Just returned from Hattie Cove to Wawa trip. Very remote, tough conditions, beautiful place, 4 sea kayaks. Bruce Lash was our guide, we were lucky to have him. Learned a lot.

More later.

Not really doing a trip report but relaying some interesting things I picked up from the trip.

I was hesitant to ever use a guided trip service as anyone who's ever done it DIY. But after I did my 1st river white water trip with one cause I was failing to recruit any interest from follow paddlers I've never been disappointed with a guided trip. The extra experiences and learning has never failed to expand my knowledge and skills.

The guides all seem to know each other and we were talking about trips, guides, and places to paddle when something interesting caught my ear. One of the major arctic guiding companies use to offer a Pukaskwa to Wawa trip and it wasn't popular enough to continue cause the guide said most of the clients were "trophy paddlers". But it was a great trip to do. I've done some trophy trips myself and the comment made for some amusing reflections. Not a bad thing, and I hope everyone gets to do their trophy trip someday. But good trips don't have to be that exclusive.

There was another comment about accidents. Somewhere the guide had picked up that there were 3 things that were common in fatal accidents; schedule to keep, wanting to prove something to oneself or others, and having survived a near fatal accident in ones past. I thought it was interesting to ponder and share.

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Somewhere the guide had picked up that there were 3 things that were common in fatal accidents; schedule to keep, wanting to prove something to oneself or others, and having survived a near fatal accident in ones past. I thought it was interesting to ponder and share.

That's why IMHO  a seasoned paddler(s) have a plan B and allow for unplanned layover days for whatever the reason.
Group paddlers probably get caught up into the something to prove trap, especcialy if their new to tripping or feel their holding others back ( peer pressure).
Surviving one near death experince sure doesn't gaurantee it won't happen again.
I beleive we have someone on the QJ that has had a run in with lightning more than one time, and you know what they say about it never striking twice. ;) ;D

ST, I think the near fatal escape in ones background meant it lead them to believe they'd ecape again, and they were willing to put themselves at risk.

This was only in reviewing the background of fatal accidents. Some of us would learn our lesson and be more careful next time.

JJ - I think I know what you mean by "trophy paddlers" but I've been going to the same place for years so ... maybe not.

On the accident learning curve I totally agree and I love to see that concept thrown out for consideration. I'm sure we've all thanked out lucky stars on occasion but tempting fate isn't always healthy. It's a judgement call. Local, personal experience is why guides can charge strangers money for something they'd probably do for free if they could afford to.

The words "oh crap" being uttered for a second time probably surpass the embarrassment factor and may have also passed the sell by date.

Helmets are something, not unlike PFD's, to be avoided unless they are as comfortable and germane as seat belts IMO.

db wrote on Aug 15^th, 2013 at 9:09pm:

JJ - I think I know what you mean by "trophy paddlers" but I've been going to the same place for years so ... maybe not.

I think you just know what you like and are happy with that. It's all relative, to some Q is a trophy, or soloing someday. I'm always excited to meet a well traveled paddler and ask what one trip they do again besides all the rest. There's also some curious social dynamics some assume based on what they've done or where they've gone. The whitewater tales, travels, or the races.



db wrote on Aug 15^th, 2013 at 9:09pm:

Local, personal experience is why guides can charge strangers money for something they'd probably do for free if they could afford to.

For me it's also the benefit of getting schooled by instructor level paddlers as we go, i.e. whitewater river tripping or kayaking, rolling, and sea conditions.

Maybe here's where I can replay a incounter that troubled me. I was sitting in on a Canoecopia session about Lake Superior. The speaker was telling of a tandem kayak that needed rescued after attempting an 11 mile crossing to an island. It happened that the couple was in the hall. The thing that got me was that they seemed proud of what happened and spoke with authority,,,,it was their 15 mins of fame. It had taken 3 hours to find them and if they hadn't been as heavy as they were they probably wouldn't be here. No humility at all and he kept interjecting comments during the talk as if he were the speaker. When he finally added with absolute authority that you couldn't bring Bear Spray into Canada I had to say "Yes You Can".

I think this guys going to tempt fate again. The attention he got far out weighted anything else about his experience.

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I think this guys going to tempt fate again. The attention he got far out weighted anything else about his experience.

