Paddlin towards the Pukwasaw

This section of our journey would (thus far) turn into one of the most prolonged, powerfully historical and beautiful locales our two bladed travel has taken us through.

Not far from Montreal River Harbour we reached Lake Superior Provincial Park, which to describe can only really fall close to creating a burlier Quetico on a MONSTER body of fresh water. Not too far from the Park's mighty large beach, we ran into the infamous pictographs painted on the walls that drop right into the lake. We arrived in the late day sun which provided a warm light inflating the ambiance (it was probably at eleven!) and inducing an actualization that this lake has some cultural roots.

Paddling beyond that beautious area we were greeted with some late day swells, some of them 3+ foot (over a meter) in height. Slightly wild at the end of the day, but at least there was no wind and these waves were not breaking. Weaving in and out of various coves we've come to appreciate the lack of shoreline development in this region of Canada (there is no development in the provincial park, some islands have houses, otherwise its all wild). Before we reached the park one can contimplate the immense difference between stateside lakeshore property and Canadian lakeshore property. In the states you will most likely find a large chunk of land cleared of trees with a sizable abode looking out and over the lake. In Canada you locate a lakeside structure, but it will be fairly hidden, blending in with its surroundings and enjoying a peaceful coexistence with the forest. Anyhow I digress.

It seems the first night we made it to a presentable place called Sinclaire Cove, nice cobble beach landing with a view of some islands. Over the next few days we would hop from wind sheltered to area to wind sheltered area as the north/ north west wind began to blow. Some days it was a gamble, as the weather would sometimes stabilze toward the end of the afternoon, leaving a few hours of plesant paddling just before the sun went down and other days it would blow into the night leaving your options open to charge into some headwind practice and patience. Paddling through these areas makes one truly appreciate the dynamic nature of the Apostle Islands and all the options they tend to offer when the weather gets heavy. I have been amazed here how the wind can generage some sizeable waves with fairly small fetch (in some cases) to really make you work for your dinner. We made almost a full day to just past Gargantua Bay, then got some groove on towards Old Woman Bay until we got shut down by a tempremental thunderstorm. The two following days were spent battling burly 15+ knot winds and sizable seas. Through all that we were able to camp in some rocking places and redefine our perception of cold water. In short swimming over here entrances your entire body and just leaves you speachless.

Needless to say we soon learned our weathering capabilities as day six and seven (where we had thought it would take 3-5 days in this bountiful land) finally landed us within striking distance of our entrance to the renowned prowess of the north eastern part of the lake. All our things currently reside at the mouth of the Mitchipicoten river with the crew at Naturally Superior whom welcomed us with open arms, warm vibes, delicious food and kicking place on Lake Superior.