Just You and the Inland Sea

Kayaking on Superior

Chris Godsey

Photos by Layne Kennedy

There’s just something about paddling a sea kayak on the biggest freshwater lake on the planet. People who love it have a hard time putting the experience into words.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” says Mary Sweval, who owns and operates Trek & Trail, an outdoor adventure company in Bayfield, WI. “It’s the cadence you get into with the paddle…you can actually feel the balance in your body.”

John Amren of Superior Coastal Sports in Grand Marais, MN, says the only-partially describable experience is defined by: “The control, the feel, and the boat-body connection.”

“There’s a lot about water—rhythm, waves, natural cycles—in harmony with the way we [humans] are,” says Gail Green of Living Adventure, a Bayfield company that creates programs combining outdoor activity and creative expression.

Retired minister Ed Kale runs Apostle Island Kayaks, on Madeline Island. “My overwhelming idea,” he says, “is that getting on the water gives people endorphins and takes the cares of the world away. Life is different on the water.”

Paddling a kayak can be mystical and poetic, transcendent and transformative, fluid and fulfilling.

As those brief attempts at conveying the experience might suggest, paddling a kayak can be mystical and poetic, transcendent and transformative, fluid and fulfilling. And it’s accessible, in multiple forms and intensities, along Lake Superior’s north and south shores.

Adventure on the Inland Sea Selling kayaks, teaching people how to use them safely, guiding paddlers on day and overnight Lake Superior trips of varying intensities, and training guides, says Sweval, “is a business that offers pleasure and adventure without a lot of materialistic things.”

Kayaks are expensive, and buying one requires an initial investment in paddles, safety devices, and other gear, but, she said, “it’s possible to buy a kayak and have it for a lifetime.” It’s also possible to paddle safely without being sealed into the type of craft many folks might envision when they think of a kayak, according to Kale, who rents sit-on-top boats that, he says, allow beginners to concentrate on efficient paddling technique instead of learning difficult and time-consuming self-rescue techniques.

Madeline Island offers kayakers, beginner or experienced, a myriad of places to explore, says Kale — the Lagoon at Big Bay Town Park boasts one of the best beaches on Lake Superior, Big Bay, with its sandy beach, rocks and caves, is “simply exciting” and “if you don't like waves, when the wind is blowing on one side of the island, you can go to the other side!” “People get out of things what they are looking for and need,” says Living Adventure’s Green. “You don’t have to be an Olympic star to paddle a kayak. Every person has to seek their own best learning environment.”

To that end, Green and her staff offer programs intended for diverse audiences and outcomes. “It’s all about the concept of guided discovery,” says Green—supporting people as they find their own valuable experiences and best ways of learning. Amren’s Superior Coastal Sports offers a variety of North Shore guided trips, rentals to experienced paddlers, and a paddling club. “Grand Marais isn’t like the Apostles, with its archipelago and sand beaches,” he says. “But we have some impressive geography along this part of the shore, and there are some neat protected areas to explore.”

He says he’s seen demands for gear change since he started kayak touring in the early 1980s, and since he opened his shop in 1992. “The explosion in kayaking as increased demand for casual equipment,” he says. “Lots of people want to paddle in kayaks that are spacious and immediately stable, not narrower, more well-fitting, and with the ability to lean, carve turns, and experience some of what a more-advanced boat can do.” He said he understands the need and desire for all levels of equipment—some folks simply want a less-intense experience—but believes some aspects of the sport are only attainable with gear like swift boats and spray skirts. “There’s no way describe it or know it without being able to do it,” he says.

 

This article appears in its entirety in the July 2008 issue of Duluth~Superior Magazine.
Pick up the current issue at one of these locations. Get future issues delivered to your home or business. Subscribe today!