Chippewa Harbor via Lake Superior by canoe

[Rafiki]

Tree Rattt....We actually got the gardener kneeling pads to sit on in the boat so I could try to rig them up in such a way to provide extra cushion for my shoulders when carrying the canoe.

Lucky Chicken...It looks liked a brilliant idea, but that it would require some ingenuity, which I am not full of especially since I am renting the canoe and do not have access to measurements and specifics to get creative with.

Hooky...I love your idea except wheel devices of any sort are illegal on Isle Royale. I do not get why. However, I wish they would allow them for the 2.3 mile portage between Moskey and Richie.

[Lucky Chicken]

Canoe's are easy to rig on a pack even if you dont know the dimensions before starting. Pick a wide gunnel dimension and tie a stick on the pack that is that wide or a little bit wider. This will work on the narrower ones also. You could also make a Y or T on top of the pack frame with the legs pointing forward and backward at frame width which would catch the yoke on just about any canoe.

Happy portaging!

[Gimp]

Last year I had the VII transport my canoe and I from Rock Harbor to Chippewa. I had arrived on the IR Queen the day before and used the free time to paddle over to the Duncan Harbor portage and Lookout Louise. You could paddle down to Caribou Island on your arrival day and then meet the VII at Daisy Farm the next morning. For two passengers and a canoe it might run you about $140. The morning that I made the transit to Chippewa the water was choppy enough that I wouldn't have wanted to have been paddling in a canoe although a sea kayak would have worked. My view of the rocky shoreline confirmed that there wasn't much of any place to have gone ashore if there had been a problem. Of course you could always carry a couple of six packs of beer to hire a thirsty backpacker or two at Moskey for portage support.

[Redbad]

Last year I was at Chippewa Harbor when 3 canoes which had been paddled from Rock Harbor came in. Shortly afterwards the law enforcement ranger came in as well to do a safety check on the canoers (and to issue warnings to them for improper safety gear, trash, and other violations). The canoers said that it took something like 6 plus hours to make the trip and that the waves were building as they made Chippewa Harbor...

Moral of the story -- it is possible to safely canoe from Rock Harbor to Chippewa Harbor. From the Lighthouse to past Saginaw Point there are not many places to land if the lake changes conditions. The risk involved for a canoe may not be worth the reward.

[Rafiki]

Thank you everyone for your kind elaborations. I think I'm just going to have to hoof it.