Lake Superior/Apostle Islands trip report

[David Lewis]

Returned Friday after spending my 50th birthday sea kayaking among the Apostle Islands off the shore of Wisconsin in Lake Superior with veteran paddler Tony Patton. Anyone who thinks sea kayaking is just for those who can't handle whitewater has never been in the wind-whipped mess Tony and I found ourselves in Thursday afternoon on open water with more than a mile between us and the safety of dry land. Follow this link to photos, but read all the captions for the verbal report on this adventure ...
http://kcl.smugmug.com/Other/Superior/1 ... 6705_n72H2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Richard]

Beautiful. Makes me want to go. Does anyone opt to canoe there?

[Jim Krueger]

Those pictures are just beautiful David! I love our small WW rivers here but even get a little 'hinckey' paddling the open waters of lakes like Ouachita, Degray, etc. I would certainly want to hug the shore of Lake Superior for sure! I lived not far away in Minneapolis for several years as a kid but never ventured where you have, just great shots! Thanks.


Best Regards
Jim

[Eric Esche]

Been there, done that. It is always beautiful. Almost always, you will be the only one to visit to Tuckernuck or Muskeget islands and you wilh ave to work to get there timing it with the currents and the tides.

When you get the chance, try the Nantucket Islands from Sconset to Great Point, cross the channel and around to Eel point to Tuckernuck, and Muskeget islands sometime. 15 foot seas are not uncommon when making the crossings from Eel point and the powerful rips are fun to surf on. We fished in June though July for Blue fish, sea bass, sand sharks, and great whites are seen up there enough to make you wish for a still larger boat. Nantuckett is a great place to stay, and the other two islands are harder to get to, but not a place to stay, just visit. All day paddle along Cotoe is also well worth it.

Hope you get the chance to go there. I loved it when my father-in-law lived here, as Nantucket is a one of a kind of place to visit.

Eric Esche

Just remember - Nantuclket is known as "the Grey lady" as she keeps a cape of fog over her more than you would expect. We have had he fog rol in 5 times in one day.

[AR-Nimrod]

Awesome pics! Would love to see that myself.

[JTarver]

Great write up David, and gorgeous pics! What kind of camera are you using, the clarity is incredible!
Glad you guys had a safe, but adventurous outing. I'd like to paddle that area sometime, it looks really beautiful.
Thanks for posting,
Joe

[David Lewis]

Thanks for looking, y'all.

Richard, no, didn't see a single canoe on Lake Superior and was thankful many times over I wasn't in one myself.

Eric, thanks for the travel tips. Honestly, I will never get on any of the Great Lakes in a kayak again. The experience Thursday afternoon was just more risk than I'm willing to put myself in again.

Joe, thanks! I was shooting a Nikon D200 (which I carry when on water rather than my "good" camera, a D300) with my "travel lens," an 18-200. I kept those in a Pelican 1300 case on the deck in front of me, but rarely pulled it out while on the water. Too busy trying to stay stable. Also, packed in a dry bag was a 12-24 that I used quite a bit when parked.

[Stan]

I have canoed on Lake Superior. It takes great care and lots of luck. I have seen Lake Superior when it was dead calm and when producing 26 foot waves. The cold water (about 40 degrees in the summer) is another hazard. The lake can quickly change from canoe-able to suicidal.

Gordon and I took several canoe-camping trips on Isle Royale, a national park in northwest Lake Superior. We mostly paddled the island’s relatively sheltered bays and inland lakes. On a number of occasions we canoed out onto Lake Superior to get to a sheltered bay and our next campsite. The longest stretch was 7 miles along high bluffs with very few “bailout” spots. We found dawn and dusk often were the best times of day to make these open water “crossings” because of the diminished winds. We did not dawdle; we paddled purposefully to get to shelter ASAP. It is amazing that thousands of years ago, Native Americans were paddling the 15-20 miles from the mainland to harvest native copper from the island.

Many years ago we were with a group paddling the Apostle Islands in 26 and 34 foot replicas of the voyageurs’ canoes. It was windy but the boats handled the 6+ foot waves very well. I have also paddled the Apostle Islands in a kayak. Those terrific photos brought back some great memories.

My recommendation: Paddle a kayak on “Mother Superior”. Keep a wary eye on the weather and be prepared to be wind-bound at some point during your trip.

Margaret Bartelt

[lalyle]

Lived in Seattle for 3 summers and never went sea kayaking outside of the city's lakes. Just sick about it. Kayaking Puget Sound among orcas is on my bucket list.

[lalyle]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing that! I had no idea the lakes were so scenic. WI and MN are among the 10 states I've never been to. Now I see a good reason to go. I'm finding more and more reasons to take rec boating and touring more seriously.

If you haven't been invited to share that show at an ACC meeting, that needs to be done.

Thanks again.

[David Lewis]

Thanks, Lalyle. Before you commit to driving 1,100 miles to the great upnorth, be sure to read all the captions in my picture story and, for that matter, a previous post in this thread. In short, I wouldn't get on any of the great lakes in a kayak again. I came too close to being in serious trouble this trip, and I see now how easily it could happen again.

Regarding an ACC meeting, I don't know that I could fill a program, but I'd be glad to share what I have.