Ed Hungness: 'A piece of cake' is stale

Ed Hungness

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August 23, 2008

By ED HUNGNESS The Record Eagle Sun Aug 24, 2008, 09:52 AM EDT

Last September, my favorite sister and brother-in-law came to spend a week with us. They live in South Carolina and often tease us about living in the Arctic.

With their 105-degree temperatures and 98 percent humidity, they found the cool air of northern Michigan rather refreshing. I don't think they are quite ready to pack up their furniture and head north, but they definitely enjoy visiting the area.

Each time they visit us, they enjoy exploring new places and going on some type of an adventure. In planning for their visit, I asked if they had ever been canoeing. My sister had never participated and my brother-in-law confessed that his experience was somewhat limited.

Whenever my wife and I camped at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, we took the Platte River canoe trip that begins at Riverside Canoe Trips on M-22 and ends up where the river empties into Lake Michigan. We had enjoyed the same float trip on multiple visits to the area and always found it to be a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. We both agreed that our guests would enjoy the experience, so reservations were made.

Our outing began with a hearty home-cooked breakfast before our drive to the Dunes area. We packed a few snacks and drinks for our adventure, along with boat cushions, life jackets and cameras to record the events of the day. It was a chilly morning and a bit on the breezy side, so we took our time getting there in hopes that the rising sun would warm things up.

Our plan was to canoe the lower portion of the Platte River, which normally takes about two hours. The journey takes you through pristine hardwood forests until you reach Loon Lake. Once there, you must paddle across the lake, re-enter the river and continue on to Lake Michigan.

As we left the dock to begin our journey, the rental manager cautioned us to wear our lifejackets, something that I don't recall hearing on previous trips.

Gazing over at my dear sister, I could sense some tension in their canoe. I assured them that it was an easy paddle and mentioned something about how it was "a piece of cake." As we continued, I observed the calming effect of my words and they seemed to be enjoying themselves and were taking in all that nature had to offer.

All went well until we reached Loon Lake. The winds had picked up and as we attempted to paddle into the lake we were greeted with white-capped waves and near gale-force winds. Undaunted by risk to life and limb, we pressed on, not even considering turning back.

I had all of the confidence of my Viking heritage knowing that once we crossed the lake, we would glide back into the gentle waters of the river. We took the lead so we could show our guests the way across.

Not more than 50 yards into the grips of the lake, my wife and I were hit broadside by a wave from the movie "The Perfect Storm" and over we went. It happened so fast! One minute we were in the canoe and the next we were floundering around in the water trying to grab paddles, boat cushions and camera bags. I'm sure it would have been quite comical to the casual observer, but neither of us was laughing.

Our guests, who had been following behind us, rounded the point and spotted us. My sister uttered the much-remembered quote of the day: "Look Charles, they're not in their canoe!"

They rushed to our assistance and helped us get back to a sandbar where we successfully dumped the water from our submerged craft. Soaking wet, cold and minus one boat cushion and a jacket, we paddled upstream to the nearest landing, beached the canoes and walked back to Riverside Canoe Rentals where the kind folks there congratulated us on our survival and sold us some dry duds from the gift shop.

Having enjoyed enough excitement, we decided to call it a day and head for the safety and warmth of Dinghy's Restaurant & Bar in Frankfort. We had many a laugh about the great adventure and I have sworn to never again utter the phrase, "it's a piece of cake."

Reach Ed Hungness at edhungness@yahoo.com

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Ed Hungness

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