Paddle Two Hearted River and the Canoe Shuttle From Hell

The best laid plans of men are often thwarted.  That is certainly no more true than when paddling a remote wilderness river.  This is a rather long post filled with tales of misadventure and woe.  If you make it to the end of this tale, I don't think you will be disappointed.

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).  The river flows almost parallel to the Lake Superior shore before finally emptying into the lake. 

We have paddled the Two Hearted River twice before.  On the first occasion we were traveling alone in 2013, as we are on this trip, which can make the shuttle a challenge.  On that trip I dropped Dorcas and the gear at the put-in, drove to the take-out and hitched a ride back.  That's the short version.  You can read all the gory details of the shuttle for that trip HERE. 

Location of the Two Hearted River

On this trip we had a similar plan: drop Dorcas and the gear at the put-in at Reed and Green Bridge, drive to the take-out at the Mouth of the Two Hearted Campground on Lake Superior and, in this case, bike about 10.5 miles back to the put-in.  Simple right?  What could go wrong?  

It was a beautiful day, and the drive to the put-in was uneventful, along wide graded gravel roads. When I arrived, unloaded the bike and prepared to ride I discovered a problem with the bike.  After fiddling with the bike for about 15 minutes, I was forced to accept that it would not go on this day.  I won't say now what was wrong with the bike.  I am starting a new contest called "Guess the Bike Malfunction".  Post your guesses as an online comment to this post, and I will announce a winner in the next week or so.  Stay tuned. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled fiasco.  My first reaction was to say screw it and drive back to the put-in, collect Dorcas and the gear, and go home for an early happy hour.  Dorcas had not been keen on paddling this day anyway; that would probably make her happy and be right with Karma.  I got into the car and began to leave, but, at the last moment I decided to drive around the campground loops and see if I could find another paddling party that might be willing to drive me up to the bridge.  No success.  I then drove up to the Rainbow Lodge which has provided canoe shuttles in the past.  The door to the lodge was locked and no one seemed to be home.  I then saw two women walking towards a barn, and I headed over to talk to them. When I got to the barn they seemed to have disappeared, but I finally found them behind the barn taking a smoke break.  I explained my dilemma, that I needed a ride to Reed and Green Bridge.  They told me Richard, the lodge owner, sometimes does that, but he was gone, but that he should be back soon.  They suggested that one or the other of the two campground hosts might be able to help, so I headed back down the hill to the campground.  

At the first host site I talked to a young lady who said she'd be happy to help.  But wait, on second though, her husband was gone, she didn't know the way to the bridge, she was actually on duty and her toddler was giving her fits.  Maybe she couldn't help after all.  She suggested I talk to Ken, the other camp host, who was not on duty this day.  I drove to Ken's site, and found him standing outside his trailer.  As I walked over to speak to him a large limb fell from a tree and landed 4 feet in front of me.  Was this another omen???  I should have just walked away. Ken was hard of hearing and loved to talk ... and talk, and talk and talk.  I was eventually able to explain what I wanted, and he suggested I talk to Richard at the lodge.  Done that.  He also mentioned another outfitter back in Newberry, a one hour drive back to town.  He produced a map and showed me how to find the outfitter and how to get back to the bridge (I already knew that!) and began sharing a plethora of other useless information. Time was running out; it was not a short paddle, and if I couldn't find a ride soon, I would have to give up.  About that time Ken said he didn't usually do this, but he would be willing to drive my car back to the put-in and return it to the take-out.  Not an ideal plan; I had hoped he would drive me up in his truck.  He spent another 10 minutes telling me how that would all work, and where he would hide the key.  He then said he needed to turn some things off in the camper and lock up.  I think this is the slowest individual I have ever met.  I tried to politely move him along, but everything I said seemed to distract him and slow him down.  Remember when I said time was running out?  OK, we're about ready to go when a patrolling Luce County Sheriff's deputy drives by.  Ken says the deputy is his best buddy and stops him to say hello.   They chatted for a while, and it is obvious Deputy is trying to find a way to escape too.  In the meantime I'm tapping my foot and looking at my watch.  Finally Deputy says he needs to head over to Muskallonge Lake State Park and continue his patrol.  That's when a bell went off in my head. I knew that Muskallonge Lake was beyond Reed and Green Bridge, and Deputy would likely be driving directly by our put-in.  So, I asked if he was able to give me a ride and he quickly said yes.  That gave us both a chance to bolt and escape from Ken. Ironically, Ken seemed disappointed I had found another ride. I'm not sure if it was because we were all leaving and he would have no one to talk to, or if he realized that he may have lost the fat gratuity he would have gotten for taking me to the put-in.  You snooze, you loose. I jumped into Deputy's truck, and we split in a cloud of dust.

