F &Jetsam lotsam PROFILE BY CONOR MIHELL On a Roll
DEAN JUNTUNEN PADDLES AROUND LAKE SUPERIOR
IT’S HARD TO PICTURE ski poles and a wheelchair at a put-in for sea kayakers on Lake Superior. But for Dean Juntunen, poles are critical to his goal of circumnavigating the world’s largest lake. Juntunen uses the beat-up Rossignols to lift and slide himself and his sea kayak into the water, leaving his slick titanium and carbon-fibre wheelchair behind. Juntunen, who lives near the town of
Houghton in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is five years into his 10-year goal. He’s on sched- ule so far, having paddled about half of Lake Superior’s 3,000-kilometre shoreline. He’s managed to paddle “everything but the
dull parts” of Superior’s south shore in a series of day trips, from Duluth, Minnesota, east- ward to northern Michigan. Last summer, he embarked on his first multi-day outing, knock- ing off 180 kilometres on Ontario’s Pukaskwa peninsula in a rocket-fast four days. Juntunen took up kayaking in 1999, eight
years after a 10-metre fall broke his back and left him paralyzed from the waist down. What started as an activity to complement handbik- ing (he holds the 24-hour world speed record) and adaptive cross-country skiing “quickly be- came an obsession.” He progressed from wide, flat-bottomed rec boats to high-performance sea kayaks. With lead bars fibreglassed into the keel of his Mariner Max touring kayak, Juntunen rarely misses his roll. Juntunen’s quest was inspired by his friend
and kayaking mentor Nancy Uschold, an American Canoe Association adaptive pad- dling instructor who circumnavigated Lake Superior in 2003. “Dean said to me, ‘I want to do that,’” says
Uschold, “and I immediately wondered how he would manage the wilderness stretches on the Canadian shore. But he’s strong, determined and inventive. I think he will do it.” Juntunen often puts in impressive 60-ki-
lometre days, staying in his boat to avoid re- launching. He has designed a collapsible, fat- tire, all-terrain wheelchair for sandy launches and wilderness beaches. But some of his more memorable launches have involved sliding down stairs and freefalling from cliffs. His kayaks bear countless scars.
16 ADVENTURE KAYAK | SPRING 2008
Fat-tired friend: Juntunen’s all-terrain wheelchair. Most impressive, says Uschold, is Juntunen’s
gonzo approach to sea kayaking. Tis sum- mer, in between a busy schedule of helping her with adaptive paddling workshops and em- barking on another fast-and-light expedition,
IN THE NEWS
NEWS FROM THE PADDLING WORLD
Juntunen is most likely to be found introduc- ing newbies to the sport. “Dean is anything but an elitist,” says Us-
chold. “He has a fleet of boats and will take anyone paddling.”
PHOTO: CONOR MIHELL
ILLUSTRATION: LORENZO DEL BIANCO
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