Trip to the Saunas; stay away!

We finally made it to the 'Sauna Islands', also known as the Border Islands, between Pigeon Point on the US-Canadian border and Thunder Bay. Pie Island is by far the largest and has the most spectacular topography, similar to the Sleeping Giant formation on the Sibley Peninsula to the north. We opted for the more obscure islands just south of Pie for this version of the Annual Fall Trip. Often with long awaited events, the actual trip itself is is anticlimactic. We build it up in our heads and then when it actually occurs, reality can't match the picture we've constructed in our heads. Unfortunately, this trip fell firmly into that category.

The first disappointment was the flat, boring, monotonous topography.


The campsites were uninspiring and the competitive thrill of calling early to get a reservation was just not there.


The fishing was poor.


The weather was lousy, with freezing temperatures, clouds, high winds, and massive waves.


The water was often murky.

And the scenery and views left something to be desired.


We did manage to muddle through the four days however. Being a social person, I was a bit uneasy about not seeing another soul from the time we launched until the time we returned. We did see a couple boats go past and spoke to some fishermen on the way back to the launch on Saturday. It was apparent that they were having the same unsatisfying time that we were.

I may have to go back sometime, just to make sure this poor experience was not a fluke. Now I need to get ready for work, a welcome distraction from last weeks shaky tour. For some reason however, I'm having a hard time leaving the house because my nose doesn't seem to fit through the door anymore.

Cooling my heels in Grand Marais (MN)

I lied, I guess there will be a post before I get back from the Sauna Islands. I'm in the kayak/coffee shop in Grand Marais, biding my time between the departure of the VOR and Co. and the arrival of TheCommish, RangerMark, and the GreenThumbChef for our annual Fall trip. The paddling this weekend was nothing to turn up ones nose at either, with quite possibly the best day paddle of my paddling career taking place on Saturday. Weather, waves, scenery, the company, and the general ambiance of the area made for a superb day on the water.

The route was close to the old voyageur route from the fur trade era. Four of us, the VOR, JackiePack, Racin'Rick, and I launched from the obscure boat landing on the Pigeon River, virtually next to the US Customs station. When we slunk off Hwy 61 on the dirt road to the landing, appearing to be ducking the customs checkpoint, I could almost feel Border Patrol eyes and sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment watching us. Nonetheless, we threw em in the river and paddled out toward Pigeon Point and Hole in the Wall. The destination was the marina in Grand Portage where the Isle Royale boats depart, a distance of about 16 miles including meandering among the Susie Islands, a small archipelago owned by the Nature Conservancy. We stopped at the hole in the wall, a hidden little harbor with a cabin that folks use, repair, and improve as they see fit. We ran into a group of folks from Thunder Bay, a couple and three relatively young kids, in rec boats, no spray skirts, etc. The day was so nice, the lake so flat, and the forecast so benign, that I didn't have the heart to go into the 'safety nazi' mode. They had about a mile crossing back to the bay they launched from and it seemed pretty apparent that "The Boss" was in a very serene and mellow mood this day. That was borne out when we rounded the normally nasty Pigeon Point and could barely summon up a swell to ride on. The Susies were spectacular. You will have to rely on the pictures from the previous post because I'm technologically incapable of retrieving the images I took Saturday. This small, unique group of islands is not visited very frequently and their owners, the Nature Conservancy, like it this way. The islands feature some rare sub arctic flora and fauna and its rumored that not only is camping not allowed, but neither is landing of any kind. This alleged rule was violated, but we 'left no trace' except for a couple rocks being pitched back into the lake and a small area of the islands having a temporary spike in salinity. The weather was perfect. I had on a long sleeve paddle shirt and kept mentally switching between 'think I'll slip on my paddle jacket' and 'think I'll put on the short sleeves. There was a slight southwest breeze with just a ripple on the water as we left the Susies and headed toward Hat Point and the famous Spirit Cedar, or Witches Tree, the French translation of the Ojibway word for 'spirit'. The tree is at least 300 years old and legend has it the voyageurs used it to mark the location of the fort at Grand Portage, just a short paddle around Hat Point from the tree.

