KayakOntario

Day off, and another paddle I’d wanted to do for years: the Rossport Islands. Launched from the beach at Rossport and wove through the archipelago out to Battle Island, the southern edge of the chain. Clear water, cliffs, and the northernmost lighthouse on the Great Lakes. It looks almost exactly like a miniature Peggy’s Cove.
We decided to have lunch on the island when we saw the iconic red Muskoka chairs. We landed, and something instantly felt off. The place was abandoned. Signs said enter at your own risk, the lighthouse was posted do not enter, and most of the equipment was still in winter wraps, in July. I made a point of researching it once I was back.
Here’s the fuller story. Battle Island is within the traditional territory of Pawgwasheeng (Pays Plat First Nation), whose Chief has called it sacred land. Their community never signed the Robinson-Superior Treaty. By their oral history, their people were out hunting when it was signed in 1850, and they only learned of it in 1883 when the railway arrived. They were allotted one square mile of reserve. A land claim that includes Battle Island is in negotiation with Canada right now, and visits to the island have become a point of real friction.
So: we went, it was beautiful, and we’d have made better-informed choices about landing if we’d known before instead of after. I’m glad we found out, and I’m glad I can share the history. Pays Plat tells its own story at ppfn.ca. Well worth your time.
The lighthouse is 150 years of this island’s story. The rest is much longer.

Ten years ago I saw a Lawren Harris painting. Today we paddled around it.

Pic Island, the one from 1924. The cliffs, the cold blue water that reminded me of Tobermory, the island that looks like it was carved for a gallery wall. I put a circumnavigation on the list the first time I saw it and it sat there for a decade, waiting for the right window.

Today the KO coaches had a gap between client trips, and Superior gave us a weather window. Launched from the camp beach, clockwise around the outside. Small swell, but glassy clean, the kind of conditions you dream of touring in.

Who would have thought the back of the island is more spectacular than the painting angle.

17 Reasons Lake Superior is Superior… I Said What I Said!

Loved the "Signs You've Been Kayaking Too Much" list going around from , and we got tagged into it a few times, so we had to answer with a love letter to our side of the country. Here are 17 reasons we prefer Gitche Gumee.

1. It looks like BC but with no tides, so you can enjoy a morning coffee and a ritual without stress. No need to stress the launch.

2. You can just drink it. That is a whole dromedary bag of hatch space back for Coke Zero.

3. Nothing in it wants to eat you, and everything in it is delicious. One very good lake trout or whitefish dinner.

4. No tide tables. You show up, you paddle, the water is exactly where you left it.

5. It is cold enough to earn you respect at any launch on the continent. People just know.

6. The water is so clear you can watch a client's dropped sunglasses sink for a genuinely upsetting length of time.

7. Shipwrecks preserved so well they look parked. The big lake keeps what it takes.

8. Nobody here judges you for paddling a twenty-year-old boat. It still resells for more than you paid.

9. Pictographs, sea caves, and a billion years of Canadian Shield instead of another sandy beach.

10. Nobody out dies gorpcore. The look on Superior is grit and a repair-taped drysuit.

11. You can launch in full sea kayak kit (drysuit, tow rig, deck compass, the works) right beside a guy in a Sportspal canoe wearing Crocs and shorts, and you each think the other one is out of his mind.

12. Freshwater is hydrating. Salty guides look like sea captains after the perfect storm. Superior guides are all supermodels. Do not fact check me there.

13. Caribou on the Slate Islands, and on Caribou Island, where they were airlifted in by helicopter to an island already named after caribou. Try that with a seal.

14. It is not busy and it never will be. Getting here from Toronto takes long enough that it is easier to reach Vancouver Island. The 401, the 400, and Hwy 17 are nightmare fuel. Guaranteed peace.

15. Backcountry campsites, more of them than there are people willing to make the drive. Solitude by geography. The commute is the bouncer.

16. The Group of Seven painted it, Bill Mason filmed it, Lightfoot sang it. The big lake has been turned into art for a hundred years and it is not done with us yet.

17. It is called Superior. The lake filled out its own performance review and it was right.

Bonus: be like Highway 17. Do your maintenance, never let anyone rush you, and close completely when it gets too stormy. Best boundaries in the province.

Honestly? Superior paddlers and ocean paddlers are the same people. Repaired gear, folk music, crazy old kayaks, a favourite wind direction (NE for me). Similar soul, same swell, same repair tape. We love the salt just as much, we just prefer our home.

Evie is running a course for Freedom Canoe & Kayak in Caesarea, today. Looks like they had great weather!

Another big group on the Peninsula this week for a Level 2 and various clinics. What a season and June isn’t even over yet!

This weekend, Kathleen led her first Paddle Canada Level 2 as lead instructor, with Jill alongside her on her first co-lead. Seeing our coaches step into these roles and absolutely nail it is one of the best parts of what we do.

And the reviews coming back have been glowing. Participants pointed to how seamlessly Kathleen and Jill worked together: organized, engaging, and genuinely fun, with a learning environment that built real confidence on the water. Even seasoned paddlers walked away with new techniques and a few great stories (ask them about the all-in reentry scenario).

Congratulations, Kathleen and Jill. It’s been a pleasure to work with you over the years and watch you grow.

Great day on the water despite the weather!

Check out this amazing program!

Preparing to launch! 🚀

Stay tuned here for updates on the launch of our ***NEW SOJOURN CAMPSITES*** (Canvas Wall Tent on Raised Wooden Platforms) ⛺️
&
Our Relaunch of the ***SAUGEEN SOJOURN*** 2 Day Overnight Adventure and Anishinaabe Cultural Experience in partnership with EcoAdventures / BPBA

More updates and adventures to come!!!

What a big weekend!

Two Level 1 courses, our Foundation Reset and Navigation clinics, and a Level 2 in Tobermory packed with Michiganders ✋ (iykyk).

Foundation Reset for paddlers rebuilding skills and confidence, Navigation for taking route planning off the chart table and onto the water. We had plenty of keen paddlers from all levels this weekend. All hands on deck!