Sadly we now live in 15 minutes of fame world, good or bad, it doesn't seem to matter.
The old saying about as long as they're talking about ME, it's good, seems to be the norm nowadays.
If someone wants to tempt fate after a near death experince, that's their privielge.
Problem is others may think their "experts" and get themselves in a situation they might not survive.
I guess eating humble pie isn't on the menu of life for some.

What makes people exaggerate about their paddling ability so much. Martha & I still laugh about our outfitter going into his rant about people over stating their kayaking abilities and practiced safety drills. He ends up having to rescue them and it's obvious they've never done the T-Rescue.

"They All Lie. They All Lie."  ;D ;D

I'm OK with saying I'm getting uncomfortable, and do. Did it several days on our last trip. I'm OK with pushing my comfort zone as long as I let'm know it's being pushed. That goes for WW river trips too. This is where I get to grow some as a paddler. Once one person says they're uncomfortable seems others will speak up more honestly too.

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Once one person says they're uncomfortable seems others will speak up more honestly too.

I think that's true in almost all group situations.
Men are usually the worst at admitting their in over their heads.

Ever notice that if someone that others look up too admits to being uncomfortable with a situation, others are more likely to speak up as well.
Anyone that tell you they fear nothing are the ones YOU should fear when bad things happen. ;)

A little fear tempered by experience keeps you safe.

Jim j solo
What's up? No trip report, not even some pics to look at? Come on dude your slacking. That had to be one cool trip.

I hear ya, and will get working on it. As a preview I did meet a guy using a SeaWind canoe, so I think you'll be interested in what I learned from taking to him.

While I review and gather my notes, whatever happened with your Kruger style boat? Did you ever get it? Did I miss some pics?

Yup I finally got the boat. Took a long time to get it. Mostly my fault as I kept telling Scott that I wasn't in a hurry. The boat came out absolutely gorgeous but is plenty scratched up now since I had the bottom half of the boat painted instead of the top half. I disliked the idea of an 18 ft white torpedo underneath the water sticking out like a sore thumb while up against the mangroves. I should blend in nicely now so miss big snook might not spook.

Anyway, I took it on basswood for some 10 days and had a surprisingly enjoyable trip. Whacked lots of quality fish and had a superb time. The boat is exceptional and about half the price of a sea wind with more tripping volume. I think the sea wind might be be sturdier vessel however. I would not want to put the expedition under sail and run it up on a bar.

The basswood trip report is on my blog. The link is at the bottom of my posts. Dig around.

MT -- so I guess my WHITE fiberglass boat is not the ideal snooking craft.  Damn!  Will also affect my success with speckled trout and reds?

prouboy

Puckster wrote on Oct 22^nd, 2013 at 12:48am:

MT -- so I guess my WHITE fiberglass boat is not the ideal snooking craft.  Damn!  Will also affect my success with speckled trout and reds? prouboy

Don't sweat the small stuff. I'm a bit anal about not being "loud" when stalking big fish in skinny water. If they don't know your there the odds go up considerably that they will eat.

On the other hand, when fish look up they must certainly get used to seeing big white objects, either in the form of clouds or an endless array of fish catchers.

OK here goes.

Martha signed up for 2 weeks, I was to join her for the 2nd.

July 22-27 1st week, Rossport to Hattie Cove. They had rough weather all week and never made it all the way to Hattie Cove. The group was one guide (the owner), Martha, and another gal we didn't know. The other gal said she had done trips on Superior before, but seemed unprepared for this trip. Martha had to loan her gear. Her clothes weren't warm enough and she didn't have rain gear, just some kind of windbreaker. During one heavy headwind travel day the guide had to tow her. Later I heard from the owner's wife that he was very impressed with Martha. The trip ended short at Neys Park. One of the drawbacks of guided trips is you don't know the abilities of your group members.

Martha stayed in Marathon near the start of the 2nd week trip, Hattie Cove (Pukaskwa National Park) to Michipicoten.

July 30, 2013
I meet the outfitter near Goulais River for the ride up to Marathon. We had a nice gal, Chantal, from Quebec joining us for the trip and we picked her up at an alternate meeting site. Marathon seemed nicer than I expected. I remember hearing how polluted the area was from the mills but it was pretty nice. Soon we had Martha and continued to put in at Hattie Cove. We wanted to get out from the car camping/lodge area, just a few k’s. We found the first point in open water was a bit lumpy, so we took a break in a small bay and reset our paddling gear for a brief but tough paddle. Not much of an easy warm-up to paddling on Superior, but everyone did fine. There was another point we wanted clear. But it would only have knocked off 3 more k’s and we had thunder. So we found a campsite in Playter Harbor and stopped. The rough weather pattern seemed to be settled in.

