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Friday Sept. 03 to Saturday Sept. 11, 2004
After a relaxing week of kicking back and hanging out at Rock Island
Lodge and Naturally Superior Adventures, it was time to once again resume
my journey to the Canadian east coast. The break was nice but I've got
a long ways to go and it is getting late in the season now, time for Joe
to get his butt moving again!
After thanking Dave and his crew of guides for putting me up and saying
our goodbyes, I was finally back underway again, entering into Lake Superior
Provincial Park. Todays paddle took me past more towering cliffs, scenic
protected coves, beaches with turquoise coloured water, some nice cobblestone
beaches, a little bit of everything. Camp tonight was on a protected little
beach at Brule Harbour with a great view of some cliffs I would be paddling
past early on during tomorrows paddle. Rice & veggies along with tuna
for supper rounded out the day. Felt great to be underway again.
The next day brought more great weather and mainly calm conditions out
on the big lake. I cut directly across Old Woman Bay and past some impressive
cliffs, partially obscured by the morning fog. The area around Cape Gargantua
was especially spectacular with beautiful rocky islands, rugged cliffs
along the lakeshore and plenty of cobblestone beaches. Tonight's camp
was on Devil's Warehouse Island, setting up camp on a beach of small stones
before starting up a nice campfire and relaxing as darkness took over
and the stars gradually filled the sky. Yeah, this is pretty good! This
was followed up the next day with more beautiful scenery, long, pristine
beaches and epic scenery all around. Camped out tonight on a sandy beach
running between the main shore of the lake and a tiny, rocky island. As
it turned out, this would be my campsite for the next night as well as
the lake started acting up overnight and the wind and waves were shall
we say "Ridiculous looking" the next morning! It looked as though
I'd be spending a 3rd day here as well but, fortunately, the winds started
easing up late in the afternoon and the lake settled down enough for me
venture back out on the lake for a short paddle of maybe 2 hours before
landing & setting up camp in Sinclair Cove, arriving just before dark.
It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing.
Once underway again the following morning, I paddled out of the cove and
made my way the nearby site of the Agawa Rock Pictographs, an aboriginal
site of rock drawings on a cliff along the shores of the lake. The site
of these pictographs in the early morning was a perfect way to start the
day. It certainly made me feel very small and insignificant. Sitting in
my canoe at the base of these cliffs, gazing out at these ancient pictographs
under a clear, crisp morning sky with the gentle swells of Superior rolling
underneath the kevlar hull of my tiny craft. After taking several photographs
I reluctantly paddled off, heading in to Agawa Bay and the visitor centre
there at the campground. Here, I checked out some of the interactive displays
inside and looked over some of the many fine exhibits before making a
couple phone calls to friends and family. While here I made arrangements
with a good friend, Linda, back in British Columbia to have a new tent
sent out to my next food drop, up in Cache Bay Ontario on Lake Nippissing.
It will be good to finally replace my current tent, one that has given
me nothing but problems since the start. With fall approaching with it’s
longer nights and colder temperatures, a new tent that does not leak will
be a huge plus for the remainder of my trip. I ended the day camped out
on a beach of small cobblestones at Mica Bay, setting up the tent just
a short distance from the Tran Canada Highway.
While paddling the next afternoon I met a sea kayaker from Sault Ste.
Marie, Rob paddling his beautiful cedarstrip Redfish kayak. What a beautiful
piece of w ork this kayak was! I ended up camping alongside Rob and his
wife Vicki and their good friends Glen & Janice. A great meal followed
by dessert and then coffee with Bailey’s ended a really good day.
The campsite at Pancake Bay Provincial Park was surprisingly full considering
it was already September the 9th.
On Friday morning, I was late getting underway but as not overly concerned
about that. I only had a relatively short paddle for today. One of the
backpackers, Jean, whom Id met back in Pukaskwa National Park had invited
me to spend the night at their house when I arrived in Sand Bay, near
the eastern end of Lake Superior. This was only about a 30 to 35 kilometres
paddle away and would not be a big deal. Getting there, I did an open
water crossing of about 8 or 9 kilometers across Batchawana Bay, angling
up along the far shoreline towards Sand Bay. The crossing went well and
the view was beautiful.
Soon, drawing near to Sand Bay, I stopped for a short lunch break and
to double check the map Jean had drawn for me on how to find her house.
Well...it was meant to be a short break! Just as I was finishing my lunch
I met Ray who lived in one of the houses along the beach I’d stopped
at. Actually this entire section was quite built up with houses. I’d
stopped where I had because I saw a tandem sea kayak sitting on one section
of beach and figured....”Ahhh...kayakers! I’m sure they will
not mind me having a lunch break on their beach!” Anyways, Ray was
the son-in-law of the people next door who owned the kayak. He invited
me in for some refreshments and I accepted. We all ended up talking for
a couple of hours, Ray, his wife and their kids as well as the people
Ray’s wife’s parents from next door. Getting close to dark
by now, I got back on the water, completing my paddle to Sand Bay in the
dark, guided into Jean’s house by the flashlight she was waving
in her backyard. Luckily for me I had thought to call her just before
leaving Ray’s place, letting her know where I was and when to expect
me.
My timing was great! After coming inside I was offered a cold beer and
we then watched the remainder of the Gold Medal hockey game at the World
Cup of Hockey, a game between Canada and Finland. Canada went on for the
win and it was great to be able to watch it live on TV over a couple of
cold drinks. Like I said, the timing was perfect! A short while later
we all jumped in the hot tub for a relaxing soak. Nothing like sitting
in the hot tub, having a drink with some good people and looking out over
Lake Superior on a beautiful night. On my way here, I also witnessed one
of the nicest sunsets of the entire year. Yeah, not a bad day at all I’d
say!
Heading out around noon the next day, I was starting my last full day
on Lake Superior and was somewhat sad about having to leave the big lake
behind. At the same time however, I was also looking forward to the lakes
and rivers that are still to come. The St. Mary’s River, Lake Huron
along the North Channel and Georgian Bay, the French River, Lake Nippissing,
the Mattawa River, The Ottawa River...still so much to see!
My plan today was to simply get down to the end of the lake, or as close
as I could and still be able to find a place to camp. This would set me
up for going through the Lochs the next morning and through Sault Ste.
Marie & onto the St. Mary’s River. I had not counted on a major
thunder and lightning storm though. Made for some interesting paddling
as I rounded Gros Cap with increasing winds, flashes of lightning and
the booming sound of thunder all around me. Not to mention the torrential
rains! I ended up camping along a section of sandy beach on the outskirts
of the city, setting up camp just before dusk during a bit of a lull in
the rains. A short while later, I was watching lightning flashes behind
me, on the Canadian side of the lake. A couple kilometres away, in Michigan,
there were also flashes in the sky. These however were not lightning flashes
but fireworks in rememberance of the Sept. 11th incident of 2001.
So that is it for my adventures upon Lake Superior, the largest lake in
the world and the highlight of my entire trip thus far. Tomorrow I’ll
be going through the man-made locks at the Sault and entering into the
St. Mary’s river which will then take me to Lake Huron over the
next couple of days. But that is for the next report.
Cheers...Joe O'Blenis
www.geocities.com/outrageous_outdoors
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