Hugh Heward 2013

The Hugh Heward is an annual 50-mile paddling event on the Grand River in Michigan from Dimondale to Portland, passing through Lansing and Grand Ledge.

We watched the water levels over a few weeks preceding the event.  They went from well below normal to flooding, then back to normal high spring flow for the event.  The current was fast, up to 3 mph.

We camped at a city park in Dimondale, with special permission for the event. There was an impressive gathering of Kruger canoes for the 6am start. No starting gun or announcement; people just began slipping into the dark river around 6.



The first few bends were dark, and we had to keep a sharp eye out for obstacles in the fast current.  The moon provided some light. Pretty soon, the sun was coming up.



The first racing canoe passed us as we approached Lansing. They must have waited until it was light to start.



There were two portages in Lansing, which provided some opportunity for socializing. At the second portage  , we carried our canoes through the finish line party of a March of Dimes running event.



We caught up with Tim after the second portage.  He told us stories from his paddle from Toledo Ohio to New Orleans last summer.



We fueled the fire with dried figs, BitOHoneys, Tootsie Rolls, Snicker bars, cheese, crackers, pepperoni, cold pizza, and homemade Lauren bars.



Grand Ledge was the third and final portage, and also the halfway point.



We kept it moving and had lunch on the water; chicken and salsa, a tasty instant meal.



The leaves were not yet on the trees, and wildflowers covered the islands in the river.



Another racing canoe sped past us.  We surprised them by taking a shortcut behind and island, and they passed us again.



We caught up and socialized a bit more in the afternoon.



We saw a bald eagle on a big nest in a tree.  I saw a river otter poke its head up near us in the river, but by the time Lauren looked it was gone.



We made it to the end in just under 9 hours.  Probably the easiest 50 miles we'll ever paddle.  It was fun to go so fast with the current.  Stats from the GPS: 50.2 mi, 8hr 17min moving, 38 min. stopped, moving avg. 6.1 mph, overall avg. 5.6 mph, max speed 9.4 mph.



There was a chili dinner at the end, thanks to the Verlen Kruger Memorial oganization.  People gathered around the statue of Verlen for a ceremony honoring Jim Woodruff "The Topologist", who first proposed the concept of re-enacting the historical journey of Hugh Heward.