The weather in the Keweenaw has been awesome this spring. It was 80 degrees last week and my mind was long gone out on the water.  I heard my friend Greg Maino was looking to take a trip so I stopped in to see him at work at Downwind Sports.  After several iterations and a week or so of planning we finalized our plan to head down to Bayfield, WI and check out the sea caves in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  Hannah had some serious school commitments so she couldn’t come. Greg’s wife was out of town and we couldn’t really find any other friends who could come down so we planned it for just the two of us.

Greg picked me up at 6:30AM Thursday morning and I was painfully tired and cold as hell in the predawn darkness as I loaded my gear and boat into his car.  I was pretty stoked to be getting a tour in before Hannah and I leave for the PCT. I had written off my kayak season and this was a delightful opportunity.  Neither Greg nor I had been out into the Islands in the Apostles, though both of us had paddled the mainland shoreline.  When Hannah and I went through on our circumnavigation last summer we were too focused on getting around the lake to be able to get out into islands.

We got to Bayfield around 10AM and stopped at the visitors center to get a permit. The woman behind the counter seemed reluctant to give us one. We were the only back country permit out at the time and she seemed concerned for our safety.  The marine forecast was calling for 5-7 foot waves falling to 3-5 and 20 knot winds out of the North backing to 10 knots by afternoon.  We happily gave the 10 dollars a night camping fee, assured her we were prepared and headed out to look at the lake. The waves weren’t big enough to worry us but the wind was blowing strong and steady so we decided to wait a few hours to hit the water.  Around 1PM we went into the office at the Red Cliff Marina, paid our $5 launch fee and another $5 a day for parking and had them unlock the bathroom so we could change into our paddling gear.  It was still only 30 degrees and we were both hesitant to get moving.  We loaded the boats, wasted a little more time and settled on the fact that we had to get moving. Just as we took our first paddle strokes the sun broke through the clouds lending a bit of warmth to the biting chill of the wind.

We paddled along the mainland for about 3 miles, passing a handful of houses and a marina. There was a light headwind, which added just enough extra effort to the paddle to make me feel sluggish and just generally “off”.  I was only wearing a pair of thin NRS hydroskin gloves and after a few minutes they were soaked and the water combined with the breeze to steal all of the feeling from my fingers.  We left the mainland and headed to Oak Island. The brown sandstone cliffs that are the lakeshore’s signature feature started to make a strong appearance.  We ate a quick lunch on the North side of the island on a what appeared from the water to be a pleasant sand beach. The wind and cold shattered this facade and I was forced to take one of the coldest, most uncomfortable pees of my life. I can’t remember a time all winter where I was that thoroughly cold.  We left Oak Island in a frozen hurry after a quick glance at the map. This was really the turning point of the whole day.  We headed out on what we thought was a 2 mile crossing to what we thought was Otter Island but haste and discomfort kept us from consulting a compass and it was a pretty solid error. After 3 miles we hit the shore of  Bear Island, but we were totally unaware of our mistake.  We were confident we were in the right place, Otter Island, and if we paddled a mile and half around and did another short crossing we would land on Rocky Island where we intended on camping for the night and ending a solid 14 mile day.  We were starting to get sore and joking about the bad weather, sore muscles and cold water.  At one point one of us quipped about how glad we were that the other hadn’t suggested we go all the way out to Devil’s Island, our ultimate destination, tonight.  As we rounded what we thought was Otter Island we began to notice some discrepancies between our plan and reality; there were no islands where there should have been. No Rocky Island, No South Twin, just open water.  We kept going, always hoping it would be around the next point but with no luck. After we rounded the north side of the island we gave in to the nagging feelings that we had made an error and stopped to check the map.  It took about 3 seconds to figure out the mistake. How we made it I still have no idea but I guess that’s how getting lost goes.  We assessed the situation and conceded that there was only one reasonable solution: Go to Devil’s Island.  We laughed about the fortuitous and foreshadowing remarks from earlier and continued on. We were both beat as we started the three mile crossing.  My back was on fire and my arms were fatiguing quickly.  We landed at the dock totally spent.  It ended up being an 18.5 mile paddle with varying winds ranging from blowing stiffly in the face to gently pushing us along. The lake was never calm and, although the waves were never big enough to give me any trouble, they had slowly and solidly worn on me all day.

