Duluth paddle boarder stops here while circling Superior

Jared Munch, 23, of Duluth, Minn., recently became the first person to travel around Lake Superior on a stand-up paddle board; a 1,350 mile journey that included a stop at Little Girl’s Point in Ironwood Township.

Munch — a senior at the University of Minnesota-Duluth — spent the past three summers working at the school’s recreational sports outdoor program, instructing whitewater canoeing, kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding classes. The classes not only helped him fund his journey but allowed him to build skills needed for the journey.

A long-time kayaker, this will be his fourth summer since learning to use a stand-up paddle board, he said, joking that his first time on one was actually during a workshop on becoming a paddle board instructor.

With his college career coming to an end, Munch said he was trying to figure out what his next step should be.

“Coming into my last year as a college student I was just debating if I was going to keep doing the same thing, or get an internship or do something completely crazy that no one has really done before,” Munch said.

Initially he considered a study abroad trip to Patagonia, South America to participate in a program designed specifically for whitewater kayakers. The program consisted of taking some classes and then going kayaking a lot, Munch said.

However, the trip was expensive and wasn’t going to help his civil engineering major.

“I kind of decided ‘why am I looking halfway around the world to have a cool adventure when I have this huge lake basically right in my back yard and I’ve seen very little of it,’” Munch remembers. “The whole idea ... kind of happened right there.”

Initially he said he dismissed the idea of circumnavigating Lake Superior as too crazy but the idea had been written on a white board over his desk

“I looked at it so many times it just kind of got pounded into my head and it came to a point where I knew I had to do it or I’d just be mad at myself later in life.”

With his mind made up, he set out on his journey.

On May 20, he left the mouth of the Lester River on Duluth’s north side. He reached the Canadian border before returning to Duluth to teach additional classes to build up the funds needed for the journey. He departed again from the Canadian border in mid-June.

When Munch spoke to the Daily Globe in late July he was taking a rest day in Washburn after being on the water for 48 days. He had reached Little Girl’s Point two days earlier, on July 22.

At the time, Munch joked that while he was way ahead of schedule — he budgeted a lot of days to ensure he wouldn’t miss the start of fall semester — he was ready for the trip to end.

“I’m not very happy about it right now,” he said. “I’m just so over paddling this flat water every day, but I’m super excited for when I see Duluth and reach my final destination. I think it will all set in and I’ll be really happy about what I did this summer.”

He said he was lucky to have the weather cooperate with his journey, allowing him to travel as many as 40 miles on a really good day and average roughly 27 miles a day. On bad days, Munch said, he may complete 20 miles or simply wait out the weather on shore.

“It’s been easier than I expected it to be. I’ve had great weather almost every day which is helping out. Canada was definitely the most interesting portion of the lake, just being out and paddling between all of the islands was something I really remember vividly in my mind.”

He said he was also struck by the difference in terrain between the lake’s north and south shores.

“There are nice sand beaches everywhere for me to land on if I have to. In Canada, it’s all just so rugged, I have to paddle pretty far before you’ll see a beach or any place that you can easily get yourself and your gear up on to,” Munch said. “In Canada I had to be much more organized and have my days planned out a lot more, now that I’m here, there is a sand beach and it stretches ten miles, I can stop here or I can stop over there. It’s a lot easier on the south shore.”

While Munch picked the trip for the opportunity of a lifetime, he has also used it as a way to give back — raising funds for Neighborhood Youth Services, a Duluth non-profit that works with under privileged kids.

“You can kind of think of it as a really high-function after school program,” Munch said. “When I’ve stopped in there its been around 4 p.m. and kids are getting out of school, and there are kids between the ages of eight and all the way up to seniors in high school. They go there and they can get help with homework, they can get food there, any kind of struggles they are having in like.”

With a lot of the children at the program coming from broken homes, Munch has also volunteered for the organization by leading canoe trips in the area.

“They let the kids do something they definitely wouldn’t have the means to do if they didn’t have that program available to them.”

According to Munch’s go fund me page, he has raised $2,396 for the organization.

While he was the first to complete the trip around the lake, Munch said it wasn’t a matter of setting the record for him, so much as it was showing the capabilities of stand-up paddle boards.

“I just want to show everyone how much is actually possible on a stand up paddle board. If I can travel 1350 miles in a summer, there is really no reason anyone shouldn’t be able to hop on a board and try it out for their first time,” Munch said.

Munch explained there were several differences between stand-up paddle boarding and the more traditional kayaking, including a better view of the water due to standing taller.

“Standing up, you can really look straight down into the water and see what’s underneath you,” Munch said. “And another thing, it’s not as confining of a feeling (as in a kayak). On paddle board, you’re totally free to move around. And if you flip over, who cares, you get a bit wet and then you climb up on top of the board, it’s not a big deal at all, everyone falls over, that’s kind of the fun.”

Another key difference is, unlike kayaks where steering comes in back, the fin on a stand-up paddle board means steering comes from the front of the board.

“(It’s) totally opposite from pretty much every other paddling opportunity people have had,” he said.

Munch completed the journey at the Lester River on July 29.

While he said on the trip, he planned to take a break from the water, he has done several paddling events since the end of July.

“Since I’ve finished, I’ve basically been doing nothing but paddling,” he joked, having participated in several paddle board or kayaking events as well as being on the water with friends.

He does look fondly on his experience.

“It feels good. The lake used to feel really big and scary and now it feels a little more like home,” Munch said. “It’s a good feeling.”

More information on Munch’s journey can be found at gofundme.com/superioradventure or facebook.com/more.asuperioradventure.