to the hammock for sleep in the broad eight o’clock daylight.

    The rapids….oh those rapids. I’d be lying if I said they didn’t have me worried. Two weeks prior the river gauge at New Haven, IN went from 4.28’ to 18.52’ in a few days after heavy rain. Moderate flood stage. That’s what I got after doing rain dances nightly since the entire 137-mile stretch of river was exceptionally low all of early May. So way TOO much…then it started falling…TOO fast! My eye was on the Waterville, OH gauge. The “magic number” is 2.2’ there. Any lower and it’s just not runnable with exposed rocks and dry patches through 7 miles of rapids. So I hit that area at 2.8’. I was pushing it and the hull of my kayak would agree.

    I’ve heard of some others doing this trip, usually in March, April or May. I’m envious. Running this river at 8000cfs, 6000cfs or even 4000cfs (depending on location) would be an absolute cakewalk. Basically paddling for course-correction in a sense. But of course you don’t want much higher or you’re looking at Class III rapids…or do you? It was a lot of fun hitting those when the rocks were far enough below the water. I don’t know a lot about white water but I’m sure I had mild Class I.

    I couldn’t have asked for a better kayak than the Wilderness Systems Tempest 170. It’s a bullet. And the retractable skeg is absolute magic. I occasionally found myself playing around in the wind with that up and down…just amazed by that tiny plastic fin. It never really got windy, but one day those 10mph gusts started getting annoying. With the skeg down it was like paddling on glass. A 17’ wall of plastic on open water catches more wind than you think.

    Every morning I started firing on all cylinders. I got into my routine right from the beginning. Everything just worked. The hammock, the clothing, everything down to a $1 bandana saved the day. I hauled my 40° top quilt, tent, and Thermarest pad around for nothing. I absolutely did not use them, but I had to be prepared. And the Crocs! Still the best shoe for stuff like this. Still not a fashionable piece of gear.

    Approximate mileage:
    Day 1: 21 miles
    Day 2: 24 miles
    Day 3: 41 miles
    Day 4: 26 miles
    Day 5: 25 miles

    Partial Gear List:
    Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak
    Carlisle Magic Plus Kayak Paddle - 220cm
    Warbonnet Blackbird Hammock, 1.6 Single Layer
    Warbonnet Thunderfly Tarp, 20D Silpoly
    Hammockgear Phincubator custom 62” Underquilt
    Sea To Summit Coolmax sleeping bag liner
    MSR Autoflow Water Filter with granular activated carbon addon
    Various Outdoor Research drybags (10-15L sizes)
    Columbia Silver Ridge Shorts
    Vapor Apparel UPF 50+ long sleeve sun shirt
    Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap
    Various battery packs to recharge iPhone
    BRS-3000 stove and 8oz Isobutane canister
    TOAKS Titanium 600ml Pot
    (iPhone 8 and Adobe Premier Pro for this video)

    Weather:
    Day 1: 73°/59° Partly Cloudy
    Day 2: 92°/60° Sunny
    Day 3: 83°/67° Overcast
    Day 4: 87°/66° Mostly Sunny
    Day 5: 91° Sunny

    Water Data:
    New Haven, OH June 1: 1600cfs
    Antwerp, OH June 2: 1800cfs
    Defiance, OH June 3: 2500cfs
    Waterville, OH June 4: 3400cfs
    Water Temperature: 68-72°

    54 minutes! I was impossible cutting this down. Here's a cheat sheet, but try to watch it all so you don't miss anything

    8:40 Deer spotting
    13:05 Where I almost threw in the towel
    13:50 Swimmin’ hole!
    16:53 More deer
    11:04 Eagle (I think?)
    23:00 Vending machine fail
    26:20 Drinking Maumee’s finest
    32:14 Bypassing the dam by canal
    36:00 First rapids “bath”
    37:00 Downriver look at Bear Rapids
    40:22 How I got caught in my underwear
    42:22 Approaching Roche de Boeuf, Interurban Bridge and rapids
    44:30 Great look at the Interurban Bridge
    45:05 Another rapids bath
    46:30 Turkeyfoot Rapids (last section)
    48:09 What are these birds?
    48:30 First look at Toledo
    51:57 Nice view of Toledo
    53:30 Celebratory beer! (Facebook Live grab, lower quality)
    Last edited by OneClick; 06-07-2020 at 18:42.