OK, we're off, and life is good again!  We'll be on the river in no time!  But wait, about a mile from the Mouth of the Two Hearted we approach a man walking along the road.  He flags the deputy over and, of course the deputy stops to see what the problem is. Oh Crap!!!!  It turns out that this Poor Soul had gone off the main road and gotten stuck in the soft sand on one of the ATV paths.  I think "What an idiot". (Spoiler alert: this is foreshadowing). Poor Soul couldn't accurately describe where his car was, but he had probably walked more than a couple of miles.  Thankfully for me, Deputy said he couldn't pull him out, but he could radio for a tow truck (there was no cellular service here).  The problem was Poor Soul couldn't say exactly where his car was stuck.  About this time Richard (remember Richard of the Rainbow Lodge?) comes by and stops.  It is agreed that Richard would take Poor Soul back to the Rainbow Lodge, and Deputy would send the tow truck there.  Then the tow truck driver would take Poor Soul back to his car and free it, if they could find it.

OK, crisis solved and Deputy and I are back on the road.  Deputy was very interesting, and we had a nice chat.  He is one of the few people I have talked to outside of Minnesota that knows of the Boundary Waters.  He had taken his family to Colorado a few years back and had done some whitewater rafting.  He and his wife would be retiring in a few months, and he had bought an RV and planned to spend the coming winter in Arizona.  In no time at all we were at the put-in, now running only about a hour behind schedule.  I offered Deputy some money, but as I expected, he declined.  I said he could take something to put into the collection plate at his church or something for the children or another charity, but he still declined.  Dorcas was already worried because I was late, but she really panicked when she saw me arrive in a Sheriff's truck.  She rushed up and began asking about a hundred questions all at once.  I told her that everything was fine, that it was a long story, and that I would tell her the whole tale when we got on the river.  

Dorcas waiting not so patiently at the put-in

It was a beautiful day and a wonderful river.  The water level was low, and we had to maneuver to avoid numerous gravel bars and fallen trees. 

Lunch stop

A friend joined us for lunch

We saw a bit of fall color

Towards the end of the run the woods gave way to more open terrain featuring high sand bluffs

Wilderness rivers present a number of types of hazards

After about 4 hours and 11.5 miles we passed the bridge at the Mouth of the Two Hearted Campground signifying the end of our trip.

The mouth of the Two Hearted

Our route

The Chapel of the Two Hearted

When we paddled the Two Hearted River the first time in 2013 the chapel had been destroyed in a recent fire, and some folks were rebuilding it.  In fact these folks shuttled us back to our car.

The Rainbow Lodge had also been destroyed in that previous fire.  Here is the re-built lodge. 

OK the paddle is over, the boat and the gear are loaded and the only thing between us and happy hour is a moderately short ride down well-graded gravel USFS roads.  What could go wrong????

Since I had hitched a ride back to the put-in earlier, there was no reason to drive back there to pick up the bike.  Consequently, we could drive directly back to camp.  I knew there was a good road that turned left and south a few miles ahead that, would take us directly to M-123 a major paved road.  However, we didn't come in that way, so I didn't know if I would recognize it when we came to it.  I love Google Maps and have come to depend on it regularly, but it is not infallible and should not replace common sense.  I knew that this part of Hiawatha National Forest was extensively criss-crossed with sandy, rutted pig paths, made for ATVs, where one could get stuck.  Remember Poor Soul?  I'm not that guy, right?  Well, as we are driving along a perfectly fine well-graded, hard-packed road, Google Maps suggested I take a left fork.  I was looking for a left turn anyway, and before consciously thinking it through, I took it.  Bad plan!!!  I immediately realized it was a mistake, but it was too late.  The surface immediately turned soft and rutted;  I couldn't turn around, and the only choice was to keep up as much speed as possible and hope we made it out alive. My thoughts went back to Poor Soul, and I desparately didn't want to be that guy.  If we got stuck I'm not sure we would be as lucky as he was to find a deputy to radio for help.