What kind of craft were you paddling? Could you camp anywhere?

M_T
We're all in single seat British style kayaks.

I think you could camp anywhere. We used a cobble beach one night.

July 31, 2013
We got an early start but we got caught in some heavy rain. Bruce (our guide) lost his graphite paddle while pulling out his Gore-Tex top. So now he’s using his spare. We pulled up onto a beach and rigged the tarp, and it dumped buckets of rain. After the rain slowed a bit we paddled a bit farther and stopped at Willow River. The day was cool, thick fog, rain, and thunder. The area is a popular camping spot for hikers. The only hikers camped there were leaving and we waited and got their choice spot to camp.

Later 4 young gals came hiking through. They didn’t speak much English, long story short, they were in bad shape. Turns out they were from France, Chantal did some translating and Bruce used his new InReach to get the park to come rescue them. They didn’t have great rain gear and no bug juice. One gal’s eye was almost swollen shut from the bug bites. The park showed up in a Zodiac and after a brief assessment hauled them off.

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Bruce is getting concerned about the lack of miles we’re getting each day and is talking we may have to double back to the start if it doesn’t get better. Martha and I don’t like that, but he doesn’t know how much we can paddle. Chantal tells us she’s done some kayak triathlons so we all keep quiet and let Bruce worry.

August 1, 2013
We get a nice start today and paddle for 5 hours making 30 kms and stop near the White Gravel River. Weather was good, fog in the morning but it burned off. We get out of our boats about every 1 ½ hours to stretch and eat. We had some sheltered paddling and the open water was only about 1’ waves along with the swells. I sighted some Bohemian Waxwings, Black/White w/yellow breast warblers, and some other tiny light yellow breast warblers around our pit stops.

There’s a mix of campsites along the coastal hiking trail and some only paddlers can reach. They all have at least a thunder box. Some of the hiking campsites have bear boxes. The park's got a nice map done by Chrismar similar to the one for Quetico and that’s all you really need to use for the park section of the trip.

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August 2, 2013
We paddled in the rain a bit this morning, but the rest of the day was nice. Found some ancient pits on elevated beaches. The elevated beaches are pretty high. It’s odd but the lake’s water level isn’t getting lower, the land is rebounding from the pressure of the glaciers.

Stopped at Cascade Falls, and then went over to Otter Island to camp near the old light house keeper's house.

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We hiked up to the old light house a checked out the view.

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:)

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August 3, 2013
The wind picked up before morning light. We got as far as we could without going around a bad point. Short day so far. The campsite we stopped at had wolf tracks (4 claws) on the beach. Chantal was sure they were bear tracks so we left. Returned to a cobble beach we’d passed that had the only raised pit in the park. It was a decent spot to rest while waiting for the wind to die, and check out the old pit. But the winds seemed to only get stronger. After waiting till late in the day we decide to camp on the cobble beach. We’ll have some long days coming. The wind’s been in our backs. We’re about midway on our trip and going back would be against the wind.

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August 4, 2013
We got another early start and needed to make some distance. So not much exploring, just enjoying the scenery as we paddled. The last couple days we’d had a bit of a quartering tailwind. But now as we turned to more of an easterly heading, it became a nice straight tailwind. We had some fun paddling and surfing till the winds built and the waves became a bit too much. We took some shelter in Pilot Harbour and waited it out. We couldn’t find any place there that looked like a good spot to camp. So we had dinner and waited. Then just before we decided to take the best of the worst places for camp, we saw that the winds had died and we made a dash down the coast. 25 minutes later we slipped into Floating Heart Bay to camp. There was high surf in one spot where the others said they couldn’t see my kayak or the top end of my paddle while I was in the trough of the waves. Mostly we’d been in 3-4’ surf, but this was maybe an 8’ spot. Luckily we didn’t have to land in anything like that. It wasn’t long and we had the tents up and a nice warming fire.

It'd been a tough day. But nobody had tipped and we'd made a good 40 kms. Bruce said he'd only had one group ever do close to that distance in one day before. He was having fun leading this group. Although we were tired, everyone seemed to be holding up OK.

