upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
I was flying home from New Zealand thinking about what I was going to do with the two weeks off I had when I returned to the UP of Michigan. Coming back to summer from winter kind of makes you want to really get the most out of summer as I knew in two weeks it was back to winter again. It didn't take terribly long to hatch a plan, a sea kayaking trip, but where? At first I thought I wanted to tackle a trip on Isle Royale, the most remote of the National Parks in the lower 48. It lies in the northwest corner of Lake Superior and is accessible from Michigan via either a 4 or 6 hour ferrry ride depending on where you want to catch it from. Isle Royale is amazing but a circumnavigation of it was a risky proposition in good conditions with an experienced paddling partner and going solo is greatly discouraged due to the rough conditions and long stretches of cliffs which allow no way out if trouble arises. There are some great portage routes but with a loaded sea kayak, portaging is absolutely no fun. So, Isle Royale was out, option 2 paddle Munising to Grand Marais, MI across the entirety of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This seemed appealing and despite a couple of long stretches of unprotected cliff coast line it seemed alot safer for a solo paddler. The old mantra "when out to sea, no less than three" still resonated in my head and I knew I better have all my i's dotted and t's crossed despite the last minute planning of the trip. Weather was the key one. NW to N winds can be deadly here generating waves in some storms in excess of 25 feet tall. 4-8 foot tall waves are very common and combined with cliff shorelines, and clapotis waves, that can get dicey fast.
Well it was obvious that the forecast was going to make or break this outing. What I had to work with was one full day of south winds, day 2 with south winds clocking to southwest then west by afternoon, northwest by evening with waves building to 8 feet. This was going to make the Pictured Rocks paddle a no go. But alas, right out of Munising is yet another world class paddling opportunity, and one I had yet to do. Grand Island National Recreation area. It was a roughly 25 mile circumnavigation with dispersed camping possible in several areas. I decided to set out from Sand Point in Munising and work my way around the west, more exposed side of the island on day 1 and get around the north end to the west side on day 2. This would get me out of the wind and waves and allow some more relaxed touring of the island's 200 foot cliffs, sheltered bays and wildlife watching.
I had convinced UP Overland buddy Tom to come out for awhile the first day to get some snorkelling on a shipwreck off of Murray Bay on the south side but due to time constraints had decided to bail as we were at the beach. OK, solo now the whole time, sweet. haha
First off, some fun facts about Lake Superior... Largest freshwater lake in the world, 32,000 square miles surface area, water volume 2,900 cubic miles, the deepest point (which is just north of Grand Island) reaches 1,332 feet deep. Lake Superior is so large in fact that all of the other great lakes could fit inside of it plus 3 additional Lake Eries. Yeah it is big, it is a freshwater sea.
All packed up and preparing to launch from the beach at Sand Point
It was fortunately one of those glass calm days on Lake Superior, the ones that get rarer and rarer as the seasons change and summer becomes fall. One could almost be fooled into thinking of Superior as docile and gentle on a day like today, that could be a deadly misjudgement though.
Passing the Sand Point Light on the Island's south end. The crossing from the mainland to this point was a nice short 1/2 mile stretch on glass smooth waters. The clarity of depth was amazing, I estimate 30foot + visibility. At times it gave the eery sense that you were actually not in a boat on water but actually flying. Very cool. Gotta love clear clean water.
My shadow hanging loose in clear waters. Right after I snapped this shot I saw a mature bald eagle perched on a branch over the beach. I slid up quietly with it watching me intently. I was no further than 20 yards from the beach, and the tree the eagle was perched on when an adult black bear walked out of the woods onto the beach DIRECTLY if front of me! I was shocked! I watched as the bear began sniffing and walking in a serpentine pattern down the beach. It either didn't see me, or care that I was there, it was just minding it's own business. In amazement as I was staring at it watching the whole event, I suddenly realized, duh! Get a picture. By the time I fuddled around getting my iphone out and ready, it walked back into the woods! D'oh! Then right as that happened, the eagle flew from his perch, swooped down right over me, fairly close and flew out over the open water. I got pictures of neither! Bummer, but the experience of it will be in my memory for some time, very cool.
Stopping for a little snack break and relief from the strong sun and warm temps. This summer is the warmest recorded temperatures of Lake Superior since they started taking water temp measurements. This makes for some refreshing and comfortable swimming conditions. I floated around and enjoyed it for a good hour.
Working my way up the coast on the west side, small cliffs arose here and there.
Exploring a fairly large sea cave.
Looking out of it.
Well it was obvious that the forecast was going to make or break this outing. What I had to work with was one full day of south winds, day 2 with south winds clocking to southwest then west by afternoon, northwest by evening with waves building to 8 feet. This was going to make the Pictured Rocks paddle a no go. But alas, right out of Munising is yet another world class paddling opportunity, and one I had yet to do. Grand Island National Recreation area. It was a roughly 25 mile circumnavigation with dispersed camping possible in several areas. I decided to set out from Sand Point in Munising and work my way around the west, more exposed side of the island on day 1 and get around the north end to the west side on day 2. This would get me out of the wind and waves and allow some more relaxed touring of the island's 200 foot cliffs, sheltered bays and wildlife watching.
I had convinced UP Overland buddy Tom to come out for awhile the first day to get some snorkelling on a shipwreck off of Murray Bay on the south side but due to time constraints had decided to bail as we were at the beach. OK, solo now the whole time, sweet. haha
First off, some fun facts about Lake Superior... Largest freshwater lake in the world, 32,000 square miles surface area, water volume 2,900 cubic miles, the deepest point (which is just north of Grand Island) reaches 1,332 feet deep. Lake Superior is so large in fact that all of the other great lakes could fit inside of it plus 3 additional Lake Eries. Yeah it is big, it is a freshwater sea.
All packed up and preparing to launch from the beach at Sand Point
It was fortunately one of those glass calm days on Lake Superior, the ones that get rarer and rarer as the seasons change and summer becomes fall. One could almost be fooled into thinking of Superior as docile and gentle on a day like today, that could be a deadly misjudgement though.
Passing the Sand Point Light on the Island's south end. The crossing from the mainland to this point was a nice short 1/2 mile stretch on glass smooth waters. The clarity of depth was amazing, I estimate 30foot + visibility. At times it gave the eery sense that you were actually not in a boat on water but actually flying. Very cool. Gotta love clear clean water.
My shadow hanging loose in clear waters. Right after I snapped this shot I saw a mature bald eagle perched on a branch over the beach. I slid up quietly with it watching me intently. I was no further than 20 yards from the beach, and the tree the eagle was perched on when an adult black bear walked out of the woods onto the beach DIRECTLY if front of me! I was shocked! I watched as the bear began sniffing and walking in a serpentine pattern down the beach. It either didn't see me, or care that I was there, it was just minding it's own business. In amazement as I was staring at it watching the whole event, I suddenly realized, duh! Get a picture. By the time I fuddled around getting my iphone out and ready, it walked back into the woods! D'oh! Then right as that happened, the eagle flew from his perch, swooped down right over me, fairly close and flew out over the open water. I got pictures of neither! Bummer, but the experience of it will be in my memory for some time, very cool.
Stopping for a little snack break and relief from the strong sun and warm temps. This summer is the warmest recorded temperatures of Lake Superior since they started taking water temp measurements. This makes for some refreshing and comfortable swimming conditions. I floated around and enjoyed it for a good hour.
Working my way up the coast on the west side, small cliffs arose here and there.
Exploring a fairly large sea cave.
Looking out of it.
