Anyone know if there are any tour guides who allow you to use your own single boat? I’ll be passing through the area, have a capable boat, and would love to see the Pictured Rocks, but am a bit apprehensive about heading out alone but all the guides i see seem to only offer doubles. Thanks.
Unless you have paperwork - that is a higher level certification from either the ACA or the BCU/PNA, most outfits are not going to put you in a tandem from a cold inquiry. That said, if you have worked with coaches that the guides may know, it might be worth a phone call or two to see if someone could vouch for you. A lot of this can be worked out word of mouth if you ask.
But the ding on tandems is not always deserved. I have found that being on a guided tour in a new area, where you can worry less about the paddling and more about hearing the information about the area, can be quite pleasant. The ability to paddle once in a while with fewer personal responsibilities is highly underrated.
@Monkeyhead said:
Anyone know if there are any tour guides who allow you to use your own single boat? I’ll be passing through the area, have a capable boat, and would love to see the Pictured Rocks, but am a bit apprehensive about heading out alone but all the guides i see seem to only offer doubles. Thanks.
I’m not at all familiar with the area, but wondered if you could maybe “shadow” a tour group, without making it too obvious. Maybe even mention to the guide that you’re on your own, self-sufficient, but would appreciate their proximity for safety reasons. The worst they can say is “no”, and then what? Can they stop you?
Iam sorta in the same situation. I would love to paddle Pictured Rocks BUT cant get anyone to go with me from my area (Buffalo NY) 12 hour drive. No way I would ever be stuck in tandem kayak or even a single thats not mine being outfitted for me. I have zero interest in ACA. I think big water up to 7 feet is fun for me. But like you In would still not want to paddle it alone. Hope you find some one.
Go to the Great Lakes Sea Kayak symposium in Grand Marais, Michigan next year. Get some great instruction and one of the trips is the 18 mile pictured rocks trip…included in the symposium …No need to be interested in ACA or BCU to attend. Pick some fun experiences with excellent coaches .
You might want to contact Mike Grey, owner of Uncommon Adventures, a kayak touring outfitter in Benzonia, Michigan. I met him at the Greenland Kayak Training Camp on Lake Michigan last week (he was the caterer and chef for the event, terrific guy and his cooking is fantastic!) He and his company do custom tours locally (northwest Michigan and worldwide.) http://www.mi-paddleadventure.com
Unlike many outfitters, he conducts mostly solo paddlers on his trips.
@Sparky961 said:
@Monkeyhead said:
Anyone know if there are any tour guides who allow you to use your own single boat? I’ll be passing through the area, have a capable boat, and would love to see the Pictured Rocks, but am a bit apprehensive about heading out alone but all the guides i see seem to only offer doubles. Thanks.I’m not at all familiar with the area, but wondered if you could maybe “shadow” a tour group, without making it too obvious. Maybe even mention to the guide that you’re on your own, self-sufficient, but would appreciate their proximity for safety reasons. The worst they can say is “no”, and then what? Can they stop you?
Be wary of tour groups if you’re seeking safety, especially Uncle Ducky Outdoors, whose “guides” left so many with no experience to fend for themselves. http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/07/dexter_woman_among_kayakers_re.html
Never underestimate Lake Superior. https://www.nps.gov/piro/planyourvisit/kayaking.htm
“The Pictured Rocks extend for 15 miles and include sheer walls all the way to the water line. These exposed cliffs offer no way off the water if wind and waves increase.”
Willowleaf’s suggestion of Michael Gray is a good one, but Michael is based in Benzonia, which is 264 miles south of Munising ( a 4.5 hour drive). That would be an expensive tour. The OP might try contacting Downwind Sports, which runs the Ladies of the Lake symposium in Munising, and ran the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium until this year, when the Power of Water took it over. Bill at Downwind might know of a qualified person in the area: http://downwindsports.com/mainSite/
@Rookie said:
Be wary of tour groups if you’re seeking safety, especially Uncle Ducky Outdoors, whose “guides” left so many with no experience to fend for themselves. http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/07/dexter_woman_among_kayakers_re.html
Wow. They didn’t even give them a refund, according to the news story.