Wow Jim.....sounds like a good time. Superior paddling is definitely an interesting choice. The hiking trail is certainly an added bonus......nice to be able to go for a lengthy hike after sitting in the boat all day.

So what about the fishing potentials. See any weedbeds in the bays?  Did the guide mention anything?

MT
IMO fishing and kayaking don't go together. At least in the type of kayaks we used. Limited space for fishing gear to begin with and tough to land any fish on a closed deck with spray skirt.

Your Kruger style boat would work better for fishing.

Not any weed beds that I saw, looked pretty sterile to me. I would think you'd have to focus on the river mouths.

Wait a couple weeks for the finish. ~ early Nov.

August 5, 2013
We get a good start but it only takes an hour and we can feel the wind & waves building. We’re trying to put some distance in, so not much stopping to explore. We get around Point Isacor, one of the obstacles we were worried about. It wasn’t bad-bad, but not a great place to stay either. We stop at a crummy little bay for a break, long rocky shoreline today and not many options for stopping. Chantal isn’t feeling good today, bad cramps. She’s done, won’t eat. But every little bit she does eat seems to perk her up and it’s “lets go”. Post trip we found out she needed some surgery. Hope she’s doing better.

Today the waves are a bit to our side and quartering in front of us. Martha’s had two weeks of tripping without any “Zen” paddling. There seems to be a challenge everyday. With Chantal not up to top form, the troops are ready to be done. We make it to the Dog River and its expansive camping area. We all take advantage of the relative warmth of the river water for a bath. Bruce is able to get a cell signal and calls to make arrangements for an early pickup tomorrow.

We meet Carl camping nearby. He’s tripping in a SeaWind canoe. So I chat him up about the pros and cons. He can carry more gear but there’s no self rescue if he flips like kayaks can. He also said he switches to a kayak paddle in following seas so he can react faster to broaching on a wave, since he never knows which way it’ll turn after his rudder lifts out of the water. The SeaWind can be hooked up tandem to another SeaWind like a catamaran, but Carl’s paddling solo. So tomorrow when we leave he’ll be waiting for better weather. No hurry, he’s done this before.

August 6, 2013
In the morning we launch ourselves in the river and paddle out through the mouth in the surf while Carl waves goodbye. There’s heavy skies and thick fog. The fog teases us to paddle closer to shore to maintain our heading, but the breaking waves near shore send us out farther into the lake. Finally the fog clears. The wind is coming out of the east, an unusual direction, so some of the points and capes Bruce is worried about aren’t as bad as he’d feared. We make it to Indian Beach and our pickup. The Indian Village is getting ready for a Powwow and some of the gals are dressed up in their dance dresses. Kids are swimming in the lake and it’s raining again.

Post trip
Each kayak trip we learn a bit more about kayak tripping on this big lake. Some of the stuff we paddled Martha & I don’t know if we could have been much help rescuing each other if we’d been on our own. It’s an area we’d love to return to and explore more. There’s a lot of Lake Superior where there’s a road or train track nearby, but this whole trip was very isolated and beautiful.

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Nifty tale Jim........

I am drawn to the big lake. Did the fellow in the Sea Wind have a spray skirt? I think they do make them......Scott Smith who makes the Expedition mentioned something about getting some made.

Yup, not going to roll a Sea Wind right side up (at least a mere mortal isn't). I sort of am inclined to like the idea of a Yak paddle in rough weather, easier to reach out with corrective strokes and bracing seems like it would be better with something a bit longer. On the other hand Verlen Kruger who has paddled incredible distances in some gnarly water always used a single blade with his Sea Wind. I have some pics in the book "All things are possible" which shows Verlen launching his boat in some amazing surf.

One day I would like to circumnavigate Isle Royale and while I would do it solo some company may be best. Put it in your back pocket and once in a while pull it out and chew on it some. My understanding is the north shore is rather nasty.

MT,
I don’t think a spray skirt would be necessary or help much. The SeaWind looks like it’d be pretty dry and if you were shipping some water you probably shouldn’t be out there. I don’t really know. Maybe if it was rigged up to another SeaWind, catamaran style, you could use one??

I do know that kayaking you seem to be paddling in the water, not over it, so you dress accordingly.

Lake Superior,
It can be rough, but early summer seems to be a better time to go, mid-June to late July. The cold surface water keeps the air near the surface cool and acts like a thermal blanket deflecting the warm summer winds from reaching the water surface. It seems to break down near August and you’ll typically have more layover days later in the summer.

