Sea kayak Trip to IR this Summer

Questions about trails and campsites on the island.

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SAFETY6
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Sea kayak Trip to IR this Summer

Post by SAFETY6 »

I am planning on leading a group of experienced sea kayakers to IR this summer. While we have paddled a lot of the NW, BC, Glacier Bay, AK, and Sea Cortes this is our first trip to Lake Superior. Our plan is to arrive around 8/22 and circumnavigate IR. Am looking for some tips on campsites and gotta see places. What to watch out for, stc. We are used to being out for 7-12 days with minimal support

We'll be a party of 4 -8 of us.

Any tips, suggestions would be appreciated. Currently, we are planning on taking the Ranger III from Houghton to Windigo and heading west from there up the west side.

Thanks
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Re: Sea kayak Trip to IR this Summer

Post by dcclark »

Welcome! (You'll be back...)

I can't say anything about paddling, but I don't know if the Ranger will be traveling to Windigo this year. They had announced a plan to go to Windigo once per week last year, but of course that didn't happen. The current website doesn't list Windigo on the Ranger's itinerary (under "Schedule"): Ranger III Info.

Oddly, Windigo *is* still listed under "The Journey", but I suspect that may be left by accident.

Another option is to reach Rock Harbor and then take the Voyageur around the island to Windigo. That will cost you an extra day. Or, if possible, take the Voyageur directly from Minnesota.

Edit: Reading again -- Windigo is already at the west end of the island (Rock Harbor is at the east). Did you mean "Rock Harbor" as your original destination?
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Re: Sea kayak Trip to IR this Summer

Post by Bobcat1 »

With that many kayaks, I don’t think the Voyager ferry is an option. Be sure and call them to discuss and pin your dates! But, if you are going to start and finish at Rock Harbor, then the Ranger should be able to carry all your kayaks. Again, get your reservations in ASAP!

I am far from an expert, but I have had some wonderful trips at IsRo with my kayak. If you are interested in a guidebook, Jim DuFresne’s Isle Royale: Foot Trails and Water Routes is a good resource.
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Re: Sea kayak Trip to IR this Summer

Post by Midwest Ed »

Based on your stated experience I think the usual discussions of gear can be safely bypassed. Weather broadcast reception can be unreliable in several locations. Canadian broadcasts can be picked up on the north side.

Circumnavigation trips are periodically made and documented here. There have been several threads here over the past 10+ years discussing circumnavigation and extended paddling trip on Superior. Plugging "circumnavigation" into the search engine revealed over 40 posts although most of the general paddling experience and posts have been on the inland lakes. If circumnavigation is the primary goal then of course the plan starts there but if your time ends up being limited by whatever reason, the eastern end (both north side and south) is more interesting, offers more opportunities to explore and has more campgrounds.

Overnight camping outside of designated campgrounds is permitted but it is strictly regulated. It's referred to a "backcountry camping" and there is a sticky post explaining the rules just above in this forum although I just noticed all the links are broken. We'll get them fixed asap*. One of the rules though is backcountry camping is not allowed for groups greater than 6 people. Groups of 7 to 10 people are allowed on the island but their camping is more regulated than smaller groups. If you haven't already, see the park's annual newsletter, The Greenstone

In general, the north shore's geology presents a much steeper and less hospitable area for beaching than the south's shore. I don't know how Lake Superior's seas stack up against the shores and bays of the north east Pacific but ocean sea faring folks are often surprised by the quickly changing weather and the sometimes voracity of Superior's seas. Meteorologists often point to the upper Great Lakes as an example of some of the most unpredictable weather.

*mod note: broken links fixed.
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Re: Sea kayak Trip to IR this Summer

Post by Ingo »

Although it's a lake, what some folks don't appreciate is the amount of currents around the island--particularly around islands, points, and bay entrances. At the extreme, there was once a 6' seiche in Washington Harbor, leaving docked boats on the bottom. I'm sure you know what opposing current and wind can do. So pay attention, in spots you can go from calm to bad in a few paddle strokes. Ran into some "experienced" (self-reported) kayakers who had that experience around Blake Pt and a couple of them flipped--didn't get any more details, as they weren't really inclined to talk about it--but they were now hiking instead of paddling.

For all practical purposes, you'll be limited to 6 people. Anything larger is a "group", which means you can only camp at designated group sites and must reserve and stay on reserved days (unlike non-groups). Given weather, and locations of group sites, that's impractical. And it's not allowed to register as 2 parties of 6 or less and travel together (or even meet up, for that matter). There's a few (not a lot) older posts here that may give you an idea of spots for backcountry camping if you do a search on circumnavigation. Rainbow Cove is the one I remember.

The North shore in particular is not very friendly with few landing spots. So make sure you have good weather windows between campsites (e.g. Huginnin Cove to Little Todd Harbor). Although Caribou Island to Chippewa Harbor only has a couple spots, too, even though it doesn't have the cliffs. The entrance to McCargoe Cove can get nasty with several shoals and a serpentine channel--I remember a report of someone surfing 8 footers going in. And Blake Pt is the most infamous spot for folks getting into trouble--if it starts getting worse as you near it, you can count on it getting really worse very quickly.

I started to recommend campsites, but I can't think of any that I'd recommend skipping. All of the established lakeside campgrounds are great, although Belle Island is my favorite. Hope you have a great trip!
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Re: Sea kayak Trip to IR this Summer

Post by treeplanter »

Ingo wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:30 pm.....Although it's a lake, what some folks don't appreciate is the amount of currents around the island--particularly around islands, points, and bay entrances. At the extreme, there was once a 6' seiche in Washington Harbor, leaving docked boats on the bottom. I'm sure you know what opposing current and wind can do. So pay attention, in spots you can go from calm to bad in a few paddle strokes. Ran into some "experienced" (self-reported) kayakers who had that experience around Blake Pt and a couple of them flipped--didn't get any more details, as they weren't really inclined to talk about it--but they were now hiking instead of paddling........
Well put. There's something else to look out for, which is the "splashback" that happens when a wave or swell hits the rocky shore and bounces back. There's an area of very unsettled water maybe 50- 100 yards back from the shore, that can make paddling unpredictable and even dangerous. I finally learned to keep about a 1/4 mile from a rocky shore, to avoid paddling in this zone. But that, of course, puts you out farther into the lake, which offers its own set of challenges. Upshot of all of this? Respect lake Superior at all times.
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