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Author: Adam Bratton Read Time: 3 mins  Old school HPM fans will remember how this feverish community got started during the deep dark depths of Covid-19. If you’re new to us … a crash course. The global pandemic shut everything down on 3/11/20. “Quarantine in place”, “Don’t go anywhere”, “Don’t do anything”, was the messaging we heard over and over. Since there were very few cars on the roads, inspiration from Rickey Gates immediately started creeping into my mind. I followed Rickey as he ran “Every Single Street” (ESS) of San Francisco in 2018, and I loved the straight forward concept, but complex mental and physical dynamic. Naturally I decided to bike every single street of Huntersville … my current basecamp. I posted about the 625+ mile city-sized puzzle on my social (HERE) and when it elicited positive reaction and inspired others to run or bike their own towns, I saw the impact that could and would unfold by inspiring more activity in people’s lives. Riding Every Single Street directly led to the creation of HPM, the launch of our initial Virtual Challenges, and the far reaching impact that HPM has had on our community since 2020. That brings us to another “ESS” project that I just completed this past weekend …  I recently snagged a new adventure toy for the summer paddling season … the Kokopelli Platte inflatable kayak … and immediately started putting it through the ringer during my frequent paddles with my young kiddos. Time on the water and away from my phone often leads to a wandering mind and oddball ideas for future adventures … for me AND the kids. We already hosted a rager of a 5 Year Anniversary Party with our community in June, but what if I celebrate HPM’s milestone on my own and in a new human powered way? What if I paddled “Every Single Shoreline” of Huntersville as my own 5-year celebration? Fantastic.  The concept was simple, and it didn’t take long to dial in the route after spending a few hours researching town borders and combing Google Maps. I’d simply follow the shoreline from the northern border of Huntersville and Cornelius on the banks of Lake Norman to the southern border of Huntersville and Charlotte on Mountain Island Lake. Bad News: there’s a Nuclear Power Plant with a massive 130 ft hydroelectric dam directly in the middle of the route and there is no public take out at the southern terminus. Good News: I’m no stranger to the waters around the Carolinas and certainly my neck of the woods. Anyone that has followed me on Strava over the years knows that I consistently paddle throughout the Carolinas often and have paddled the entire length of both of these lakes previously. In fact, I’ve been exploring both hidden coves and vast open waters throughout the entire Catawba-Wateree River Basin for years… Example: “Ever Paddle The Length of a River?”.  I’d break this adventure concept/celebration into a 2-day effort and find a weekend that I could sneak away to bag some early flatwater miles before boat traffic and summer sun kicked into high gear. It also helped to have my lovely and amazingly patient wife Kristi (featured in our recent Short Film “Crushed It!”) available so I didn’t have to set my own shuttle each day.
Saturday finished with 15+ miles along the most protected waterfront stretch in the entire Charlotte region. I paralleled Buckeye Cove Nature Preserve, Cowan’s Ford Wildlife Refuge, Rural Hill Nature Preserve, and Auten Nature Preserve for hours until seeing modest lake houses sprinkled along the waterfront before hugging the entire perimeter of the 1460-acre Latta Nature Preserve. This final stretch escorted me to mouth of Gar Creek which flows into Mountain Island Lake and therefore separates Huntersville from Charlotte. The previously mentioned lack of a takeout at the southern terminus was not ideal, but after nearly 6 hours on the water … what’s another 1.5 miles of retracing my paddle strokes to the closest public kayak access?! I was properly and entirely cooked from the day, but my adventure tank was overflowing. Honestly, I took my boys on their first gravel ride that afternoon … not surprisingly, we enjoyed two of the Nature Preserves/Refuges on bikes just hours after I enjoyed them from the water … a pretty cool experience for all of us.  Sunday was wildly different throughout the 8-mile stretch along the shoreline of Lake Norman … North Carolina’s largest, most prominent and busiest lake. Again, I launched early to try and avoid increasing boat traffic and temperatures. The stark contrast from Mountain Island Lake was expected and certainly experienced just moments in. Jet skis and other motorboats were rising with the morning sun. This brought a relentless assortment of wake and waves in all directions. Massive mansions were standing attention, shoulder to shoulder, along the entire shoreline. I was in a totally different world than the day before. After scouring Google Maps and making a quick scouting mission to the Nuclear Station via bike a few days earlier, I knew there were a few public access points to conclude my day. What I didn’t account for was the fence underneath an otherwise and seemingly passable bridge with “Restricted Area – Authorized Personnel Only” signs on it. Looks like my tour of the Huntersville shoreline would be extended again. I continued around the property until the aforementioned 130-foot-tall dam, the massive reactor structures and a string of “stay out of here” buoys all came into view. A clear indication that I likely went as far as I could. Once again, I u-turned to retrace my paddle strokes and found a small boat launch to take out. I dropped a pin for my wife and kids to come scoop me up before heading to Wendy’s for Frostys to "celebrate".
It was striking to see the different vibe between Lake Norman’s expansive open water stretches and multimillion dollar homes and motorboats seemingly trying to outdo each other and Mountain Island Lake’s calmer, more modest and protected scenery dotted with small fishing boats. I suppose there is a time and a place for both, but I clearly identify and appreciate the latter much more.  I didn't have any striking revelations or unforeseen lessons learned from this adventure but once again, I have a renewed appreciation for our natural environment, the importance and firsthand impact seen from conservation and embraced the opportunity to experience my own backyard in a new way … again. Join me in raising a toast, and a paddle or a pedal, to more human powered adventures over the next 5 years!  Journal - Every Single ShorelineComments are closed.
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