Wanna Paddle Lake Superior in February

[Glenn MacGrady]

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Gamma1214]

No.

 

[Tryin']

Yes, but I also want to see my kids grow up.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Lake Superior can often be adventurous to paddle at anytime of the year.

 

[Gamma1214]

Possibly in August but I'm not a fan of big water (and there's few bigger).

My initial response to Glenn's video would have sent me to detention for multiple profanity filter violations.

 

[stevet]

Even in summer the water is extremely cold and it’s a good idea to wear protection. But the beauty of the shoreline and Michigan UP is worth a trip.

 

[Robin]

This is Superior on a calm day in May, Wawa, Ontario area.

 

[Gamma1214]

I'm pretty sure that I stood on that same beach in Sept. of '23. (never gets old seeing a picture or YouTube video and thinking "I remember that place")

It was tempting to paddle out onto the big lake that day but I needed to get home.



Nothing at all like Glenn's video but I understand that things can change quickly.

 

[jdeerfoot]

When I think of Lake Superior, I go back to my honeymoon trip to Isle Royale NP in June 1974. The bride and I took the Isle Royale Queen passenger ferry from Copper Harbor MI, the most northern point of Upper Michigan, across the lake to Rock Harbor, Isle Royale. The trip over was almost as smooth as glass. A week later our return trip to the UP was the opposite. We spent most of the 5.5 hour crossing outside on deck after seasickness struck most of the passengers in the overheated, poorly ventilated cabin. Once the nausea smell started to overtake the locker room stink from 40-50 unwashed backpackers, we moved out on deck. A lot of fresh air with some wind driven spray while we watched as the boat plowed 6+ foot seas for the entire trip. When we finally landed at Cooper Harbor we enjoyed a dinner of a Hostess fruit pie and a carton of milk, all we could trust to stay down.

The Isle Royale Queen of that era was very appropriately called the “barf barge.” I ran into the original owner and captain of the barge a few years ago and he told me his two sons now operate a newer more appropriate vessel. He didn’t think the nickname was fair for this newer boat - I wouldn’t count on it.

 

[yknpdlr]

In similar conditions off the Irish west coast on a day tour boat, the captain was quite a joker. When several passengers began barfing off the stern,, we were all warned not to order today's catch of fish for dinner tonight, since they were all freshly chummed.
My wife, who I always knew was susceptible to a queasy stomach with rolling motion, remained seated mid-ship where there was minimal motion, and was surprisingly fine the whole way.

 

[gumpus]

So which are the safe months for paddling the Great Lakes? At least in winter the danger seems obvious. I think it's the surprises that are extra dangerous (cold water risk in July? 20 degree drop in water temp overnight? powerboat with drunk driver? jetski with an attitude? weather front moving in?).

You could get on Lake Michigan in the first pic but crossing the ice to get to open water in the second pic might be a bad idea.

 

[ppine]

Nope. I always want the odds in my favor.

 

[jdeerfoot]

I doubt there is a safe month to paddle on the big lake.

I have a friend who worked as a seasonal ranger at Sand Bay in the National Lakeshore. They regularly rescued people who rented kayaks there. The saddest incident in the Lakeshore was when a father and 3 young children perished in an accident while just the mother survived.