Indian Lake Islands trip 2026

[themadindian]

As the trip date approached and news of the noreaster approaching we began debating cancelling our trip but on Tuesday and Wednesday reports showed the storm going east so we decided to go and left on Thursday. My kid and I got off to a late start as she got hung up at work training someone, she works overnight as a nurse, once she got to the house I loaded her car up with our canoes for the trip, my Shearwater and my new to me Wildfire thanks to @Glenn MacGrady


I wanted to be the first to paddle the Wildfire so I put the kid in the Shearwater and much to my surprise she didn't like it very much compared to the Rapidfire she'd rented twice, she said she had a hard time keeping up which didn't make sense to me.




We got to camp just as the sun was setting and the moon was rising and got setup



I've been playing with some dehydrated ingredients to make a "cottage pie", on the Lower Saranac trip I was pretty sure I got it right so I repeated it again and I was right it was awesome, I use lentils and beef flavored tvp in place of meat. Definitely staying in the trip meal rotation.


The moon was so bright I tried the night sky setting on my phone camera



Hammockers outnumbered tents three to one



While I waited for everybody else to wake up, the 37F morning made for a nice steam fog which I found to be very meditative

 

[themadindian]

Once everyone was fed, the fog gone and temps in the 50s we headed out to climb up Watch hill and have lunch, my kid said she wanted to try the Wildfire and off she went. I wouldn't be paddling it again the rest of the time



Beach arrival for the trail



Watch hill


Headed back to camp




After dinner we had a nice fire and roasted apples and brown sugar in tinfoil


Then things changed, one of the guys got sick and I mean SICK all night long, in the morning we were debating on what to do, whether he was okay to try to paddle out or not and then the winds picked up and I checked my Garmin weather and saw we were going to get a short lull in the wind and after that the sustained winds would keep increasing and weren't coming down until some time Monday. The winds were at a sustained 7mph with gusts to 20mph when we made the decision to leave. The windy app matched what Garmin was saying and we launched in the lull in 1 - 1.5 foot waves. It was interesting how we could see the big gusts coming down the lake from the water being so much darker and decided to launch one at a time between the gusts. My friends in the kayaks went first and were getting pushed up against the rock ledge trying to launch into the channel and we managed to get them away. I tried a different approach with my daughter and held her canoe and had her go straight out into the waves until there was a good gap and turn and it worked well so I tried the same thing myself except it didn't go as well. I was stressed and exhausted from helping my friends and kid and rush loading the Shearwater in enough water to not damage it but not so much the waves were going to take it away or smash it against the rocks. I did not expect my daughter to be waiting for me or not be able to turn the Shearwater no matter how far back my stern sweeps were when the gust hit, thankfully a quick balance shift and switching sides for a stern pry just kept me from going in. Anyway I apologize in advance for the swearing ;-) Here's the video of the paddle out

After arriving safely at the launch we did our mandatory stop at Martha's on the way home

 

[Boatman53]

That moon photo turned out great.
Jim

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Keith, thanks for that interesting report, pics and video. Very windy. (Not you - mother Nature.)

so I put the kid in the Shearwater and much to my surprise she didn't like it very much compared to the Rapidfire she'd rented twice, she said she had a hard time keeping up which didn't make sense to me.

It makes sense that a much narrower Rapidfire would be faster than a Shearwater, given the waterlines are about 24" vs. 28" and the Rapidfire would have less water friction and drag because of a smaller contact patch against the water. The Rapidfire has won lots of races.

not be able to turn the Shearwater no matter how far back my stern sweeps were when the gust hit

You had wind from the rear and rear quarter when you started out trying to turn downwind in those stiff waves. I thought maybe you needed more weight in the stern, but when you stopped on that shoreline a mile from the end, you did seem to have most gear in the stern. For me, Big Lake + Big Wind = Big Anxiety.

my kid said she wanted to try the Wildfire and off she went. I wouldn't be paddling it again the rest of the time

Since your daughter is familiar with and likes the Rapidfire, the Wildfire may have a close cousin feel given that they are both shouldered Yost designs.

Your video shows her double blading the Wildfire. Does she also double blade the Shearwater? Or does she try single blades in non-pack canoes? Just curious.

 

[themadindian]

Your video shows her double blading the Wildfire. Does she also double blade the Shearwater? Or does she try single blades in non-pack canoes? Just curious.

She double bladed both the wildfire and shearwater, now she's talking about trying a firebird

 

[Gamma1214]

Looks like a good trip despite the poor-weather paddle-out.

I don't think I've ever seen that much stuff piled on a yak... Mike may be a candidate for a canoe conversion.

Thanks for taking us along

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

now she's talking about trying a firebird

Don't tell @tketcham about double blading a Firebird. Your daughter should sign up for the Pine Barrens Functional Freestyle Symposium and try a Firebird, June Bug and Flashfire with single stick teachers.

I thought that one guy—was it Mike?—was on a small inflatable raft.

 

[GeoBoy]

Have your daughter try a Swift Cruiser 14.8 and Northstar Trillium, if she likes pack canoes.

 

[themadindian]

Don't tell @tketcham about double blading a Firebird. Your daughter should sign up for the Pine Barrens Functional Freestyle Symposium and try a Firebird, June Bug and Flashfire with single stick teachers.

I thought that one guy—was it Mike?—was on a small inflatable raft.

Mike was on a 10ft plastic ocean kayak.

She said if she gets a kneeling canoe like the firebird she'll go next year to the pine barrens, I offered her the wildfire for this year but she's scheduled for work

 

[themadindian]

Have your daughter try a Swift Cruiser 14.8 and Northstar Trillium, if she likes pack canoes.

Those two were high on her list but she loves the Rapidfire and has now discovered she likes kneeling in a more responsive boat. For the last 5 years she's paddled my esquif adirondack and only sitting with a double blade seemed to work for her in that canoe. Now that she's tried some more lively canoes she thinks it would be easier to learn single blade. Looks like she's going to be a multiple canoe person like most of us

 

[themadindian]

Looks like a good trip despite the poor-weather paddle-out.

I don't think I've ever seen that much stuff piled on a yak... Mike may be a candidate for a canoe conversion.

Thanks for taking us along

He has an old tandem coleman he brings out from time to time or a paddle board. He puts a beach chair on the paddle board, it's pretty amusing