  2. #2
    Senior Member FJRpilot's Avatar
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    Great Video and great trip recap. I really enjoyed your post.

    Do you have any Kayaking trips planned for the future?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.”

    - Edmund Burke

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    Awesome video
    This makes up for the air pillow you made me buy
    I really want to go kayaking now


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FJRpilot View Post
    Great Video and great trip recap. I really enjoyed your post.

    Do you have any Kayaking trips planned for the future?
    Thanks! I'm doing the Au Sable in Michigan. Not the whole thing but the Grayling to Oscoda (Lake Huron) section. They do a big race every year, unfortunately cancelled this year. I certainly won't be doing it as a race like those guys. Very hardcore stuff!

  5. #5
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    And since I can't do without photos!

    Launching in the St. Marys River, Promenade Park, Fort Wayne, IN


    Fort Wayne from the St. Marys River


    Confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Marys, and Maumee Rivers. Official start, mile 137.


    Nasty portage at Hosey Dam in Ft. Wayne, just minutes into the trip.


    Steep, dirty portage


    Crossing S. Anthony Street to put in below Hosey Dam


    Break time


    Lunch break


    Camp night 1


    Getting ready for a bath to come out dirtier than when I went in.


    Morning of Day 2. Great hang site!


    Night 2


    Portaging around Independence Dam near Defiance, OH


    Downstream of Independence Dam


    Camp Night 3 on another sandy island


    Night 3 island looking down river


    The NCT!!! I got out to get a stretch and couldn't believe I saw this! I much prefer a couple hundred miles north!


    Campbell's Soup Supply at Napoleon, OH


    Got lucky!!! The DNR was here at the dam opening the canal in Grand Rapids, OH. 30 minutes earlier and I would have missed this and probably would have started portaging. I was able to bypass the dam but still had to portage since the canal ended anyway.


    Yes!


    Homeless style park nap


    29 to go!


    Camp night 4. Yes, another sandy island.


    One of the most unique skies I've ever seen. Hard to capture on camera.


    Old Interurban Bridge in Waterville, OH and Roche de Boeuf, an old limestone outcrop in center.


    Approaching Toledo. Shade break under the Ohio Turnpike...very loud!


    Break at Pier 75 Marina. Getting in and out of a sea kayak from a 4' dock was no fun!


    Polsteam (Polish Steamship Company) ship in Toledo


    Approaching Toledo, OH


    Toledo, OH

  6. #6
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by brutalguyracing View Post
    Awesome video
    This makes up for the air pillow you made me buy
    LOL!! Sometimes I wonder how much I’m probably responsible for.

  7. #7
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by OneClick View Post
    LOL!! Sometimes I wonder how much I’m probably responsible for.
    So now that you mention it
    What cook pot are you using, I love that type of handle...
    Also
    How do you manage to enter and or exit the kayak from a dock?
    I can barely get out of mine on land..
    Although I am much bigger then you
    And what's the weight of that kayak?


    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by brutalguyracing View Post
    So now that you mention it
    What cook pot are you using, I love that type of handle...
    Also
    How do you manage to enter and or exit the kayak from a dock?
    I can barely get out of mine on land..
    Although I am much bigger then you
    And what's the weight of that kayak?
    I use the discontinued Toaks 600ml with insulated handles. Can't believe the discontinued the best model! The dock at Pier 75 Marina was probably 4' high. At least 3' if I'm exaggerating. I had to grab onto the dock cleat and pull myself up to get on my feet in the kayak. Getting back in was very sketchy but not a problem going slow. The Tempest is 57lb...and 17' of awkwardness. My 12'er is only 10lb ligher but feels like half the weight.

  9. #9
    OlTrailDog's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing the trip. Kayak looks a lot like my perception corona. I don't mind solo back packing, but I don't have the temerity to solo kayak except when there are beau coup folks around. I know many times it isn't easy to rustle up a partner.

  10. #10
    Senior Member MikekiM's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing. Great job with the vid.

    Looks like something I could enjoy doing.
    Yes, my pack weighs 70lbs, but it's all light weight gear....
    Bob's brother-in-law

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