Unexpected Surprise

September 2, 2011

I had not paddled for almost a month…not since rounding McNutts Island in Nova Scotia while on vacation. Too busy back in my life…sent my daughter off to college the week after getting home, preparing and getting ready for the start of the new school year here and various other things that needed catching up.

Where should I go that I hadn’t been for a while? There was a chance of severe weather in the afternoon so I was looking for a simple sweet paddle. I hadn’t been to Strawberry Creek nor to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal for years.

I launched under the Bay View Bridge and headed across the Bay.

Then followed the shore to the South passing near shore side homes, going inside the lagoon at Strawberry Estates to see what interesting boats were docked there.

Another half mile and the mouth of Strawberry Creek.

The DNR has a Salmon egg collection station up Strawberry Creek.

They capture Salmon that return to spawn, gather the eggs and release fingerlings each spring to propagate the salmon population in Lake Michigan.

Further south at the canal entrance are old cribs and pilings from long ago.

Then we get to the modern steel sided lining of the canal itself.

I had gone about a mile into the canal and heard thunder in the distance…whoa...time to turn around. Heading back, I saw a critter swimming along the steel piling. At first I thought is was a common Muskrat, but it didn’t dive like they usually do when you come near…It was a gray squirrel…I have disliked squirrels ever since they chewed a hole in my daughter’s playhouse and built a nest in the attic. I had to rip out the ceiling and insulation to clear the smell….I hate squirrels…

This one was trying to claw its way up the steel lining of the canal. That plan wasn’t working, so I stretched out the paddle, let it climb onto the blade, then set the mean little beast onto the bow of my boat. Several times it ran at me hissing with bare teeth, I used the paddle as a joust to keep it at bay until I could ferry it over to the rocks on the other side where it ran off and hid without looking back…good riddance!

Attention Squirrel on Deck!

The storm front was approaching and the wind kept increasing, so I hugged the western shore until I came to the Bay View Bridge and crossed over to the launch under a sprinkling of rain.

The wind was blowing onshore and gusting into the 20’s. No lightning or thunder, so I paddled upwind, then drifted…or really flew downwind back to the dock, just steering.

Pulled up on the downwind side of the dock and managed to get out without letting the boat blow away.

Then carried it back to the truck and lashed it down…I was under the bridge, so the wind was swirling around rather than just blowing a straight line down on me.

I drove home as the rain stopped.  The wind slowed down in an hour and after downloading photos from the camera, I invited Jeff over to look at pictures from Nova Scotia.

From Porter Lake Provincial Park

7-26-2011
Chilly and overcast today…maybe mid 60’s. Hanging out my wet gear from paddling yesterday and writing.  Going to leave by noon…going where? Through Halifax to St’ Magarets Bay.
Rain is predicted tomorrow.

Out East 2011, Over to Nova Scotia

I left from the Middle.

From the Middle of the USA, to the Middle of the TransCanada Highway (hywy 17), to the Middle of Nova Scotia. From Latitude 45 in Door County to Latitude 45 in Nova Scotia

Leaving Friday about 6:30 AM and arriving in Porter’s Lake Provincial Park about 10 PM on Sunday. 42 hours of driving, and two rest stops. The first was at Samuel Champlain Provincial Park in Ontario, near Mattawa and Saturday night at a private camp near Bethel, Maine.

I stopped in East Orland, Maine to see if my old friends were still there. They owned the Whispering Pines Campground. My daughter and I first stayed there in August of 1998. We were on the road heading home and needed a place to stay…I had stumbled on an ad for them in Machias, Maine, called them up about 8:30 and they said just park alongside the house and pay in the morning as we would be arriving until later.. Anyway its was one of those places where you just feel at home…so we came back 6 more times over the span of 11 years.

Sandy and Dwight are retired now, getting ready the sell next year…hope the economy improves and they get a good price...

Porter Lake, NS. This is a brackish lake with a small tidal influence…8 to 10 inches.

I could just paddle here…don’t feel like driving much today.

