Back from the Canadian bush and a very nice trip. Weather was unbelievably good. I haven’t been on a trip like this since 2006 and never seen conditions like this on a trip of this length. I never wore a paddling jacket, only wore a lightweight top, it rained 4 times mostly at night, winds were only twice over 10 knots, seas were over 3′ 4-5 times, bugs were rarely present, water was warm enough to swim every day. The good folks at Naturally Superior Adventures did the car shuttle, arranged some huge surf and setup a house concert by Brock Zeman. What great folks and a great place to end a trip.
Quite a bit different from Nancy and Carl’s expedition (or was that a paddler’s country western song?
). Nancy seemed to survive a bit better than her posting Stranded in Sydney implied though the health of her Mom is still a concern. Carl said it was a great trip, but then again he is British. Such things are mere trifles when one use to run the world, fought Hitler one on one and well, grew up eating British cooking.
Below is a brief photo journal of the trip. Click here to go to the gallery for more photos.
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The trip started at Hattie Cove, the western end of Pukaskwa National Park. This is the only road access in the park. The above is Pic Island with what turned out to be the start of a great weather stretch.

Rock, Pukaskwa is rock and lots of it. A rugged shoreline, it has kept development and even roads far away from the lake.

One of the most famous waterfalls in Canada, Cascade Falls. This is the first of several spectacular waterfalls seen.

I wasn’t the only one there. This is the David Thompson Brigrade, Brooke, Laura and Gary. They are traveling from Thunder Bay to Montreal. This part of the trip is in sea kayaks but they have a Voyageur canoe stashed for the non Lake Superior parts. Click here for more info on their trip and click here for an article about them in the Soo.

The lighthouse on the east end of Michipicoten Island. After the ten mile crossing I camped here for two nights. The flying buttress design is for it to withstand and last in the wind. Nearby were bountiful blueberries.

Quebec Harbor on the southside of the island was where people were found. Several vacation homes are there. Several boats were about including one that motored up and asked me if I was Melanie. He then added he didn’t have his glasses with him.
Located in the harbor is also shipwrecks, 3 total. The above one is the most interesting. A fire burned off all the wood from the steel frame.

This is my favorite campsite on the lake, the tombolo on the west side of the island. It is remote, rugged and gives one of the strongest senses of being out there. Despite being late july, there was no sign of humans walking around or camping. To the southwest is one of the longest fetches on the lake. I ended up taking a day to explore the area.

After crossing back to the mainland, stopped at the Dog River. A big sandbar there offers great camping and an hour or so hike brings you to these falls. Quite a site to see, it takes several hours just climbing around to soak up the impressive size and nature of this waterfall. Estimate it is over 100′ high.

Cape Gargantua has some of the most impressive rock formations to see. Above is Devil’s Chair. So called because the Ojibwa originally called it Nanabozho’s Chair, their Creator. In an effort to prevent the Natives, who were increasingly Christianized, Missionaries called it Devils Chair to stop the worshiping of such objects. Scientists looking at the rock formation believe it is part of a very old volcano.

Trip end, mouth of the Michipicoten River near Wawa. Although the traveling from place to place ended, spent a couple of nights here.

The crew at Naturally Superior are great to hang out with. When I arrived, they invited me to a body surfing session on a gravel bar at the river’s mouth. The next day, surf built into some of the biggest waves I have tried to surf but was unsuccessful. Waves were huge, very punishing if you were in the wrong place but an incredible adrenaline rush. This is David Wells, owner of Naturally Superior, after we landed.

To cap everything else, Brock Zeman played a house concert. He was on his way to the Red Rock Folk Festival. An incredible show and a great way to end the trip.
sam