kayak trip possable?

[Lucky Chicken]

So I have been looking at all the kayak trips on here and they look like a lot of fun. My question is... will the kayak I have make this trip?

I have a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120. It is kind of a hybrid recreational light touring.

The trip I would like to try is taking the Voyager to Mccargo and paddle out to Birch Island for the night.
Paddle and portage to west chickenbone
Paddle and portage livermore, lesage, and end at lake richie canoe campground
paddle and portage intermediate lake and end at wood lake campground
paddle and portage lake wittlesey and chippewa ending at chippewa campground.

This itinary and the Voyager schedule will give us an extra day for weather if needed somewhere. I figured if people can do it in a canoe I should be able to in a recreational kayak.... am I crazy?

[Damon S]

I think it's definitely possible, however, with the considerable amount of portaging you have figured in, I would look into a yoke system for you boat. There are some that can fit inside your cockpit/coaming area and allow you to portage easier than the common slipping it over your shoulder.

But, a pungo 120 is a small enough boat that once emptied, you could shoulder it pretty easily. That takes me to my next point with your gear...is that boat and rear hatch sufficient storage for the gear for a week trip? Have your tried packing it with the planned amount of gear you have figured in with food?

Damon...

[Ingo]

The short answer is sure, I don't know why not. Biggest issue is gear capacity, so I hope you pack light, though . Water wise, Siskiwit is the only real big water. I don't think there's any single paddling stretch much over 2 miles, so there's not a great benefit to a dedicated touring kayak on this route (beyond the gear issue).

I do have to take exception to "I figured if people can do it in a canoe I should be able to in a recreational kayak", however . Heck, this is what canoes are made for, have been used for for about forever, and excel at! (just have to give you a bit of a hard time). In fact I'm planning a canoe trip for a route that's made for a kayak, so I'm also being a bit of a hypocrite .

[drobarge]

A note on the Pungo 120, When it is loaded with gear even the smallest waves will pass over the stern. You will want a full skirt and the hatch may leak a little. Try loading it with 50lbs or so in the boat and take it out on a local trip and have a look for yourself.

[Lucky Chicken]

Thanks!

No offence Ingo, I was just meaning the wave size. If it dosent swamp a canoe it shouldnt swamp the kayak, and be blown around slightly less. I am sure you are more willing to take your canoe out in bigger surf than I am my kayak at the moment. The biggest I have been in is ~a foot and a half surf.

I was thinking for gear I wouldnt be bringing anything more than a week long backpacking trip, except the essencials (pump, extra padle, life jacket, sponge) that would be strapped to the deck or on me. The rear hatch seems really big and if I can't fit my ultralight backpacking gear in there I would have a problem.

I am planning on some test weekend trips to verify storage locations and capacity with a full weeks load. Which will probably be in Iowa's "big" lake (Lake Red Rock), so about the size of Siskiwit. Testing will be required... I am an overplanner/ tester/ trainer, I tend to overdo the training, gear checks, and look at trips long enough to change my mind 5 or 10 times, but that is half the fun.

Thanks again for the help!

[Ingo]

No offence Ingo, I was just meaning the wave size.

Oh absolutely NO offense taken! It actually made me chuckle (but I couldn't let it go w/o a response ). The only place you'll potentially see waves that big is on Siskiwit--any place else you'll be in really (really) serious storm. You got the right idea about packing it up and checking it out though. Go out on Red Rock when it's been blowing 15-20 for a day on the downwind shore and that will give you an idea of what to be prepared for.

[brownshoes]

maybe consider some kind of flotation for the bow? (air bladder or dry bag) maybe overkill, but i think it's wise to have going solo

[Redbad]

The biggest I have been in is ~a foot and a half surf.

Keep in mind that Lake Ritchie, Chippewa Harbor, and McCargo Cove can get rough as well. The geography of Isle Royale can channel winds onto the interior lakes and harbors. I had to paddle Lake Ritchie with wind and white caps --say 1-2 foot waves-- from the CH portage to the MB portage on my last trip. Plan on paddling smart and use the terrain and island to your advantage by staying in the lee of the wind as much as possible.

While I like the Pungo name (Pungo is a section of the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where I used to live), a Pungo Kayak is about as heavy as a similarly sized canoe with much less carrying capacity. Will you have enough room for several days of dry clothes (assume that you will get wet either from rain, sweat, or from rolling your kayak) as well as camp gear? ISRO tends to be cool to cold (and warm to hot) on the same day so you will be changing your clothing frequently.

Other than that caveat, your route is doable (you might even think about working back over to Rock Harbor via the portages from CH to Lake Ritchie to MB to Snug Harbor if you have time).

Make sure you bring a fishing pole with you!

[drobarge]

A Pungo 120 should easily carry everything an average size backpack would and then some, so a weeks worth of gear should not be of too much concern.
Here is my honest opinion. It's a boat. It floats well. You already have it. Make it work well enough for you. Don't worry if someone else would be happy with it, If you are happy in it. A pungo 120 is far more capable than you are.
I have thousands of miles underway on the Lake with a boat that "won't work" on Lk Superior.
All of your trip is inland lake paddling.
You could have some windy days but you will not find yourself in a Fitzgerald sinking storm.... not going to happen.

So back to the question you asked. Yes, a Pungo 120 will make the trip just fine. It will not be a Cadillac, but Toyota's have been getting people around just fine for years.

[sgatz]

We did that route (-Birch Island) with three canoes at the end of July.
http://isleroyaleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2268

[Tightlines01]

I think it's definitely possible, however, with the considerable amount of portaging you have figured in, I would look into a yoke system for you boat. There are some that can fit inside your cockpit/coaming area and allow you to portage easier than the common slipping it over your shoulder.

Damon...

Can you or anyone else give some good starting points for kayak yokes or portaging devices?

I've thought about this same route mentioned here but am concerned about the portaging. My kayak has plenty of storage but is heavy (roughly 60#) empty.

[Lucky Chicken]

We did that route (-Birch Island) with three canoes at the end of July.
http://isleroyaleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2268

I saw that... great report, very inspiring!

[YoungDan]

Piragis.com (Ely, MN) sells a kayak portage yoke that works pretty well. They sell their used ones from the rental fleet at the end of every season for roughly half the price of a new one. My son used one up there last season to carry his Current Designs kayak; worked out for us.

[hooky]

A Pungo 120 should easily carry everything an average size backpack would and then some, so a weeks worth of gear should not be of too much concern.
Here is my honest opinion. It's a boat. It floats well. You already have it. Make it work well enough for you. Don't worry if someone else would be happy with it, If you are happy in it. A pungo 120 is far more capable than you are.
I have thousands of miles underway on the Lake with a boat that "won't work" on Lk Superior.
All of your trip is inland lake paddling.
You could have some windy days but you will not find yourself in a Fitzgerald sinking storm.... not going to happen.

So back to the question you asked. Yes, a Pungo 120 will make the trip just fine. It will not be a Cadillac, but Toyota's have been getting people around just fine for years.

I do week long trips in a Pamlico 10 (I believe they've been renamed to the Aspire) and have plenty of room. Instead of a backack, I just toss everything in dry bags and off we go. If you've got the phase 3 seat, it should be a comfortable enough. Can't speak for the waves on the route, but it sounds like drobarge has you covered on that.

It sounds like a fun trip.