Looking at the map, the bay near East Chezzetcook looked interesting, with islands and protected areas to paddle. So, I just followed the road that ran through the Town of E. Chezzetcook, south to Meisners Head at the mouth of Chezzetcook Inlet. There was a hiking trail and a beach, both on the seaside and the lakeside…again a trapped, brackish lake, like Porter Lake…was Meisners Lake. There were 3’ breaking waves on the beach…kids were surfing on knee boards.

I took a hike to the headland. I was a rough cobblestone trail…an ankle twister. Scrub spruce and cedar, washed and beat-up lobster traps lying around here and there. The headland was about 50 high of red dirt and gravel. To the west was a 100’+ headland…Story Bluff, with waves breaking at its base. I scared up a few cormorants and other birds…sorry, but I’m not a birder and didn’t have a close enough look to check it out in my book.

So back at the beach, the slope was gentle and thought I could launch there. The waves weren’t always breaking and weren’t steep. I Loaded the boat up and pushed out through the waves…was a blast, except the camera mounted on the rear deck flopped over, so I turned around and rode a wave back in to remount the camera, this time making sure I tightened up all the adjustment points. The kids on knee boards thought it was cool a kayak could surf. Launched again and headed to the bar near Meisners Head. I could feel some current pushing me around. The swells were about 3 or 4 feet, no breaking waves until they felt bottom, when they would rear up and break, so I stayed away from those areas. The boat felt lighter, more buoyant, being in salt water…I could feel a difference in how stable it was…slightly less as it was sitting higher. I guess that meant I could pack heavier gear if I was camping. I paddled around avoiding the breakers as I headed back to the launch. Ran a breaking wave right up the beach at full speed…that was a rush! Portaged over to Meisners Lake, thought I could wash off most of the salt and check out the Islands scattered around as well. At the east end of the lake of the lake, I pulled out and hiked along the seaside beach, finding more old lobster pots and fire pit remains from local parties. The waves were breaking on the rocky shore…It’s a change from fresh water…there is more power and it foams on the beach and the rocks or shore. Not that it is polluted…at home the site of foam on shore is a sure sign of pollution, but in the sea, here is natural.

Newport State Park

Friday I stayed at Newport State Park, Site 4 one of two that weren’t already booked for the weekend. I just needed to sleep in a tent. Have a FIRE, Hear the sound of WOOD and Water. I thought as long as I was going to Northern Door, I’d bring a canoe and see if anyone would join up for a tour of Europe Lake on Saturday.

On the Way...to Duck Bay

Hiking the 1.5 mile trail to site 4, I followed the shoreline, noting how it keeps changing over the years…the water level in Lake Michigan is still low, extending the shore of the park, not really a good thing as all the campsites in the southern, shallower area of the park are up to 100 feet further from shore, which now has a large growth of Phragmites and brush.

There was an immature bald sitting in a large pine along the shore, which I frequently scared up as the trail was near to the beach. Birds just have this routine of flying a few hundred feet ahead of you, being annoyed by your presence, flying ahead…over and over…kind of comical…on water or land, most do the same thing. The eagle cried out a few times with his shrill call.

Lots of lake flies made the spiders fat and content

I was planning on just chilling out at camp, read a book, sit on shore, enjoy the wildlife and sounds…I forgot the book at home, bummer. So I gathered lots of wood, for after dark fire worshiping. I did the routine…set up the tent, hung the pack and found a large flat rock on shore to lay back and listen…a flock of swans, wings making the air sing as they go by, Caspian Terns with their raucous cry, red-wing blackbirds, of course geese and seagulls are ever present on any shoreline, be it Island or Main. 

Mute Swan

Newport is isolated enough on the eastern tip of Door County so few motorized sounds pollute the air. Once in a while, you’ll hear a plane or a distant car.

I had quite a view…to the North was the remains of the Pilot Island lighthouse, with Detriot/Washington Island even farther and to the South was the tall white line of the Cana Island Light, probably a good 25 or 30 miles total from North to South. Fog on and off covered Pilot Island…fog was predicted tonight and it would be dense. Easterly was just 70 miles of fresh water.

