some that I'd like to visit time and time again. Here are a sampling:
The Apostle Islands - Lake Superior, Wisconsin, USA
If you ever have a chance to kayak on Lake Superior in Wisconsin, one of the most enjoyable places is the Apostle Islands. Located at the northern tip of the Bayfield Peninsula, the Apostle Islands offers adventure to those who are well prepared for the cold water and unpredictable weather conditions. Yet the camping, crystal clear water, natural beauty and exploring the sea caves makes this a destination you'll want to return. The National Park Service offers online brochures of the Apostle Islands National Seashore, and outlines precautions that everyone should closely follow, for it is remote. Self-sufficiency, good judgment and knowing one's limits is highly regarded.
In mid July of 2008, I set out with three of my friends to explore five islands over five days. The air was warm, yet the water temperature demanded we wear our dry suits on open water crossings. The longest leg of our journey was 14.5 miles. Blue berries were in season and also the bears, which prohibited us from camping on one island.
Our first excursion was to explore the rock formations along the Bayfield coastline. Numerous inlets and sea caves lured us in and the warmth and the siting of a Bald eagle lured us out.
Sand Island offers many smaller inter-connecting sea caves on the Eastern side of the island as well as a lighthouse on the northern end.
Camping sites, on Sand Island, were up into the woods where deer were plentiful and bold enough to invade or camp, searching for food in the lush moss.
York Island allows for protected beach camping on the north side. My tent was a perfect place to escape the biting flies on this trip.
Be prepared: on this trip, we had to be fully clothed most of the day in our bug shirts, long pants and shoes for relief. The smoke from Mark's fire helped drive the flies away.
Betsy made our kitchen from logs and driftwood. We ate well!
Breakfast buffet: oatmeal with nuts and berries, hot chocolate and oranges.
The morning brought great sunrises, play time and prospects to explore another island.
Betsy and I explored the southern tip of Rocky Island and found rocks of every color.
It's very wise to purchase a water-proof map of the isalnds and take along GPS and VHF radios. On this trip, Devils Island was where we wanted to spend most of our time. The mosquitos were so bad, we decided to pitch our tents on the dock that enclosed the bay on the island's South end. Exploring the sea caves was the highlight of the trip. The chunking of the waves along the cave walls, the gradient green water and majestic red rocks are sights and sounds that are hard to forget.
Part of the fun was finding openings that linked cave to cave. Some of the holes were close fitting. Tennis balls, secured to the ends of the kayak, gave protection from the jagged rocks.
The north end of Devils formed a natural harbor for small boats and entrance to the lighthouse.
Sunrises like this are beautiful but are signs of impending weather. On this day, we headed back to the mainland just in time to avert a huge storm brewing over the lake.
But on another trip, we were granted this breathtaking sunset at the end of our last day.
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