Upper Peninsula Man Canoes To Florida, Now He’s Paddling Back

When traveling to Florida for vacation, most Michiganders pack up the car, crank the A/C, and set the cruise. A one-of-a-kind Yooper grabbed a paddle instead and decided to take the scenic route, through the Great Lakes, down the East Coast, and around Florida.

Yeah, we’re talking about a guy who canoed all the way from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to freaking Florida and now he’s paddling back. The crazy part is he’s doing it on purpose.

See Also: 5 Awesome Floating Water Parks to Visit in Michigan This Summer

According to MLive, Peter Frank, a 23-year-old from Escanaba, left the Upper Peninsula in a canoe last June and started tackling the 6,000-mile Great Loop, a massive water route that cuts through the Great Lakes, down the East Coast, around Florida, and back up through inland rivers.

And here’s the wild part. He’s doing it clockwise, which almost no one does in a canoe. It means paddling against the current in rivers that most boaters float down. Only one other person is known to have done it that way, another Michigan guy, Verlen Kruger, who actually designed the 17-foot canoe Frank is using.

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It hasn’t been smooth sailing (get it?). Hurricanes stalled him for weeks. Winds pounded him so hard he had to stay off the water for most of a month in the Chesapeake Bay. And if he doesn't beat winter on the way back, Frank might not make it home at all.

But he’s no stranger to a challenge like this. At 14, he was hit by a car while playing in leaves on the side of the road. He was a busted-up mess and had to relearn how to walk. At 19, he rode a unicycle from Wisconsin to Arizona to raise money for the hospital that helped save his life.

Honestly, this guy might be the most determined human alive.