We reached the marina the same time as the Wenonah, a lucky coincidence since there was a shuttle breakdown. As a man who almost screwed up the Vasaloppet relay race shuttle, I can empathize and have sworn that no fingers will be pointed. We wound up hitching a ride up to the cars with a wired, eccentric character named Roger, from Ann Arbor, MI. He had a small Old Town rec boat and told us it was the anniversary of his first trip to Isle Royale 19 years ago. This trip was his fortieth. I guess a man really has to like a place to vacation there 40 times, especially a place as difficult to get to as Isle Royale National Park. He did say he was not a kayaker, he just used the boat to get around....all the way around the island at least twice. Once again, we weren't sure he even owned a spray skirt for the thing but I was on a one day sabbatical from my safety nazi mode and just enjoyed the conversation as well as the ride.

My hour is almost up on the computer, the Ben Franklin is open for my last minute gear needs, and I need to stock up on adult beverages at the liquor store. Racin'Rick is paddling from Hattie Cove in Pukasawa to Rossport via the Slate Islands and we wish him safe paddling, favorable winds, and a dry camp. I wish the same for us intrepid fall trippers, but nothing will match the combination of excellent physical and mental paddling conditions on Saturdays adventure. I guess that's what its all about.

Off to the border country

This will be the last post on this blog for a bit over a week. I am off for the border country of Grand Portage, MN, the Susie Islands, and what we call the Sauna Islands (Thompson, Spar, Flatland, etc) south of Thunder Bay, ON. There will be a changing cast of characters on this adventure with vacations, family events, grouse season opener, and other commitments conspiring to drag people away from the important stuff which, of course, is kayak camping. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend, paddle well, and be safe. I hope that we hit the sunny Susie Islands below rather than the foggy Susie Islands above.

Apostle Islands Mgmt Plan open house

The open house to discuss and comment on the management plan for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore was fairly well attended last night, even though the weather outside was spectacular, it was the regular paddle night for both SKOAC and ISK, and road construction made getting to REI an adventure. The crowd ranged in age from kids to the elderly, predominantly kayakers, but with a smattering of power boaters and sailors thrown in as well. There were a number of poster board displays and copies of the plan, a very nicely printed piece to my professional printers eye. It was a polite crowd, as would be expected from we Minnesota Nice types, with no major ranting that I heard. The one topic that seemed to fire a lot of people up, reported in the Daily Press as well, was the plan to move the Presque Isle campground on Stockton Islands away from the lake and into the woods.

The main reason that most people visit the area of course, is the lure of the lake. People want to see the lake, smell the lake, and experience the lake. There seems to be a trend to move camp sites away from the lake which is exactly opposite of what most visitors want. I've camped at most of the sites in the islands over the years. The most attractive kayak sites, the ones that get reserved first, are the Rocky Island spit, Oak Island spit, and the sites on the beach at York Island. The last sites to go are the ones in the woods. Its a longer carry for the kayak gear, normally significantly more mosquito infested, and the ambiance of the lake is much more removed. My award for Worst Campsite in the Apostles goes to the site on Michigan Island, hands down. Its up over a sand berm and down in a depression that, if it rained for a couple days, could easily turn into a swamp. Its heavily forested which keeps the effects of the wind at a minimum and provides excellent flying conditions for all sorts of winged vermin. There are of course, good reasons to move campsites away from the lake, especially at Presque Isle. Erosion of the beach area, difficulty of maintaining the string of outhouses, and the fact that a line of campsites rather than a concentrated group is like a supermarket aisle to the bears, are all good reasons to move the camp. But do they outweigh the benefits? Would more sand ladders help with the erosion? Concentrate the toilet facilities and make people walk a bit farther? Install more bear boxes? Charge more for camping in those sites to help offset the costs? After all, lower deck blue line seats are a lot more expensive than upper deck behind the goalie.

