The nice warm spring day kept calling to me through my office window. By 1pm every little task was taking twice as long. My focus was going. By 2pm I was probably looking out the window more than I was actually looking at my computer screen. . . By 3pm I was loading the Acuta on the back of the Jeep and by 4pm I was launching out into our little local lake. Considering it’s Baraboo and it was Monday, running into 3 more kayakers on this sunny afternoon was pretty amazing.

Gitche Gumee is the Ojibwa (Native American) name for Lake Superior. We all know that from the 1970s Gordon Lightfoot Song. In our part of the world Superior, which is the largest of the great lakes, takes on legendary proportions. Superior is known for her deep history, fickle temperament and awe inspiring beauty. On the southern shores there are two “must see” locations for kayakers; the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin and Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore in Upper Michigan. Most of us know a bit about the Apostle Islands already so today I wanted to put a bit of a spotlight on Pictured Rocks & more directly the Hiawatha Water Trail.

The Hiawatha Water trail runs about 120 miles slong the Michigan Shore from Big Bay to Grand Marais, which many of us know as the home of the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium. The scenic trail follows a shoreline that has been traveled by Native Americans, voyageurs and early European explorers. It is an amazingly beautiful part of the world. According to the Hiawatha Trail Association website the HWT is fully developed on the eastern third from Munsing to Grand Marais. This section includes Grand Island National Recreation Area and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The trail is well posted and campsites and plentiful. Each successive section is still under development and you can check their website for details along the route. I’ve been looking at this area for a couple years now and I’m beginning to think it’s about time for a drive.