A Trilogy
Part 2: Pictured Rocks 2009
This is part two of a three part story. For my wife and I, this was part of a three week trip covering Georgian Bay, Pictured Rocks and the Apostle Islands. We planned to kayak extensively in each area. I decided to write a story about each place.

In part one, I talked about our days kayaking the Georgian Bay near Killarney. After that adventure, my wife and I traveled across the top of Lake Huron, entering Michigan at Sault St. Marie on our way to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Our plan was to kayak the length of the Pictured Rocks area from Miner's Beach to the waterfall just east of Chapel Rock. This would be about 17 miles round trip, with most of the shoreline unlandable (cliffs coming straight up out of the cold Lake Superior water).

There are some things to consider here. First, Lake Superior is very cold. On a calm day, it seems safe enough. I saw several kayakers in jeans and a t-shirt. But Lake Superior is famous for it's temperament, and storms come up fast. So it is critical that you are properly dressed (drysuit preferred) and that you watch the weather. Getting caught along the cliffs in a storm could mean disaster. I also always carry a GPS and a VHF radio. I love this sport, and I plan on living to do it next week and next year.
 
So we finally arrived in Munising and found our campground. We camped on the mainland across from Grand Island, right on Lake Superior. It was windy. It was very windy. The picture at right is a tent that was tied to a line between two trees. It was flying. It was a great day to hike, but I was not going near the water. So, we hiked the Pictured Rocks shoreline and played tourist. The next day was a bit calmer, so we headed for Miner's Beach to check the conditions.

Grand Island is a good option on a windy day. Not as interesting as the main attraction, but it was an interesting paddle and there are some shipwrecks near the island to boot.
It was still too windy to attempt kayaking the Pictured Rocks area, so we decided to launch from Sand Point and head across to Grand Island. This provided a protected shoreline and the island itself provided protection from the northwest breeze.

So we waited another day, but mother nature was not going to cooperate. The wind continued, making a kayak trip along Pictured Rocks undoable.

So, we headed off to the Apostle Islands early, hoping for better conditions there. See Part Three for that story. On the way back from Apostle Islands, we finally got our weather window and launched from

Miner's Beach. Kayaks are very popular, and there were several kayakers on the beach. Most were totally unprepared for the possibilities Lake Superior can serve up, and I shook my head as we left the beach. We paddled all the way to the waterfall past Chapel Rock and back. At the end of the day, we celebrated with Dairy Queens all around.

And so we finally paddled the Pictured Rocks shoreline. This is a trip I would recommend as a must do IF the weather cooperates.

Now on to Part Three of the Trilogy: Apostle Islands