Au Train River 9/8/13
One thing about rivers is they usually start in one place and flow downstream to another place. Occasionally a river's flow is slow enough that you can paddle downstream, then turn around and paddle back upstream to your beginning point, but that's not common in most places. Or its usually rather dull, or it's more effort than it's worth. In most cases one must perform a shuttle, meaning leave some form of transportation at the take-out point. When you are traveling by yourself, it gets complicated. On some occasions we have performed a bike shuttle, where I would leave a bike at the take-out, so I could ride back to the put-in and fetch the car. However, a bike shuttle is not practical for many rivers, and besides, we aren't carrying any bikes on this trip. On very rare occasions you can do a walking shuttle. The Au Train is such a river that a foot shuttle is rather easy because of the way that the river loops back to the road .... twice.
We decided to paddle the Au Train because we had heard it was very pretty and because the shuttle was uncomplicated. We drove to the first bridge on the river downstream from Au Train Lake and unloaded the boat and gear. Then Dorcas drove the car to the next bridge, parked and walked back 0.7 miles to the put-in. When we got to the car we would decide whether to take out there, or whether to paddle on down to the mouth of the river on Lake Superior. The flow was good and ultimately we decided to paddle on down to the mouth of the river. When we got there Dorcas walked back up the road another 0.7 miles to get the car.
It was a very nice paddle. The river flowed through the Hiawatha National Forest, and there was no development until the last mile. The first half of the river was clear and shallow revealing a white sand bottom. The lower half opened into wide prairie, and the current was reduced somewhat. The trip was 7.85 miles, and the current averaged almost 3 mph.
Two Hearted River 9/12/13
The Two Hearted River is a world class trout stream and was made famous in Ernest Hemingway's Nick Adams stories (although most sources suggest he was really describing the near-by Fox River). I wanted to paddle the Two Hearted River because it is very remote and because of the Hemingway connection. The river flows almost parallel to the Lake Superior shore before finally emptying into the lake. Unlike the Au Train, there is no possibility of a walking shuttle. There was a lodge and canoe outfitter near the mouth of the river. However, there was a massive forest fire there last year and the lodge burned. I had received conflicting information about whether the outfitter was still in business.
So, with no real shuttle plan we set out for the put-in at the Reed and Green Bridge, about 35 miles north of our camp in Newberry. Our plan was to unload the boat and gear at the put-in while I drove to the take-out at the mouth of the river. There I would park the car and find a ride back to the put-in. Sometimes you just gotta have faith.
There is a state forest service campground at the mouth and my first hope was to find a canoer camping there. One canoer will often help another in this situation. But after looping through the campground I found no canoes. DANG! Next, I went to the Rainbow Lodge site, where the canoe outfitter had been, but the lodge site was deserted. There was little evidence of the old lodge, although there was some new construction where the lodge was starting to be rebuilt. DANG AGAIN! I doubled back to the campground to take another look in there when I saw a man working on a new log structure. It turns out that "Duane" was rebuilding the Chapel of the Two Heart, a small one room log chapel; the original Chapel of the Two Heart had been destroyed in the fire the year before. I asked him about the outfitter, and if he knew anyone who would be able to drive me back to Reed and Green Bridge. He said he would be glad to do that. I hopped in his truck with his Irish Setter "Maggie" but before leaving Duane wanted to let his wife, Judy, know he was leaving. It turns out Judy thought he needed to finish his work (I think he was looking for a break), so Judy drove me back to the put-in. During the 20 minute drive I learned all about the fire, the reconstruction and everything else I wanted to know about the Two Hearted area.
I arrived back at the put-in about 1.5 hours after I left. Dorcas and the gear were fine. Judy refused to take any money for her kindness, but asked that we stop in when we finished and let her know how the river was.
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| Lake Superior was kicking pretty good at the mouth of the Two Hearted River |
It was a beautiful river. The Two Hearted flows through the Lake Superior State Forest, and it is heavily wooded along its course. There was no development along the way. We saw a few fishermen near the beginning of our paddle and near the end, and they seemed to be having some success. Our paddle was about 11.4 miles and the flow averaged about 4 mph.
As we approached the end of the trip we came closer to Lake Superior where the winds were probably in excess of 25 mph. During the last half mile we lost much of the buffer of the trees and experienced the brunt of the wind. It was brutal, but we made it in. After our paddle we visited Duane and Judy at the chapel site and visited for a while. They were cooking stew over an open fire and invited us to stay for dinner. We need to get back home, so we politely declined. We did convince them to take $20 for their kindness in shuttling us when we suggested they spend it on seating for the chapel. Really nice folks.
Tahquamenon River 9/13/13
On this day we paddled the Tahquamenon River near Newberry. The Tahquamenon is a rather large river system, draining an area west of Newberry. It flows through Lake Superior State Forest and Tahquamenon Falls State Park before flowing into Lake Superior about 80 river miles below us. We visited Tahquamenon Falls State Park a few years ago. You can read about that here.
We were again vexed by the lack of shuttle partners. We went to the put-in on MI 123 about a mile north of Newberry hoping to find some other paddlers who would share a shuttle. Nada. There is an outfitter who runs this river, but he is about 10 miles north, I suppose so he can also service the lower sections of the river. Commercial shuttles are usually expensive: $20-$30 dollars and can be inconvenient. I had called the outfitter the day before and there was no answer, so I wasn't even sure he was open. Then a novel and brilliant idea occurred to me. We were only a mile outside Newberry, a fair sized town and the county seat of Luce County. Perhaps there is a taxi service! Dorcas used her iPhone and located Dial-A-Ride. The lady agreed to pick me up at the take-out and drive me about 6 miles to the put-in for a fare of $4. She could meet me in 15 minutes. Perfect! We have never used a taxi service for a shuttle before, but it worked great. The driver was on time, and Dorcas and our gear were still safely stationed at the put-in when I got back.
The Tahquamenon was another spectacular river, perhaps my favorite of the UP rivers. There was no development and the river corridor alternated from heavy woods to open prairies. It was clear with good flow. About 2/3 the way down there was a primitive state forest campground. I think this would be an excellent camping river; it is long, un-dammed, scenic and flows through public lands. Maybe next year, but I doubt a taxi shuttle will be practical for a 100 mile paddle. This paddle was 6.6 miles long and the weather was great.
We had already checked out of our camp at Clementz Northwoods CG and the coach was parked near the put-in. After returning to the coach we headed south.
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