ESCANABA — The frost had just melted in the morning sun when the shape of the young man in the canoe came into view for the dozens who waited with anticipation on Aronson Island in Escanaba on Monday morning.

Minutes later, cheers burst forth from those who had rushed to the sandy beach to greet 24-year-old Peter Frank of Escanaba as he rounded the rocky point and paddled up to the Escanaba Municipal Beach, where he had launched his Sawyer Loon, named “Fool’s Errand,” 16 months earlier.

After he stepped out and pulled the small boat onto the sand, the first words out of Peter’s mouth after he tossed his iconic tricorne hat into the air were a Forrest Gump quote: “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now,” he uttered in a drawl.

Despite that statement, he stayed on the beach speaking t

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