Paddling In Les Cheneaux Islands at Dusk

This day was the best of days...and the worst of days. It started off great with a spectacular red sunrise! Too good to be true! It was. My full day paddle in Les Cheneaux Islands was cancelled because of inclement weather.It was too late to activate Plan B and drive a few hours north to go hiking in Tahquamenon Falls, so I decided to wing it and attempt to be spontaneous. After visiting a museum in St. Ignace, I headed north on I 75 with intentions of going to the Soo (that would be Sault Ste. Marie to all you non-Michiganders), to do what I wasn't sure, but it's been 15-20 years since I'd been there so why not.

At some point in time relatively early in the drive, I changed my mind and decided to turn off and go
 east on 134 towards Drummond Island. How's that  for spontaneous! It was a pretty crummy day, I pulled over at several turnouts to hike on the beach for a mileish,  I was certainly glad I had brought along my wellies and rain gear! I eventually reached the town of De Tour,
 and believeyoume, there wasn't anything exciting going on there either. I thought about waiting in line to take the  ferry to Drummond Island, but was unsure of what I would  do there, it was still pretty gloomy. So, I headed back the way that I came.

When I neared Hessel, I decided to go in and talk to Jessie at Woods & Water EcoTours. The sky was getting a little brighter and I asked if there might be a possibility of getting out on the water tonight for sunset. She was very doubtful of the possibility of a picturesque sunset, but I informed her that I really didn't care about the conditions, I just wanted to get out on the water and paddle as that is what a big part of my "wilderness weekend" was about. Thankfully, guide Tim agreed to take me out for a few hours after he was finished giving a lesson to a couple! YAY! So, I hopped back in the Durango and headed back to St. Ignace to change my clothes for the 4th time that day. Really, I don't think I have had that many outfitting changes since I was a teenager on dance recital day!

After a quick dinner I was back in my original
 gear I had on 8 hours earlier and headed back
up to Hessel. As you can see, there was not going to be a "sunset" but the water was calm and I really did not care, I was going OUT!







It had been over a year since my first experience in a single kayak, and those first few moments of "tipiness" definitely had me worried. The air temperature was a little on the chilly side and I did not have a wet suit on, I had visions of me going for a swim. But I soon got into a groove, practicing strokes correctly and soon the wobbles were gone. It was just Tim, his girlfriend and I  so we enjoyed some nice conversation while paddling, I usually like to have silence on sunset paddles as there is something quite serene about being silent on the water and the only noise is the sound of small drips falling from your paddle. But he was an interesting fellow and I enjoyed hearing of his experiences on the water.

After a nice paddle through a marsh and seeing a few Red Breasted Mergansers and 2 Sandhill Cranes flying overhead, we decided to turn around and head back into shore.

Here's guide Tim demonstrating some bracing techniques, while it would have been an opportune time to get some instruction and to practice, I really didn't feel like going for an unexpected swim that night, especially with a 30+ minute drive back to St. Ignace with no dry clothes! I nearly went for a dip upon exiting though, it was explained that you have to be fast and not dilly dally. I vowed to practice that on tomorrow's outing after he managed to grab my arm to keep me from doing a face plant into the rocks below the water on the shoreline!