I sketched out a few different potential routes and eventually settled on a plan to start in Rock Harbor and end in Windigo, working our way through Chippewa Harbor, Lake Whittlesey, Wood Lake and Siskiwit. Based on ferry schedules, the length of the trip and vacation time availability, our best option was to take the Voyager II from Grand Portage, get dropped off in RH, and pick it back up for the return in Windigo. It ended up being the perfect plan to go where we wanted to go. In retrospect, however, the length of the drive (from just north of Milwaukee) all the way to Grand Portage ended up being a major drag. Our previous trip left from Copper Harbor, which despite the longer boat ride, was worth the shorter drive.
Here is the rundown of our trip. I took a ton of pictures, of which is a selection below. The rest (with captions) can be found here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1097327235 ... directlink
We stayed in Grand Marais the night before departing. This still left us with about an hour’s drive in the morning, but since we had left after work that earlier day it wasn’t such a bad idea to shorten the drive. We stayed at the Mangy Moose Motel which was great. We would be arriving pretty late (obviously) but after calling and speaking with the owner Dave, he left the room unlocked and waiting us. Very accommodating.
We got up and hit the road by 5:00 AM on Friday so we could be at Ryden’s for breakfast by the time they opened at 6:00. We arrived around 5:50 and lo and behold, Ryden’s was already open.
We ate and were back on the road by 6:30 to get to the harbor and pack up the boats in time for the ferry departure at 7:30.
Pulling into Washington Harbor:
Ranger Cindy giving us the "respect the wilderness" orientation on the Windigo dock.
After getting our permit, within minutes we were back on the Voyager II on our way to Rock Harbor. This was kind of neat since we got to see the northwest shore of the island, which we probably never would otherwise (not a popular route to paddle). This was, however, a longer ride to Rock Harbor than I anticipated.
Loading up the kayaks in Rock Harbor:
And we are off!
Outer Hill Island:
We stayed at Caribou Island the first night.
Our first night we cooked a few steaks over the campfire. Brought them with us frozen and let them thaw as we paddled our first day.
Sunrise from Caribou Island:
Conditions were pleasantly calm as we left Caribou en route to Chippewa Harbor:
We took a rest stop to check out Epidote lake.
As expected, the conditions turned a bit choppy as we paddled towards Chippewa Harbor. It quickly calmed down though once we got inside the harbor.
Here’s the stream that leads up to Lake Richie. We weren’t going that way, but I wanted to check it out anyway.
Our first portage from the end of Chippewa Harbor to Lake Whittlesey.
Lake Whittlesey
Second night was spent at the Lake Whittlesey campground.
Tried to do some early morning fishing, hoping to catch some of the infamous Lake Whittlesey walleye, but came up empty-handed (a recurring theme throughout the trip).
Sunrise on Lake Whittlesey.
Our next portage was from Whittlesey to Wood Lake.
The “P” stands for “pain” HAHA
And away we go:
The thimbleberries were in full-swing and we ate a nice bowlful every day!
Heading north through Wood Lake
As we paddled into Siskiwit Lake the wind picked up and the conditions got a bit choppy. Here’s Ryan Island– “the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake in the world.”
We landed at Ryan for a lunch break. After reading somewhere about a small pond on Ryan (Moose Flats) with an island rock in the middle (Moose Boulder), I wandered around looking for it, but the terrain was so rough and the vegetation so thick that I gave up. I did however climb to the highest point on Ryan Island. Here’s the view from up there:
We paddle the rest of the way through Siskiwit Lake over to the Malone Bay portage.
Siskiwit Falls
We stayed at Malone Bay that night. Lake Superior was getting rougher throughout the evening and I was really hoping it would calm down overnight, since we our next day involved the longest open-water paddle of the trip, across Siskiwit Bay. Here I am studying the map to assess our route options for the next day.
However, the next morning we awoke to this – halleluiah!
Checking the weather forecast one last time to be sure before setting out
Nothing to worry about – the water was like glass.
So we had a decision to make here. The initial (safer) plan was to limit the open water distance by heading toward the point on the right and then cutting south across Siskiwit Bay, which is wide open to Lake Superior and about five miles across. Or we could just head straight for Point Houghton (on the left), short-cutting about a mile off the total path. Judging from where my wife is heading here, she has already made the decision for us.
This was about half-way – still perfectly calm.
Hurray! A safe landing at Point Houghton.
We paddled into Fisherman’s Home Cove. Not a lot to see there.
Cruising along the south shore:
We had initially planned to camp at Attwood Beach, but it was still early, so we stopped there for a break before pressing on.
We saw no moose the entire trip (unfortunately), but we did see a lot of moose AND wolf tracks on the beach.
As we moved further along the south shore, a storm started moving in, accelerating our search for a good spot to quit for the day.
We landed here:
Near this pond. (No fish in it, at least none that I caught!)
Sunrise along the south shore.
Heading into Rainbow cove we had our first tailwind of the trip. I have a kayak sail (called a “Wind Paddle”) and finally got a chance to use it.
We landed in Rainbow Cove and decided to take the short hike into Feldman Lake so I could do some fishing.
Fishing in Feldman Lake. (Still nothing.)
Heading into Grace Harbor we still had a strong southern wind so I gave my wife a chance to try out the Wind Paddle.
Our final night was spent on Grace Island.
At this point we were about a ½ day ahead of schedule so we paddled over to check out the America shipwreck in the North Gap.
However, the wind was really picking up and the water getting rough so we didn’t dawdle around too much before heading into Washington Harbor on our way to Windigo.
Back where we started!
Lake Superior was ridiculously rough on the way back that afternoon. Half the people on board were sick. Here’s Voyager II first mate Ben enjoying the ride, while the guy next to him tries to drink a coffee.
62.8 miles total. The track from my GPS receiver is below. All in all, a great trip and I think we lucked out with the weather. No major mishaps and no injuries. The bugs were almost no-existent; I don’t think I put on bug spray once. Although, I would have liked to have caught at least ONE fish! Maybe next time...
More pics at Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/1097327235 ... directlink
