Memorial Weekend Pictured Rocks Paddle
Authors, pasties, waterfalls, oh yes- and paddling.

This paddle was an excellent reminder that sometimes paddles aren't just about the paddling. From the moment the group of six started to congregate at the Bayview Inn in Epoufette the weekend promised to be what U.P weekends are supposed to be- a mish mash of the good life.

As with most ECP trips, food played a large role. If you happen to be in Epoufette, just west of Cut River Bridge, stop in for a piece of homemade pie. This little diner has amazing views of Lake Michigan (even from the bathroom!), the appropriate Upper memorabilia, as well as bird books and binoculars scattered at each of the window side tables.

Forming a caravan, the group of four headed to Grand Marais for lunch. The West Bay Diner, built from an old dining car with multiple additions tacked on, looks as eclectic as the menu. The waitress/ owner, Ellen Airgood, is the author of the popular (at least in the U.P) book, 'South of Superior.' The food was good, the view was great.

Using the recently paved road from Grand Marais to Munising gave ample opportunities to enjoy wildflowers, dune overlooks, and short hikes. Our hotel, the Sunset Motel, was old fashioned but perhaps the cleanest place we have ever stayed. Our two bedroom suite came with a fully equipped kitchen, grill, living and dining area, and  Lake Superior right outside our door.

Saturday morning started cold, so the group, which had now grown to six people, decided to take a hike to view the waterfalls across from the motel.  Then off to the launch site at Miner's Beach.  Since it was the first paddle of the season and there was still some snow on the beach, thoughts of safety helped make the decision to paddle south towards Miner's Castle.  The water was calm and the cliffs were spectacular.  It wasn't a long paddle in distance, but gave everyone to see the famous rock formations that form the lake shore.


Saturday evening was an unexpected treat.  Clif Edwards, friend of Nick and Julia Meieir as well as park ranger, invited the group to a camp fire at the ranger's residence.  Clif and his friend Terry are proof that you always meet the most interesting people around a fire. Terry was training for a triatholon and Clif is the author of the book Paths Crossed: Villains-Victims-Victors.  His book is about what he learned during his 27 year career in law enforcement.  If Clif can write as well as he can tell a story, this book is a must read!

The Bermuda

Sunday morning was another beautiful day to get out on the water.  Launching from the ferry dock west of town the group set off for Murray Bay and the shipwreck Bermuda (46 27.89’N 086 38.81’W); located in just 12 feet of water. Spending time bobbing in the bay, snapping underwater photos of the 130 foot long wooden schooner made us hungry, so we headed for the Grand Island Day use area for lunch, passing a few eagles along the way. Again, the paddle wasn't long, but full of wonderful sights seen only by boat.


The trip ended the way it started...with food.  This time it was pasties from Muldoons and smoked fish.  What's not to love about upper Michigan?

East Coast Paddlers-----Monthly Meeting Location------

As of April, we will no longer be able to use the Gander Mtn site as our monthly meeting location. We have procured a new meeting place which is located at the  ---Hoyt Library---  located at 505 Janes Ave in downtown Saginaw, between Jefferson and Warren Streets. There are two large parking lots directly south of the  main Janes Ave entrance.

Access to the facility may be obtained from both north and south I-675. As you exit 675 proceed to the Warren St intersection and then turn south, crossing Genesee and continue to Janes Ave and the parking lots.
The meeting room is on your left after entering the main floor area.
The room has been reserved for the  "FIRST THURSDAY" of the following months: June 6, August 1, September 5, October 3 and November 7.

Keweenaw Water Trail Adventure 2013

The Keweenaw Water Trail is a designated route that was established for paddlers to explore the Keweenaw Peninsula. The 123 mile route ultimately enables an experienced paddler to circumnavigate the "Copper Island" and offers many other options for shorter day trips and overnights. The "tip of the Keweenaw", the northern most locale along the route is a truly uninhabited wilderness area. Over 8000 acres and 9 miles of undeveloped Lake Superior Shoreline were acquired by the State of Michigan in 2002 as a part of the largest conservation acquisition in its history and now maintains a State Forest designation. There are no facilities of any kind and camping is primitive. During the trip we will see a geological fantasyland of various rock types, crystal-clear water, cliffs, sea caves and arches, sea stacks, the Montreal Falls, intermittent sugar-sand beaches and campsites visited by the Voyageurs. All of this incredible scenery is neighbored by quaint harbor-side communities filled with the history of their maritime and mining past. The Keweenaw Peninsula is gradually being discovered as a prime location for sea kayaking adventure on Lake Superior.

