Trek takes man from Portland, Ore., to Portland, Maine

The rain fell hard Friday as Alexander Martin paddled his red canoe into Rainy Lake’s Black Bay from the warm and dry Voyageurs National Park’s visitor center. But he didn’t look back.

Instead, he stopped and pulled from below the canoe’s tarp a plastic-coated map and considered his route as he headed east toward Lake Superior.

The 6,000-mile bicycle/canoe trip from Portland, Ore., to Portland Harbor, Maine, was planned for just one season — April through November.

However, Lake Superior, which marks completion of two-thirds of the adventure, will be the end of the trip before winter settles into northern Minnesota.

He will store his boat at Lake Superior and head home for the winter. “Lake Superior in November is not a good idea,” he said. “I am not stupid.”

He plans to relaunch his canoe next spring for the final push to Maine.

About a year and half out of college and with few commitments, the seasonal teacher said it was time for an adventure.

“Canoeing has always been a central part of my life so it was time for a big trip and this is as big as it gets,” he explained.

Martin has been keeping track of his trip on a blog.

“I like meeting people, collecting stories and telling those stories,” he said. “That’s been a great pleasure and hopefully I will be able to put a book together on this.”

Weather and other unknowns have been factored into the trip, he said.

“I’ve identified the risks out there and I’m going to manage them the best I can, and then I’m going to mitigate the risks I can’t manage,” he said. He pointed to the ability to hunker down in his tent should the wind be too strong for paddling, or adding clothing should the temperatures drop.

“Just as in my work and the last 90 or 100 days, I recognize that 10 extra miles on a given day is not worth it if you are soaking wet and cold,” he said. On his way to Rainy Lake he experienced temperatures in the teens and a week or more of snow and ice in Montana.

And while he mapped a route, he said he left the details to be fleshed out during the trip. “There weren’t any surprises, but were lots of things that hadn’t been figured out,” he said.

Martin paddled from the Pacific Ocean to Jackson, Wyo., during April and May, using the Columbia and Snake rivers to get almost within sight of the Continental Divide.

But the need to fund the trip drew him home, where he worked the summer at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Sinks Canyon, Wyo., teaching outdoor skills, leadership and science.

Friday marked the 39th day into the second part of the trip, which began at the end of September and brought him from Jackson, Wyo., over the Continental Divide to the Yellowstone River, through Yellowstone National Park, to the Missouri River in North Dakota.

“Crossing the Continental Divide after 1,300 miles of upstream paddling was definitely a highlight,” he said. And, he said getting out of the Great Plains back into the northern conifer forests he’s missed so much was wonderful.

The original plan called for taking the Missouri River north to Minot, N.D., down the Souris River, through Winnipeg and up the Winnipeg River through the old voyageur route to Lake of the Woods, up the Rainy River to International Falls to Rainy Lake and to Lake Superior.

“I paddled the Souris for a couple days and it was slow, and I realized if I took that route, I wouldn’t get to Lake Superior before the Boundary Waters and Rainy Lake froze,” he explained.

So instead, he pedaled his bike, pulling his canoe, from Minot to Lake of the Woods, loaded his bike into his canoe and paddled to Rainy Lake.

At Ranier, he gave away his bicycle because he won’t need it again.

Martin describes himself as “born and raised in Connecticut, went to college and camp in Maine and now, I guess I pay taxes in Wyoming.”

He says it’s unfortunate that he couldn’t make the trip in one season, rather than three, three-month legs, but Martin said it’s the journey that’s important.

Out of 90 days, Martin says he camped under the stars about 86 days, with just a few nights spent in motels. With rain pouring down when he arrived in International Falls Thursday, he said he treated himself to a hot shower and soft bed at a motel before stocking up on groceries to make the trek across northern Minnesota.

Never having been in Minnesota, Martin said he was surprised that it so closely resembled Maine, which he calls home.

“It’s a carbon copy,” he said, except for the mountains and seashore. “It’s the same forest. And for the last 3,000 miles I haven’t woke up being in the woods... It’s been beautiful, but hasn’t been a place I understand.”

Martin said he’d hoped to include other people associated with river-related conservation groups in an effort to raise funds for environmental projects, but the downturn in the economy canceled that plan.

“Instead, I just decided to do it,” he said.

Traveling alone has been a harsh adjustment since his college days. “It’s definitely challenging to be alone for such extended periods of time, and I am an extremely social person,” he said.

But paddling for 10 hours each day helps diminish the loneliness he may experience, he said. “I work hard, read and go to bed,” he said.

He said he will reward himself for his endurance by being with friends and family for the holidays.

(To find out more about Martin’s trip, see the Web site at America’sRiversExpendition.com and his blog at America’sRiversExpedition.blogspot.com.)