Isle Royale,
There’s a long shoreline from the south end clockwise around the west side where there doesn’t seem to be any safe landings. It’s a long run to make without any escape routes. I’d look it over very closely and research some first hand info.

I've backpacked Isle Royale 3 x but never canoed it.
One trip we were camped at Windigo waiting for water shuttle back to Rock Harbor.
It was around 4th of July if memory serves.

A solo kayaker came up the narrow of Washington Harbor and took the camp next to us.

He had come around the North side solo from Rock Harbor thinking it was better to paddle into prevailing W-E winds.

He said he had rolled 2 x along shore and 1 x trying to get into Harbor.
He was a very experienced paddler and dressed in a full neoprene wet suit.

Said that if he wasn't good at doing Eskimo Roll, he would of drowned the first rollover.

Only escape on nasty part of North shore would be to try to beach wherever you could on the rocky shoreline. Probably a last ditch effort and not advisable.

Fog was a big issue along with wind/choppy seas.
He said he was using kayak compass on deck to stay oriented

I had to ask if he would do it again, and he said never solo but maybe with other experienced paddlers.
He was shook up enough he hitched a ride on water taxi to Rock Harbor.

That was in 80's and we have Google Maps now, so maybe a really detailed look at shoreline would reveal some spots you might be able to put-in at if things got dicey. Maybe lock into GPS.

He could self rescue, don't know what you'd do in open canoe if a rogue wave hit you and boat filled up?
Maybe you could modify some kayak float bags to fit and minimize the flood area.
That and a spray skirt, maybe some kind of manual bilge pump you could modify to pump with you foot could aid in a bad situation.

Whatever precautions/modifications I made, would get a test run in some warm water to see how it went.
Superior will kill you if you don't give it the utmost respect. ;)

I have actually gleaned quite a bit of info about kayaking around Isle Royale. Definitely on my bucket list. The book I have break the route on the north shore into 10 mile segments......basically safe harbors.

I would also have a dry suit and communications devices wether an Epirb or SAT phone and also a SPOT. Of course you might be "expired" by the time anyone shows up. Have plenty of time and a good weather radio and plan accordingly. The hour paddle we spent on the Lady in open canoes a few years back was very intriguing.......seemed like it could be a special trip indeed with the right boat.

Spray skirt is probably wishful thinking but I remember reading about a kayak at Isle Royale that took a wave and filled up and when the water went forward into his bow he had a very tough time indeed controlling his boat. If it is bad enough for a spray skirt probably best not to be out.

ST also mentioned something I have already considered and that is a bilge pump.........except I would do 12 volt system and a switch. The boat is certainly capable of handling a battery as I have already found out.

The island is an extraordinary place........it is not a national park for nothing.

But first things first. I will get some big water experience on the nice warm ocean first and see what kind of water I can handle and learn the capabilities of the boat as well. 

I see they offer a spray skirt for the Sea Wind at the builders web site. $475 seems excessive but maybe you could find a regular kayak cover to fit?
A little modification you could add a hole to snake out a bilge hose.

Not sure about hooking to 12 volt battery? What happens if you fill to the point battery is under water?
I know they make small portable bilge pumps for little fishing boats that run off D-cell batteries that are in a waterproof case. As soon as float raises, pump turns on then shuts off when float drops. A automatic system on the cheap.

If you took up all extra space after gear, say by adding floatation bags fore/aft and had a power bilge pump, you could at least have a margin of safety if the weather changed faster than you could get out of, or a rogue wave washed over your boat.

Boat can't fill with water if there's limited space for it. Worse case you get wet but stay floating until bilge pump kicks in.

Lot's of room to experiment and maybe find that level of comfort needed if you attempt a solo trip.

I had never considered the battery being completely submerged ST.......an excellent point. That would be a heap-o-water however (i'm visualizing that movie with Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine  ;) ). I will take my chances with the 12 volt system thinking its better than not even though less than perfect.

You have mentioned the flotation bags twice now......the first time escaped my attention (Sometimes I need to hear things more than once). WW paddler strategy which would be very wise indeed for my particular application.....that is if I should ever actually muster up the courage/expertise to undertake the trip. As of now I am rather cowardly and shy away from anything resembling heavy water unless a reasonably accessible shoreline is not far off and then I do rather well. Better a cowardly dog than a dead lion (somewhere in proverbs perhaps?).