This image shows the fine well-graded hard-packed road we should have stayed on

This video shows the ill-fated left turn:

There were some bumps, but I dared not slow down. We were slipping and sliding and clawing for every bit of traction we could get.  Dorcas was screaming words I didn't think she knew. 

The roads continued to degrade, and we continued to take numerous forks without the luxury of stopping to think where they went. When would it end?

And then we were in the trees.

After what seemed like forever we finally found our way back onto the main bad road.

We finally found our way to M-123, the paved highway that would take us home.  As far as could tell no damage had been done.  We stopped in Newberry at Seder's Pizza for some subs and a take-out pizza.  As much as I had trashed Newberry Campground in my last post, I sure was glad to see it now.  Now it was time for an adult beverage or three. 

This picture is from 2014 after paddling the Two Hearted with Wayne and Lynda.

Can you believe it?  They named a river after a beer???

The life of a wilderness paddler and a silly RVer is not for the faint of heart. Life is good again ... I think.

Paddle Tahquamenon River

 After a very enjoyable rally at Sault Ste. Marie we ultimately had to leave.  In past years we haven't often made reservations for campsites and have had good luck winging it as we go.  This year is somewhat different. The past year has seen record sales of recreational vehicles, and those people have hit the road in epic numbers to escape, all as a consequence of the COVID epidemic.  We now find ourselves with no camping reservations for the next 6 nights as we drive across the UP before arriving in Duluth.  We wanted to spend a night or two near Newberry MI, because there is some good paddling in the area. After many frantic internet searches, phone calls and disappointments we finally scored 3 nights at the Newberry Campground, a former KOA.

We didn't see any moose.  I think they all got their COVID vaccines and moved to Canada

At first glance it seemed like a really nice site.  We had 30A service and water.  The site was HUGE; I think it may have originally been 2 smaller sites which were later consolidated.  The whole campground was heavily wooded and the prospect of satellite TV service did not look promising.  However, when we got parked we had a clear hole through the trees through which our rooftop satellite dish could see the birds.  COOL!

Site 27 at Newberry Campground

The problems started when we plugged into the electric pedestal.  Remember earlier this month when I wrote about installing the Progressive Industries EMS device?  Well, it was very fortunate decision.  When we plugged in the EMS immediately shut off the power to the coach and displayed we were getting 142 volts.  HOLY SHIT!  Nominally AC voltage in the US is 120V.  The EMS will shut us off when it sees voltage 10% greater or lower than that value, specifically over 132V or below 104V.   There happened to be two service boxes on the pedestal, so I plugged into the other box. The device cut us off again, this time  displaying 94V.  WHAT???  How can two receptacles on the same pole provide such a wide range of voltage???  I'm not an electrician, but it was obvious there were electrical problems here.   Ultimately we plugged into the low voltage receptacle, and the voltage stabilized somewhat. At particular times during the day we saw voltage drops, presumably as we and other campers ran coffee makers, water heaters and air conditioners.  Consequently, we were not able to take advantage of our full 30A capability.  Often the voltage would drop to below specifications before we approached our 30A capacity.  That was very frustrating, but not harmful because the EMS protected us from any damage resulting from low voltage.

Note the dual service panels

The other problem was the internet service. The campground advertised WiFi, and that is an amenity I really appreciate. I'm a news junkie, and I can't keep up with what's going on in the world and can't produce this journal without reliable internet service.  We were able to see and connect to several network transmitters at the campground with a moderately strong signal, but we were not able to connect to the internet.  Furthermore, we were far enough from the highway that our cellular data service was spotty. However, we have a cellular booster on board with a 3-foot external antenna mounted on the roof, and that made the cellular data signal tolerable.  I did not bother to report these issues to the campground management at the time.  My experience is they usually don't care and/or claim they can't do anything about it.  All those selfish RVers streaming TV shows, you know. We will endure for the next three nights.  I do plan to post these issues on at least one RV campground review site. 

