Lake Superior

While this is a South Dakota kayaking blog, I wanted to share thoughts on my favorite kayaking trip I took with my husband. It was one of the most challenging for me. This is a photo of Meyers Beach on Lake Superior which is near Bayfield, Wis.

We set off from this little sandy beach – you can see Eagle Island behind us in the distance, and the caves are where the mainland crops out in the top right of this photo - and went to the mainland sea caves. Unfortunately on this trip we did not do a crossing from the Wisconsin shore to an island, but that's on the top of the list for next time we go.


So anyways we left from Meyers Beach with our spray skirts and the wet suits we rented from the University of Minnesota. The sea caves were about a mile up the coast from the beach. There were lots of other kayakers making this trip.


I wish I could describe the sound of the water slapping the insides of the sea caves – it was a very unusual sound. By listening you could tell the some of the caves went in pretty deep. At the time I pictured one of the waves sucking me into the cave and smashing me on the roof of the cave, but we were very careful and the lake was pretty calm that day.






The only think I didn't like about the sea caves trip was that I got a little sick on the way back. Normally I like the big waves and I find it thrilling. This got to me after awhile because I had the waves coming in from sea and also the reflective waves bouncing off the caves. Despite me getting a little sea sick I still kept on paddling.



I also wanted to include this picture as it was me paddling out in the big inland sea that is Lake Superior. It was the first time I have ever looked over the side of my boat to see the bottom of the lake 50 feet (or more!) below. I could see huge boulders under the water just like the ones sticking out of the water in this photo.



The last couple of items I wanted to include on our Lake Superior trip were from the conclusion our trip. We went up the Gunflint Trail near the Boundary Waters that separate the U.S. and Canada. One of the highlights paddling on this lake (there are hundreds up there, we were on Gunflint Lake) was the first time I've ever seen a loon.
Now I really do understand where loony comes from :-) There's a loon in the picture behind me.

Last thing to share was this shot of me reaching out to touch Canada. The folks at the lodge seemed surprised that the Border Patrol didn't get after us for crossing into the Great White North. But were were pretty much out in the middle of nowhere and it's not like I would abandon my boat out in the woods to make a new life in Ontario.



Lake Superior and northeastern Minnesota were a blast. There's a lot more things I wanted to do while we were there but we went full speed for the week we spent and got a lot done. But we saved a few things for the next trip. I can't thank my wonderful husband enough for being my guide on this awesome adventure. Love you Babe!!

Laura