First thing to do after landing was to pull off my damp wetsuit and get some dry clothes on.  One of the worst feelings I have ever felt was pulling off my sodden rubber garb and exposing my bare ass the below freezing wind. It completely broke my spirit.  I put on every layer of clothes I brought and was only barely warm.  On a whim I packed my Patagonia down sweater and I could not have been happier to have it.  We set up the tent, ate some dinner and sat around chatting until after the sun set.  Neither of us were looking forward to putting on our wetsuits in the morning and the thought of having to do this for multiple days in a row fell heavy on us. We began discussing the possibility of heading back after only one night.  Our whole plan was three day paddle trip to circumnavigate Devil’s Island. We were going to do it in two and I felt a little bad about wasting the third day but I was really cold.

Friday morning dawned cold and sunny and I couldn’t bring myself to greet it. At about 9AM I dragged myself out of my nice warm bag and wandered down to the boats in the sub-freezing air.  The wind had died almost completely but there was a heavy coat of frost and ice on our boats and our wet clothes were frozen solid.  I moved them into the sunshine with the hopes they would be at least warm and wet and headed back up the hill to the campsite. We sat around cringing at the thought of putting our wetsuits on but by 11AM we could no longer avoid it.  I have to say it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had built it up to be. It was cold but not unbearably so. But you would have done the same thing if you would have been the one shaking the ice off of the only clothes you had for the day.

We loaded our gear and headed out explore the sea caves that make Devil’s Island famous.  It was the whole purpose of the trip and we were not disappointed.  The northeast shore of the island is riddled with dozens of caves and arches, many of them reaching one hundred feet or more under the land.  The waves were rolling in at 2-3 feet making a thorough investigation impossible but we spent plenty of time racing around the arches, bobbing like apples in the amphitheaters and splashing about in the crazy confused reflection waves within the bigger caves.  Most of my photos didn’t turn out due the rolling and splashing waves and the ones that were decent don’t do the experience justice.  I used one of our Aquapac camera cases and it kept my camera dry and safe throughout the paddle. My little Nikon point and shoot camera is really sensitive to moisture, I ruined one in on the AT, so it is really great to be able to shoot photos from the water without worrying. I would like to get a waterproof point and shoot someday but it is pretty big investment and the Aquapac has been a great alternative.

After an hour or so in the caves we headed out and finished the 3 mile circumnavigation of Devil’s Island. We stopped back at the dock, rested, ate and planned our route back to the marina.  As we left the island the wind and waves died and we had a few miles of calm, sunny, nice paddling.  It made me feel bad about heading home when we still had another day to paddle, but we had done what we came to do and the cold and wet just wasn’t calling my name.  We rested for a few minutes on Oak Island after making a bee line down the channel and then paddled out toward the mainland.  The wind shifted around to the east and struggled headlong into light breeze of about 10 knots. It wasn’t strong but it was enough to slow me down and drain the rest of my energy as we neared the end of another long day.  We rounded Red Cliff point and got in lee of Basswood Island  to find some respite from the wind. The last 3 miles were an easy cruise and we arrived at the car around 8PM after 19.5 miles.

It was a long paddle for early in the season but it was well worth it. The sea caves were spectacular; definitely one of the coolest things I have seen on the Lake Superior shore, and I have seen a good chunk of it.

We stopped at the South Shore Brewery for a quick and delicious dinner and then made the 3 hour drive home.  I had a really good time out, despite the freezing conditions. This was the first cold-weather kayak tour I have ever done and, like everything, I learned a lot. It made me really want a dry suit.  I will give it another shot for sure and I am certain that it will just continue to get better. It was great paddling with Greg and he got some great images.  For the first time after a paddle with Greg I have my own pictures so I didn’t need to steal all of his. I only took a few. But he has a lot more and they are  better than mine so you should definitely check them out at Juskuz.com