I am a Canoob, QUICK QUESTION!

[fonixmunkee]

This problem needs to be elevated to NPS. You did the right thing.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

[MikeT]

Th3rn, Your thread has been side tracked, but pretty interesting!

Anyway, since you bought the book if you look in the book under "Water Routes" I have distance and time for:
- Rock Harbor to Tookers Island
- Tobin to Hidden Lake then Hidden Lake to Merritt Lane
- Merritt to Rock Harbor via around Scoville Point

You can also print out the maps and descriptions for the trip.

[Ingo]

Canoeing I figure 2.2 mph average for 2 average paddlers. The wind matters alot, so that's a very rough average. Kayaks are faster on the whole.
Tobin Harbor dock to Merrit Lane is less than 4 miles, I'd say 1.5-2 hrs in decent conditions. An experienced kayaker could do it in <1 hr.
Tookers Island is about 1.5 miles from the Rock Harbor docks--my daughter and I did it in 20 mins paddling as hard as we could (just to see if we could beat the Queen in). But a 45 min. paddle would have been much more pleasant .

Pay close attention to the wind. Even a light breeze will affect your speed. Also with the same daughter, a 1.5 mile paddle from Duncan Narrows to the portage took over an hr--we had 20+ mph headwinds and were again paddling as hard as we could, but only because we HAD to.

Have a GREAT trip!

[Th3rn]

Oh nice, very cool, I didn't even realize that Mike!

Thanks for all the tips guys, can't wait until the 16th to get there!

Th3rn

[drobarge]

The sailboat was me, Was exausted and needed a nearby place to tie up for the night

Just be aware that some of the paddle in campsites are also accesible by larger boats. I spent last Saturday night on Caribou Island and had the unpleasant experience of a group of fisherman playing loud music on their boat ('Swedish Hooker' out of Grand Marais, MN) at the dock from around 8:30 pm to about 11:15 at night. Once the music went off they was still a lot of loud laughing and talking but at least my ear plugs blocked that out. If I could have paddled my canoe over to quiet Daisy Farm I would have done it. Caribou and Daisy Farm aren't really that far away from Rock Harbor. It only took me an hour and 20 minutes to paddle from Caribou Island to Rock Harbor including a five minute stop at Three Mile (they heard the music too). But then I was really ticked off and motivated to get to the Ranger station to file a report about the music, the loud talking, and the still smoldering logs that were left outside of the fire ring.

I didn't stay at Tookers Island but I did visit it on Sunday morning. It's a nice site, but very small. Have a good book with you because there really doesn't seem like much to do there. It's a good way across the water from Rock Harbor so consider your experience because you could find yourself waiting out any high winds or rough conditions. I noticed a sailboat docked at Tookers in the morning before I paddled over for my look around.

I'd recommend that you do your canoe paddling on the Northwest side of Rock Harbor or Tobin Harbor as the terrain and trees protect you from the wind. I wanted to paddle along the Eastern side but found that I was spending too much energy fighting the wind and resulting waves so I crossed over to the Rock Harbor Trail shoreline. I'd read a lot of comments about the prevailing winds on the waterways so I was not too surprised by this, but encountering it first hand was educational to say the least. I've always backpacked the island and enjoyed a good breeze. I have a new perspective after experiencing the winds in a canoe.

I've never been to Merritt Lane but I think that could be a nice destination. You could stop to survey the infamous Duncan to Tobin Harbor portage trail and visit Lookout Louise.

[Gimp]

drobarge - I hope you didn't take my comment as a criticism of your presence there. I would have met you if I hadn't been so determined to get to the Ranger Station first. A sailboat was docking in Rock Harbor just as I was paddling out to Tookers. Was that you?

[drobarge]

Good chance it was. I went straight to rock for ice in the mornin

drobarge - I hope you didn't take my comment as a criticism of your presence there. I would have met you if I hadn't been so determined to get to the Ranger Station first. A sailboat was docking in Rock Harbor just as I was paddling out to Tookers. Was that you?

[emanoh]

From Rock Harbor, in good weather less than an hour and a half. Bad weather under three if you're dodging behind islands for protection and into a head wind.