Ariel Travis and his uncle Dan Shain are no strangers to unusual adventures, but after realizing their dream of walking across a frozen Lake Erie from Cleveland to Canada may never come to fruition (thanks, climate change!), the duo strapped into a $250, used 16-foot canoe and made their trek in a slightly different form earlier this week.
Armed with supplies including a cooler stocked with nectarines, energy bars, peanut butter sandwiches and a rice and beans dish specially made by Travis' very worried mother, who was certain the duo were going to starve, the two men canoed approximately 40 miles over the course of two days before arriving on the shores of Colchester, Ontario.
"In terms of using the bathroom, we mostly took care of business on the islands where we camped or stopped," Travis tells
Scene. "Though Dan came up with an fairly effective technique for on-boat necessities."
What that effective technique was, we shall never know.
Normally, the trip across Lake Erie is only about 30 miles, but the two needed to zig-zag to combat strong winds and choppy waves up to 8-to-10 feet tall. The two regularly took on water, but were fortunately able to bail it out with an old yogurt container packed by Shain.
"The waves made it feel we were riding a roller-coaster. At night, the turbulence became even spookier," says Travis. "Luckily, we had attached some homemade outriggers to the canoe — without these, we never would have made the crossing, not even close."
Despite canoeing for two days, Travis noted his surprise that his arms didn't feel too sore, but did say that he and his uncle had sore backs and awful sunburns.
"My upper legs got so sunburnt that they ballooned and still hurt a lot if I stand straight or walk," he says. "It's a small, and hopefully temporary, price to pay for an amazing adventure."
Ariel Travis and his uncle Dan Shain are no strangers to unusual adventures, but after realizing their dream of walking across a frozen Lake Erie from Cleveland to Canada may never come to fruition (thanks, climate change!), the duo strapped into a $250, used 16-foot canoe and made their trek in a slightly different form earlier this week.
Armed with supplies including a cooler stocked with nectarines, energy bars, peanut butter sandwiches and a rice and beans dish specially made by Travis' very worried mother, who was certain the duo were going to starve, the two men canoed approximately 40 miles over the course of two days before arriving on the shores of Colchester, Ontario.
"In terms of using the bathroom, we mostly took care of business on the islands where we camped or stopped," Travis tells Scene. "Though Dan came up with an fairly effective technique for on-boat necessities."
What that effective technique was, we shall never know.
Normally, the trip across Lake Erie is only about 30 miles, but the two needed to zig-zag to combat strong winds and choppy waves up to 8-to-10 feet tall. The two regularly took on water, but were fortunately able to bail it out with an old yogurt container packed by Shain.
"The waves made it feel we were riding a roller-coaster. At night, the turbulence became even spookier," says Travis. "Luckily, we had attached some homemade outriggers to the canoe — without these, we never would have made the crossing, not even close."
Despite canoeing for two days, Travis noted his surprise that his arms didn't feel too sore, but did say that he and his uncle had sore backs and awful sunburns.
"My upper legs got so sunburnt that they ballooned and still hurt a lot if I stand straight or walk," he says. "It's a small, and hopefully temporary, price to pay for an amazing adventure."
Photos by Ariel Travis