As I said earlier, we wanted to do some paddling in the area.  On Tuesday we paddled the Tahquamenon River, just north of Newberry.  The river flows about 90 miles and eventually empties into Lake Superior near Tahquamenon Falls State Park.  We put in at the Tahquamenon Logging Museum and paddled a little over 7 miles to McPhees Landing.  After dropping Dorcas and Matilda and our gear at the put-in I drove to the take-out, parked the car and biked about 6 miles back to the put-in.

A bit of fall color

Suitable lunch spots were few and far between.  We were able to find this spot. where we could step out of the boat and scramble up a short but steep bank to find a dry spot.  As usual the quarter-mile rule was in affect, namely, any time you stop for lunch there will be a better spot a quarter mile on down the river.

A beaver condominium complex

The river courses mainly through open plains and meadows through Michigan State Forest land.

We saw a bit of wildlife.  In addition to turtles, we saw a beaver, a bald eagle, a barred owl, a number of great blue herons, numerous ducks and an otter.

As you can see from the stats below, we paddled 7.08 miles over 3 hours and 10 minutes.

It was another great day on the river.  Tomorrow the plan is to paddle the Two Hearted River a bit north of here. 

Sault Saint Marie MI

 Our drive from Wolverine to Sault Sainte Marie was uneventful and relatively short.  We logged only 100 miles.  We are scheduled to be here for 6 nights and will attend the Michigan State Rally of the Newmar Kountry Klub, our manufacture's owners club.  

On this day we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge, the "Mighty Mac". The Mackinaw Bridge crosses the Straits of Mackinac and connects Michigan's lower and upper peninsulas.  The Mac is a very impressive structure.  It was completed in 1957.  It has the longest span between anchorages of any suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, and the total shore-to-shore distance is 5 miles. The maximum clearance to the water below is 155 feet. Driving across the bridge is a little daunting. The bridge authority provides a service for those psychologically unable to drive their vehicle across the bridge.

Crossing the "Mighty Mac"

I happen to be a bridge nut.  I chose to become a civil engineer because of my fascination with bridges.  However, after taking my first course in structures at NC State University, my desire to design bridges was diminished.  Consequently, I changed my specialty to environmental engineering.  So bear with me as I indulge:

Facts and figures (Ref: Wikipedia):

• The Mackinac Bridge is currently a toll bridge on Interstate 75. Prior to the coming of I-75, the bridge carried US Highway 27 (US 27). It is one of only three segments of I-75 that are tolled, the others being the American half of the International Bridge near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Alligator Alley in Florida. The current toll is $4.00 for automobiles and $5.00 per axle for trucks. The Mackinac Bridge Authority raised the toll in 2007 to fund a $300 million renovation program, which would include completely replacing the bridge deck.
• Every Labor Day, the bridge is open to walkers for the Mackinac Bridge Walk.
• Painting of the bridge takes seven years, and when painting of the bridge is complete, it begins again. The current painting project began in 1999 and was expected to take 20 years to complete because the lead-based paint needs to be removed, incurring additional disposal requirements.
• The bridge celebrated its 150 millionth vehicle crossing on September 6, 2009.
• Length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier: 7,400 feet.
• Total width of the roadway: 54 feet.
• Two outside lanes: 12 feet wide each
• Two inside lanes: 11 feet wide each
• Width of stiffening truss in the suspended span: 68 feet.
• Depth of stiffening truss: 38.1 feet.
• Height of the roadway at mid-span: approximately 200 feet above water level.
• Vertical clearance at normal temperature:

155 feet at the center of the main suspension span.

135 feet at the boundaries of the 3,000 feet wide navigation channel.

• Construction cost: $99.8 million (equivalent to $696 million in 2018.
• Height of towers above water: 552 feet.
• Max. depth of towers below water: 210 feet.
• Depth of water beneath the center of the bridge, 250 feet.
• Main cables:

Number of wires in each cable: 12,580

Diameter of each wire: 0.196 inches

Diameter of each cable: 24.5 inches

Total length of wire in main cables: 42,000 miles

• Total vehicle crossings, 2005: 4,236,491 (average 11,608 per day)
• Speed limit: 45 miles per houfor passenger cars, 20 miles per hour for heavy trucks. Heavy trucks are also required to leave 500 feet spacing ahead.