Pilot Island

Cana Island

Duck Bay, where site #4 is located, was once the site of a logging camp and the remains of an old log crib dock still sit in the water.

Schooners would land here to pick up shingle and lumber…this would be a nice site to sail to in a small boat…it is well protected from the south and somewhat from the North. The shore has enough soft areas to pull out a boat without rock damage…maybe this fall, another sailing trip?

About 8 pm the fog started to move in and the fire was built. I Tried to burn my pants off with the heat, but the thin skin on my legs couldn’t take it and I had to back off. The fire lasted until 10. I crawled in the tent. About 3 am, the raccoons whirling and fighting over something caught my attention; waking me up…It was so foggy, I could see haze in the tent with a flashlight. A fish tug motored by about 6, sounding a fog horn several times. Thought it might be a good picture, but the fog was too thick, I could see Gravel Island, but no tug.

My usual camp breakfast of instant, no mess, no cleanup, no dirty dishes of Oatmeal was Easy!. Took down the tent, policed the site and headed back to the car….the fog was lifting and it was warm, 60 degrees, pretty nice for mid-May.



Indian Paintbrush

It was a short drive to Europe Lake. I had sent out an invite to paddlers, but it was short notice and didn’t expect to see anyone, so I was excited to see long-time paddlers Terrie and Craig. We chatted greetings a bit and launched our boats…a variety of boats. A short open deck Kayak, a short canoe and one sea kayak. Shallow water, near shore paddling, so little warm clothing was necessary. Our set up time was short. Europe Lake was formed when glacial debris separated Europe Lake from Lake Michigan 11,000 years ago.



A few miles in circumference, partially surrounded by Newport State Park, the private land is slowly being developed with large vacation homes…of course they need a view, so the shoreline is being cleared in front of most homes, but there are seldom any motorized boats. It is a nice place to paddle in spring and fall when the big lake is cold.

We paddled about an hour and 30, then headed our separate ways.



Playing in ICE

The Bay Ice started breaking up this week and I had been watching for an opportunity to get out and push some Ice with the kayak. The weather forecasting has not been very accurate this week. Saturday was looking good on one day, and then changing to rain, wind and back again to less chance of rain on another.

The forecast rain for Saturday went south of us and we ended up with sun, 50 degree temperatures and 15 to 20 mph winds from the SE.

Rich and I met at Sunset Park where the ice had cleared from the beach.

There was a pretty large ice shove at the N end of the park, so we headed there first, bumping up to the ice and lying alongside.

Further north, the ice pack loomed. It had one small open lead which we ventured into about 100 feet before it closed up.

The whole pack was drifting at several mph and we were leery of getting caught if the lead suddenly closed up.  We didn’t stay there long, but pulled out and paddled south along the ice packs edge.
There were several channel marker buoys being pushed under as the moving ice ran them over.

The red buoy going under 

My old Selkie was great for running up onto the ice as the bottom was almost flat.  It was a blast to take a hard run at an ice shelf and slide up completely out of the water.  My current boat, a Sirius has a strong v-bottom and running upon the ice is not so fun, the boat will just layover...better to stay in the slush.

Crushed Can Buoy

Up close we could see that the green can buoy was significantly crushed, I was impressed!

Our trip rounded out by going to the Oregon Street Bridge then back along the shipyard. Most of the winter fleet has left, just the Walter McCarthy…in the graving dock, the Saginaw, John J Boland and the American Courage are still here. The Tug Mary Page Hannah was in the small graving dock and a Roen Salvage barge was in the floating dry-dock with sections of the bottom being replaced

Ore Carrier Saginaw

Roen Salvage Barge in floating Dry-Dock

It was a great to be paddling again, the sun was warm and the ice exciting.

There was a kayaker's pot luck that evening.

Warm food, good drink and a movie...Paddle to Seattle

A nice way to end the day.