The first and last time I camped at the Presque Isle camp was as a college student on a glacial geology field trip with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1975. I not only learned about the creation of the islands but also learned that blackberry brandy is the devil's elixir and have not touched that vile fluid since then. I honestly can't recall any big change in the camp area from then until my last visit in June on a day paddle from the Oak spit, another campsite that has the Park Service Sword of Damocles hanging over it due to crazy wilderness rules. A blackberry brandy infused memory might not be completely accurate but I have seen and remembered major change in other areas of the park and I just don't remember any significant impact at the Presque Isle campsites.
We all have until October 23 to comment in writing and a thoughtful note from the SKOAC Renegades will be forthcoming. It will not be the vile note that you see the Zaporozhian Cossacks composing to send to the Turkish Sultan (one of the most obscene and insulting notes ever sent to a government official, according to legend) but hopefully a well reasoned statement of our opinion of the plan as well as a pat on the back for a job well done in many significant areas of the park. Letters and feedback have an impact in these cases and letting the park management know what we're thinking is crucial to the development of the plan. If you didn't make one of the many meetings....and the guys are in Madison tonite.......drop them a note.

The AINL Management Plan & Shadow Wood Landing

Those of us in the Twin Cities area will have the opportunity to listen and ask questions about the long term management plan for our favorite park tomorrow night at the REI in Bloomington from 6-8pm. You can read all about it in the link to the plan on the park website and Chad Dally, writing for the Ashland Daily Press, has a great overview of the alternative proposals. The more people that show up, the better the dialogue. Also, if you are planning on attending it would be really valuable to do some homework. The two links above have both an overview and very detailed information and good, well thought out questions always improve the dialogue and also give the folks from the park valuable feedback on what we, the kayaking public, think about the future of the park. But do make an effort to show up, even if only to listen to the give and take and show your support for the park. Written comments can be sent as well until the end of October. Non participation, in my mind, disqualifies a person from any complaining down the road. My friend Woody is ruthless about this participation/complaining paradigm. When people on either end of our dysfunctional political spectrum start to complain about this or that he always asks if they voted. A negative answer always results in the same response: "Then all you need to do is shut the f*#k up". Show up, listen, ask a question or two, and retain your god given American right to complain.

In a somewhat related planning item, the local kayak clubs among others, received an email from the Bayfield County Committee for Responsible Land Use two weeks ago. Apparently a developer from the Twin Cities thinks the area needs a 400 acre exclusive gated playground, Shadow Wood Landing, for the wealthy, complete with an airstrip capable of handling small jets. I don't think it will handle the B-17 above but jets do need a long runway. This would be located on a parcel in the Town of Russell, which is the township that the Little Sand Bay facilities are located in. There are a number of good reasons why this is a bad idea and they can be explored on the website that the Committee has created. I guess I thought a luxury community with an airstrip would be a pretty good description of part of Madeline Island but I guess they need a gate around the new thing to keep the riff raff out. At the open water swim a few weeks back, one of the locals explained that on Madeline, the millionaires attempted to replace the locals and now the billionaires are attempting the same thing with the millionaires. Its gotta be tough to maintain status in the upper strata of the economy and I'm certainly dripping with empathy for those poor SOB's. Given all the reasons not to proceed with this thing, my little pet peeve must seem fairly piddling. I hate noise.

I love the scenery and rugged terrain of the north shore of Lake Superior. What I hate however, is hearing Hwy 61 traffic noise all the time, especially Harley pipes. As a guy who owned two Harleys (granted they were not real Harley's, they were AMF Harleys) I appreciate that 'Milwaukee rumble' as much as the next guy. But if you replace your stock Harley muffler with a glass pack or bore holes in the stock muffler to make it louder, you, sir or ma'am, are an asshole. Likewise if your motorboat is louder than an ore freighter or a tour boat, I'm afraid I will need to lump you into that category of a lowly bodily part as well. I won't even get into jet ski's, I'm still advocating an open season with a bag limit of two on those things. Fortunately, they are banned in the AINL but banning noise is much more problematic. One of the elements of wilderness discussed in the Draft Management Plan is the natural soundscape. I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say that most visitors to the park would rather hear a loon than a Learjet 45 throttling back to land or cranking up to take off. And with predominant westerly winds in the summer you can bet that most approaches will be over the islands. Just look at the map.

This issue, the natural soundscape, will be one of many discussed tomorrow night at the public meeting. We are all hoping for a large, informed, and talkative crowd.

PS In this mornings Ashland Daily Press, Chad Dally has an update on the first two public meetings and the comments and feedback made so far.