WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, SportsKayaker gears up for 5,000 mile journey
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By Heather Sawaski
WAUSAU (WAOW) -- When you think winter sports, kayaking usually isn't towards the top of the list. But one Marathon County man is gearing up to take the waters on a 5,000 mile journey.
Wausau native Jake Stachovak is gearing up for a journey of a life time. He's taking his sea kayak on a 5,000 mile ride around the eastern United States. It's something he's been thinking about since he was just a kid.
"I've always been curious," Stachovak said. "Growing up in Wausau and fishing on the Wisconsin River. It just made me curious on where the river goes. I paddled the whole Wisconsin River in the past and it didn't satisfy the curiosity so now I'm just going to take it further."
Stachovak is taking off from Portage Wisconsin, heading around the Mississippi to the gulf, then eventually back up to Portage. It's an estimated 10 month-long trek.
"I know I can set a better pace when things are going well so I figure I'll earn days off by paddling faster," he said. "But 25 miles per day is the pace. That's 240 days of paddling."
But with the trip, comes a fair amount of danger. Since he's beginning in winter, snow cold and ice will present a challenge. But Stachovak says his main concern will come with his time spent on land.
"Winter camping at night," he explained. "People do Arctic camping all the time and they have lots of daylight to do that. I'll be full on winter camping which means lots of darkness to deal with along with cold weather and conditions."
Jake's parents, Dave and Carolyn, are behind him 100%.
"I think he's nuts," Carolyn joked. "But it's something he's wanted to do so he's doing it!"
For Jake, it's about accomplishing a personal goal and showing others the kind of adventure they can find right in their backyard.
"I want to have stories to tell," he said. "I guess that's the main thing. Why does anyone do anything a little off? Just to live life and have better stories to tell than just day to day grind."
Jake embarks on his journey Sunday at noon in Portage. If you would like to follow him along on his journey, he will be blogging the whole way. Click here to check out his web site.
