So if you are an intermediate paddler looking for some surf and crazy conditions, you should consider joining in on the fun.  Here are the fast facts:

There are 2 main islands and a handful of smaller islands to explore.  One of the unique features is the geology of these islands. Although not made of slate at all, the islands are a result of a meteorite crater impact and has one of the best known examples of shatter cones (located in McGreevy Harbour).  Some other neat aspects of this trip include an almost-guaranteed siting of caribou (there are no predators on the island so the population keeps growing until it crashes naturally).  There is also a lighthouse on the south side of Patterson Island.

If the weather is agreeable you can circumnavigate the entire archipelago but you have options if the lake kicks up as well.  In between Patterson and Mortimer islands is a great sheltered channel with plenty of coves to explore.  A number of human history remains can be found including the Devil’s Roost and the Come and Rest.  Because of the proximity to shore, you will most likely see more people; kayakers, sailboats and others out and about than you would on some other sections of the lake. We take a boat shuttle out and back from the islands to save on doing the open water crossing.

Take this as a guided sea kayak trip with Naturally Superior Adventures:

When this trip is offered: Sun July 24-Fri July 29 2011.  Meet at 2pm on Sunday

Cost: $1650 (includes: Full guiding and outfitting, meals, boat shuttles, one night accommodation.
Note: registration is limited for this trip due to space on the boat shuttle.

For more details or to register check out the website listing…

You can view the whole gallery here.

We haven’t offered this trip in a few years since we have had difficulty getting a boat shuttle out to the island.  We’ve got that sorted out for this year now but have to limit the number of participants due to boat constraints.

This trip is a good one to do as a guided trip since there are a few more logistics involved with getting out to the island and not everyone wants to do the 14km crossing.  Here are a few reasons why this is one of my favourite trips to do on Lake Superior:

• Every beach you land on is different than the last
• Amazing geology
• there are 2 lighthouses (one has the only flying buttress on Lake Superior)
• the cool history- abandoned fishing villages and the legend of the cursed copper mines
• tons of caribou, beaver and other wildlife
• shipwrecks and more.
• It has everything all wrapped up into one island package

It’s located about 60km (40miles) off the shore from our base at Michipicoten.  If you were to paddle out to it, you would travel west along the Superior Highlands coast until about Floating Heart Bay and make a diagonal crossing over to the East End Lighthouse.

Guided trip details: Dates are Sunday July 17th to Sunday July 24th.

Skill Level is set at intermediate since this is a very remote trip with no quick evacuation strategy.  Participants need to be self-sufficient and having some experience wilderness camping will make your trip that much more pleasant.

Itinerary- arrive at NSA by 2pm Sunday for on-water training, stroke review, rescue review.  BBQ dinner at our Rock Island Lodge.  Monday morning boat shuttle will take the group out to the island for 6 fantastic days of sea kayaking around Michipicoten Island.  The following Sunday the boat will pick up the group and head back to NSA.

Pricing- $1695 includes all taxes, meals, shuttles, full guiding.  Sea kayaks and tents additional.

More information on this trip…

For more images on Michipicoten Island- visit the gallery.

Now let’s discuss why Lake Superior did not win the Best Place to canoe or kayak.  Maybe it is because most of the Lake Superior lovers did not vote. Maybe it is because there is a greater population closer to Algonquin Park (the winner in this category).  Here are 5 reasons why Lake Superior should win next time.

1. No portages (need I say more?)
2. Less people.
3. You don’t have to reserve a campsite…ever!
4. You don’t have to haul in firewood if you want to have a campfire.
5. Sense of remoteness.

Never been to Lake Superior?  You should at least give it a try, but if you are new to paddlesports- opt for going with a guide just to be safe.

In fact I’d wager that the majority of sea kayak upsets take place while folks are either getting in or out of their boat. For newer paddlers, I’m a big fan of the “Claw” entry/exit approach demonstrated by Emma in this “Getting into your Kayak” video.

The video was taken by Glenn Simmons last summer as part of a Paddle Canada, Level 1 sea kayak course we had the pleasure of doing in Timmins, Ontario. Thank you Glenn and thank you Timmins.

Last week we had a storm hit Lake Superior that ranked #2 of the best-worst storms of the Great Lakes in history, according to The Weather Network.  The #1 ranked storm was from Jan 26, 1978.  Apparently the barometric pressure with this storm was the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, states one of their meteorologist.  Needless to say, there wasn’t a whole lot of paddling going on here that day with winds clocked on our weather meter at 113km/hour.  You wouldn’t be able to keep your paddle in your hand.

However, the day after, the swells had evened out and created a nice, albeit crazy, ride into shore.  Perfect for kayak surfing.  Here are a few shots of Conor Mihel, Ray Boucher and Ryan Siegel, from NSA getting trashed on Celery Beach (around the corner from NSA- see the map).

Photo credits to Joel Cooper and Megan Gamble

Ray and Carolyn set out to retrieve the tandem sea kayak, which was full of water and sand.  It had lost the front hatch cover and rudder in its travels but was fairly unscathed otherwise (Current Designs should be proud of their Libra design I guess).  As I set about to put all the gear out to dry (nothing worse than mildewy clothes and tent and rusty gear), I noticed that every single dry bag that I came across was full of water.  There were a few different brand names and I was hopeful that I would come across the one that was still bone dry so I wouldl know which would be the superior choice for my next purchase.  I have to say I was disappointed.  No bag stayed dry and even some items that were double bagged in ziplocks and then in a dry bag- also wet.  The exception being these little pill bags that looked like they probably came from the drug store.  They were triple bagged and all medications were high and dry (slight pun intended).

The only items that were still water-free were a polycarbonate latch box from “Outdoor Products” (similar to a Pelican or Otter Box),  a dry pouch from Storus and those little plastic waterproof cases for your matches from Coghlans.

So yes, this unofficial, unscientific experiment is to the extreme.  Not many of us expect our gear to be floating in water for 4 days. Maybe there is no hope for a dry sleeping bag in those kind of conditions but saying that- perhaps a watertight box or dry pouch is a good choice for your first aid kit, camera, medications, electronics, emergency kit and anything else that would be really good to absolutely keep dry in an extreme situation.  If you are looking for a container for your “bail-out kit” also known as a “ditch-kit”, you also might want to look at either of these options. For more information about what to put in your ditch kit- visit Adventure Kayak Magazine’s article on the subject.

The group did a fantastic job contacting our NSA base to determine the best landing spot for the group.  NSA staff stood out on the point directing them in and helped folks surf into Government Beach.
Here is a video of Ray surfing in doing some cartwheels and back surfing along the way.

Link to the video on YouTube here:  Surfing Superior

Lake Superior has done its best to provide some conditions that would be suitable for the Level II participants to strut their stuff in.  We’ve had great on-shore winds to create some waves.  Joel Cooper, resident of Sandy Beach, took a few shots of the gang working their surf skills.

David J with the wave slap

Another wave slap

Punching through the wave slap

The mini wave slap

If you are looking at playing around in some surf- check out our Surf Superior Confluence coming up the first weekend in October.