Silver Islet to Rossport

Lake Superior Trip Report

Ann Arbor temperatures hovered above 100 degrees, with Beulah temps just slightly lower at 95. It felt like purgatory in July in Michigan.  Meanwhile, up in Rossport, Ontario, perched at the top of Lake Superior, the mercury was stuck somewhere in the lower 70’s and the humidity barely registered. Tom O’ Connor and I took a vote on where we’d rather paddle, and Rossport won 2 to 0. Go figure? So we pored over maps and guidebooks and made the plan to paddle the 85 miles from Silver Islet, located on the tip of the Sibley Peninsula, to  the little village of Rossport which is nestled among the islands to the east.

PUR Water-Without the Weight

Review by George Granlund

Online Review

PUR markets its latest water-purification product as a “mini water treatment plant in a packet.” Indeed, the PUR Purifier of Water employs the exact chemical process as used in many municipal water-treatment plants around the Western world.

Without A Paddle

Journalist Warren Richey has written a book, Without A Paddle that is equally about paddling a kayak and about coping with a difficult marriage breakup.
If you’ve ever sat for long periods of time in a kayak while making a crossing or just having no place to easily get out, you’ve got nothing on Warren. He was finishing up a leg of the twelve hundred mile Ultimate Florida Challenge and had to paddle 24 hours straight. Hallucinations----sure. But the challenge also gave him unlimited time to ruminate and evaluate his life. For the entire book, he is on the cusp of proposing to the new love of his life.

Despite the angst that he brings to the book, it is quite entertaining and keeps you wondering just how it will all turn out—the UFC, the marriage proposal, his relationship with his son, and his experiences with storms, rednecks, ‘gators and water moccasins. It’s a good read and will keep paddlers and those “without a paddle”, entertained.

DeTour Village to Meldrum Bay August 6-11, 2012

This trip is a 6 day, 100 mile paddle from Detour Village on the eastern tip of the U.P. to the remote island village of Meldrum Bay near the western end of Manitoulin Island.

DeTour Village to Meldrum Bay

The plan is to meet at, and depart from, DeTour Village on Monday, August 6 and paddle across to the marina on Drummond Island to check in at customs and then follow the south shore of Drummond Island before crossing into Canadian waters and arriving at Cockburn Island. We’ll then follow the north shore of Cockburn and make the crossing to Manitoulin Island. On the western tip of Manitoulin is the Mississagi Lighthouse Heritage Park and Campground. We’ll stop there to camp or possibly head on to Meldrum Bay to check in at Canadian Customs. If camping is still available at the marina in Meldrum Bay, that’s where we’ll camp, before enjoying a 5 star dinner at the quaint Meldrum Bay Inn.

Short’s To Short’s Cut Short

The East Coast Paddlers were well represented at the 2012 edition of the Short’s to Short’s Paddle event that occurred on April 27. The event is a 27 mile paddle from Bellaire to Elk Rapids in Antrim County.

Organizers announced that 323 people showed up for registration on the brilliantly sunny, crisp Friday morning. I’m glad that I took the day off from retirement to enjoy the spectacle of all those boats launching and heading down the river. Folks were paddling everything that floats, from 10’ long rec boats to 20’ long Epic surf skis, with a few dozen canoes thrown in for good measure.

Buffalo River Trip Report 2012

Buffalo River Trip Report 2012

Our numbers were few but memories from the Buffalo River journey were still many. Really, when you factor in the terrific weather, it may have been the best trip yet.

“Arkansas” Bob Shockley, Phil Crookshank and I launched at the ghost town of Woolum on the Buffalo River with plans to spend four days and three nights on the nation’s first National Scenic River, established in 1972. That designation gives it protection from commercial and residential encroachment and provides a wide corridor along the river banks where we saw no structures beyond two highway bridges and a couple of park service buildings at Buffalo Point.