Breaking Ice

On Monday it had warmed again to the mid-40's, so after work I took the canoe out to Geisel creek for another try at making it down to Dunes Lake.  The snow had melted where I put-in on Saturday.  I ran into several patches where the creek was still froze for 50 or 60 feet, so I took a run at it, slideing the canoe upon the ice. Pushing my way across, I sometimes broke through. 

I wondered how well the varnish would hold up to being scraped  and crunched by the ice.  It sure made a lot of noise and sounded destructive.  I know from kayaking in brashe ice that it will take a toll on the hull,s fiberglass if you ram it too hard.  After about 45 minutes the last turn of the creek before Dunes Lake was in sight and I could hear red wing blackbirds singing and the crackly, rasping sound of Sand Hill Cranes.  Two Osprey were eating the remains of a half frozen fish out of the lake's ice as I came into view.

 

There was an open stretch, free of ice, so I let the wind blow us down the lake a ways, then just sat and enjoyed the sounds of spring.

I arrived back at the truck about dusk, feeling refreshed from being out On The Water.

Little did I know that two days later we would have the largest snowfall in 122 years and I would spend 3 hours shoveling snow.

Geisel Creek

The temperature has been above freezing for the past week. I was hoping to get out on some water if the weather held. Most of the Lake Michigan shore line is now clear of ice, but I would like to find some ICE to play in…so I’ll look around this week for a good shoreline with "icebergs" and if the time and weather cooperate I’ll get out the kayak...in years past, I have been lucky to find the right spot.

Icebergs from years past

The new 11.5’ canoe that was finished in January has been anxious to touch the water.

I loaded her on the truck and drove over to Geisel Creek, hoping it was free enough to launch.



Snow was on the banks, but the creek was clear enough to paddle. It was a little tricky finding a stable place along shore to jump in the boat…snow and glass make for a slippery surface…, but I managed to fall into the canoe while it was stabilized by a paddle jammed into the snow bank. It is always a thrill trying a new boat. This canoe is a shortened version of David Hazen’s 16’Abanaki…It is slightly narrower, more asymmetrical…the widest area is aft of the canoe’s mid-point, has some hollow In the entry and the forward 2 feet has about a 1.5 inch rise in the hull to let the bow slip around. No keel... It is very sensitive to how it balances fore and aft. Too much wt forward and it get squirrelly and is difficulty to paddle straight…place your wt just aft and she settles down into a nice controllable craft. It is hard to judge a boat being good or bad…I just adapt to the boat's idiosyncrasies and use it. I have a 16‘ canoe similar to this boat.  The first thing I notice in this shortened version is how much easier it slips through the water…it doesn’t have the top speed of a longer boat, but you don’t need the speed just to plunk around in a small creek like this, short is great…light (30lbs) and easy to propel.  Each boat has a purpose.

There was skim ICE here and there, so we punched our way through and headed downstream about a mile before the ICE was solid. The sounds of Great Blue Herons and Sand Hill Cranes could be heard in the distance…they nest back in the wetlands here…their tracks were all over the ICE. Back at the launch, I was concerned about getting out, snow was everywhere along shore and I couldn’t run the boat up anywhere as the shore was too steep…I would just slide back into the water faster than I pushed up onto the snow. I went under the roadway, there was a clear area to the left, I made note of that and headed up the creek a ways, passing alongside a farm until deadfalls blocked the path.

I pulled out on the grassy bank near the road and took a few photos. 

November was the last time I was on the water, these winters seem longer and darker the older I get.

Spring is great! Once on a warm spring day I went canoeing and x-country skiing…just enjoying the sun. Today, Canoeing and hiking at Whitefish Dunes sounds like a good deal …not much sun, but a balmy 40.

So I finished the afternoon with a hike at the Dunes

Whitefish Dunes State Park

Two weeks ago there was ice on the shores of Whitefish Dunes State Park.

It now looks like it is gone...but it is only hidden beneath the sands.

As it melts, rivelets form and create sinkholes, canyons and cliffs.

Shoreside Cliffs

Dried up Canyon

In three months the sand will be covered with beachgoers 

Just to the North of Whitefish Dunes is Cave Point County Park.

A good place to explore by Kayak