I don’t doubt you’re right about the low safety standards of many guided tours, but there’s still safety in numbers. It also wouldn’t be any different if the OP were actually go with a tour group like he suggested he wanted to, but not in a tandem.
The news story also brings to light that there are regular large boat tours in the area, which offers a potential rescue source. Knowing their schedule would be an important factor in planning a solo trip there.
Never underestimate Lake Superior. https://www.nps.gov/piro/planyourvisit/kayaking.htm
“The Pictured Rocks extend for 15 miles and include sheer walls all the way to the water line. These exposed cliffs offer no way off the water if wind and waves increase.”
Indeed. When I paddled the Pukaskwa coast, the marine weather for just about every day was “Winds Light” and “Waves one half metre or less”. (about 1.5’) On the water, this often translated into waves that were twice that size, along with winds that were far from “light”. There were plenty of sections with no safe landings and almost sheer cliffs to the water line, resulting in some pretty intimidating clapotis (washing machine). The shoreline was as remote as I’ve ever been before. Even though I was prepared for worse, it still left me with a lasting respect for the lake.
Assuming the OP has the skills and knowledge, just not the confidence to do it alone, his planning would include a long-term weather forecast, and a go/no-go decision based on his own skills. I wouldn’t be comfortable completely relying on another guide, instructor, or paddling companion. Maybe that’s just my own control issues, but it’s certainly kept me out of trouble I wasn’t planning to get into. In mild conditions, the “safety in numbers” factor would still apply.
I have done Pictured Rocks solo at least 5 times. Short and long paddles. Always safe but it got rough sometimes. Hope you can get out there… it’s nice.
Thanks, I’ll evaluate the conditions and forecast when there. If I’m not comfortable, will at least take a tour boat to see the cliffs. If I go on a paddle, can you suggest a launch point and distance to paddle to see the best scenery? Thanks.
@Paatit said:
I have done Pictured Rocks solo at least 5 times. Short and long paddles. Always safe but it got rough sometimes. Hope you can get out there… it’s nice.
Miners Beach is good launch/landing/parking. Bit of a portage to the beach.
My longest paddle in one day out there was MIners to Chapel Beach (Spray Falls)(photo) and back… Probably 18 miles.
That same route can be shortened and still provide excellent experience.
Thanks a lot for the input. I went today not entirely sure what to expect, but the weather really cooperated. I think the forecast was 5-10 knots with waves <1 ft, which seemed about right. I did the Miners to Chapel route and back (to the beach not the falls). When I started to round Grand Portal Point, things got a bit bumpier. I think with the wind from the east, there was less lee and more fetch and that combined with the reflection waves off the cliffs to create some bumpiness, but not too bad really. Anyway, gorgeous area. Eager to get back to Georgia (after a few days in the Apostles) and show my wife the many pics I took. I did see a bunch of kayak tours (doubles) btw. Is that water clarity (crystal) due mostly to zebra mussels?
@Monkeyhead said:
Is that water clarity (crystal) due mostly to zebra mussels?
I’ve seen pictures of the crystal-clear water of Lake Superior that preceded by decades the first time most people in this country even would have heard of zebra muscles, let alone the time when they became established in so many places. It’s probably not a surprising thing, really, as northern lakes in general tend to be quite oligotrophic. I understand that “touring” of shipwrecks by boat has been a popular thing to do on that lake for a long time now, as the wrecks can clearly be seen in water which is quite deep.
Last year I was briefly on the south shore of Lake Superior by the mouth of the Bois Brule River, and that day, wave action agitating the tall banks of red sandy clay along the shore was turning the water quite murky, but much farther out, there was a distinct color change at the boundary between the muddied water along the shoreline and that of the lake proper.
@Monkeyhead said:
Is that water clarity (crystal) due mostly to zebra mussels?
No, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Great Lakes Science Center. Lake Superior is too inhospitable for the critters.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/09/why_havent_zebra_and_quagga_mu.html
Good to hear. I don’t have to have mixed feelings about the water clarity then!