Going Solo
Thanks again…
I actually feel a lot more comfortable now knowing that I have the option of getting the shuttle back in case weather gets crazy. Thats a good option.
I also checked in with the guide at Living Adv - I’m getting in early morning and will take my time with the trip. Also, will practise a few self-rescues before the trip just to get more confortable with it.
Celia - thanks for the checklist - yup, I have most of those items and pretty close to land most of the time.
Anything crazy comes up - I’ll just camp at Oak Island or return to land depending on how far out I am on the first crossing.
Whats life without some risk… 
This Board rocks…!!!
Had that thought
If the outfitter is reputable I had kinda guessed that they vetted the kind of stuff I had listed. But always worth reviewing these kinds of things.
Yes
Always good as a double check, but Living Adventure is the reputable place in the area. Have a great trip - wish I had the time to join you…
apostle island kayak trip
Guys…got back last night from the kayaking trip! Was great fun and thanks again for all the help…
Need to work right now - but wil post pics and a review later tonight.
Great!
Glad you enjoyed the trip.
Apostle island trip review and pics
Guys…
here is a link to the pics:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=xfh4h1g.1f6ra7kw&Uy=-yvxkfn&Ux=0
You need to cut and paste the entire link.
Review below:
As luck would have it, my friend decided to tag along with me for this kayaking trip and we took a tandem kayak – real long but extremely stable. We practiced a few self-attempted rescues before even loading the kayak – so that we were comfortable going out on the Lake for that many miles. After a few dunks into the cold water, we were fine!!
Left at 11:00 a.m. from the Living Adventure location and headed straight to Basswood, looped around and then headed to Hermit. We confirmed with the ranger that there was a problem bear there and it was OK as long as we did not get off the kayak. So, we just hung out close to the island as we hydrated ourselves. Then, headed straight to the South West end of Stockton which has a nice beach. This took us roughly 2 hours because there were winds against us and waves too. Also, this was just the beginning and we were not as used to the kayak as yet.
We took a long break at this beach since it was very nice, the weather looked pretty decent and we were in no hurry to get to Stockton. Also, we wrongly guessed that we were already at Stockton and the trip from the South West tip of Stockton to Presque Isle Bay would be quick…!! Anyways, had a very nice break, hung out and relaxed. Getting to Stockton was much longer than we had anticipated. Winds picked up and it was pretty rough going (at least for my level of experience) for the entire duration. It took us about 2.5 hours to get to the campsites at the North East tip of Stockton.
Total trip time was between 5 and 6 hours. (Less if you take shorter breaks)
Stockton is a beautiful island and the campsites are pretty nice. Some have a steep hike from the beach and some are not as shady as the others. So, key is to try to get to the island before the shuttle gets there at around 2:00 p.m. Definitely do the longer hikes (We did 2 of them) and you can spend hours on some of the rocks on the North Easter side of the island. They are really cool places to just hang out and relax. Besides the hikes, the water is gorgeous and warm (especially around noon when the sun is out) – you can walk almost 0.5 miles in the water and still be only knee deep in it.
Return trip was much faster since we knew the drill. We left real early in the morning (7:30 a.m.) and the river was TOTALLY calm. There were some points where strong undercurrents made going forward almost painful – but just a few spots. Same route as before – by the time we got to the first stop on South West end of Stockton, winds had picked up and were in our favor. We rode them all the way to Living Adv. Made the entire trip in just 3 hours and 45 minutes. (We hardly took any breaks).
Be happy to provide more details if anyone needs them.
Great trip overall and thanks again for all the help…!