Bad River Chippewa
After the family left, there was bad weather. I took a chance on getting to Cornucopia 20 miles away. I gave up after 10 miles of fighting wind and wave, sliding into the Port Wing marina exhausted and in shock from nearly capsizing off Quarry point from clapotis waves throwing me around like a rag in a washing machine. That left 26 miles to reach little Sand Bay the next day to meet my girlfriend, her mom, and her best friend at noon. I cast off early and began what would become a bad habit of shunning the shore in favor of straight lines. I still didn’t make it.
They left and I caught up just past York Island. 34 miles on the day. After only three days of paddling, my body was shot.
We had 4 days in the Apostles with mostly pristine weather. It worked out, mostly. Except my girlfriend’s mom maybe had a heart attack from the exertion. She refused help from the Coast Guard. Then I had to chase a bear off our campsite through the woods. Then we spent an hour picking ticks off each other because of a hike on that hellhole Basswood Island. The last day, I coached my girlfriend’s mom on riding 3-foot waves down the channel to Bayfield. But everybody came out in one piece. I call that working out.
Along the way, towns named for silver, copper, and pine were tucked behind breakwalls for harbors sized for fleets of fishing boats from eras long past. I listened to a beautiful book called Braiding Sweet Grass. The native American author talked of Nanabozho, a spirit trickster helping humans learn lessons. He’d stir up greediness in us before helping us see its folly and then gain deeper relationships with nature.
I’d been warned to stay off native land. They had little patience for outsiders taking so little as a rest on the beach without permission. But I had to seek refuge at the mouth of the Bad River Reservation. They let me know I was trespassing, but also graciously let me stay until the weather improved. They offered a beer and we shared an appreciation of Chris Stapleton’s music, an admiration for Winona LaDuke, and a disgust for the proposed Endbridge Line 5 pipeline. Once they figured out the scope of my trip, they laughed and said they’d bring around their boat to pick me up when I got sick of paddling. They did ask I let the world know about the Bad River Band of Chippewa and I’m glad to oblige.
June 15-19, 2023
Route Map - Bayfield to Ontonagon