Current bridge conditions and live web cams can be seen HERE

A view from web cam

Sault Ste. Marie (population 14,144) is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula. Sault Ste. Marie was settled as early as 1668, which makes it Michigan's oldest city and among the oldest cities in the United States. Located at the northeastern edge of the Upper Peninsula, it is separated by the St. Marys River from the larger Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (population 73,368). The two are connected by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, which represents the northern terminus of Interstate 75.  Ironically, this is the first time we have spent the night in Sault Ste. Marie MI, but we have spent the night in Sault Ste. Marie ON CA on at least three previous trips. 

The city name was derived from the French term for the nearby rapids, which were called Les Saults de Sainte Marie. Sainte Marie (Saint Mary) was the name of the river and Saults referred to the rapids.

We stayed at Aune Osborne Campground, owned and operated by the city of Sault Ste. Marie

Our home at Aune Osborne Campground

Dorcas and I have discovered and love Popeye's Spicy Cajun chicken sandwiches. Shortly after arriving in Sault Ste. Marie we had a craving and did a Goole search, and were surprised to find a Popeye's restaurant only 2.4 miles from our camp.  When we routed to the store we found it was across the river in Canada, and it would require an international border crossing to get to it.  DANG!  What's this world coming to when you have to drive to Canada to get a Cajun chicken sandwich?

Gull's eye view of our campsite

Sault Ste. Marie is at the eastern end of Lake Superior.  All freighter traffic entering or leaving Lake Superior must pass by our camp site.  We saw lots of freighters. 

Aune Osborne Campground

On Friday we took a locks tour. 

Dorcas and I played a game of checkers while waiting to board our boat.  Neither of use has played checkers in as long as we can remember. Dorcas is no fun with board games.  She gave up for no good reason and intentionally let me jump all her remaining men.  

This is the the Cloverland Electric Cooperative Hydroelectric Plant.  This plant receives water from above the Sault Ste Marie falls and can produce 36 megawatts of power.  Construction was completed in 1902, and at the time of completion, the plant was the second largest hydro facility next to Niagara Falls.  The hydro plant is constructed of red sandstone which was excavated from the power canal. The plant is a quarter-mile long, 80 feet wide, and has 74 horizontal shaft turbines.

Note the artistic lighthouse motif

The MacArthur Lock on the left and the Poe Lock on the right looking upbound

I am also a lock nut (isn't that a type of fastener?) so please indulge me again. There are currently 2 American locks operating, the MacArthur Lock and the Poe Lock. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year, despite being closed during the winter from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter closure period is used to inspect and maintain the locks.  

The MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is 800 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 29.5 feet deep.  This is large enough to handle ocean-going vessels ("salties") that must also pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal at Lake Erie. 

The original Poe Lock, at 800 feet long and 100 feet wide, was the largest in the world when completed in 1896. The lock was re-built in 1968 to accommodate larger ships, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway opened and made passage of such ships possible to the Great Lakes. It is now 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 32 feet deep. It can take ships carrying 72,000 short tons of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large 1000' lake freighters used on the upper lakes. 

A new lock is currently under construction and is slated to be completed by 2030. Groundbreaking for the new lock project was held on June 30, 2009. The lock will be equal in size to the Poe Lock and will provide much needed additional capacity for the large lake freighters. The new lock replaces two locks, the Davis Lock and the Sabin Lock which were obsolete and used infrequently. 

This image is an artist rendering showing the currently unnamed and uncompleted "super lock" on the left and the existing Poe and MacArthur locks on the right.

Frequently Asked Soo Locks Questions

9 Things You May Not Know About the Soo Locks

A sister boat to ours

Entering the MacArthur Lock

Dorcas!  Look this way!

Our fearless skipper

We did this tour once before in 2014. On that excursion we went upstream through the American Soo Locks and returned downstream through the Canadian locks, which are much smaller and serve exclusively pleasure and tourist vessels.  On this trip we were not able to pass through the Canadian locks.  Very disappointing!  The Canadian government closed those locks to US vessels earlier this year, presumably due to Covid concerns. Ironically, the closure was announced just one week after the US ended the Keystone Pipeline project, and the Canadians still allow US paddlers, i.e. kayaks and canoes to use the locks.  Go figure.

The river drops 21 feet over 3/4 mile at the Sault rapids, hence the need for the locks

We enjoyed a lunch at The Antlers restaurant.  It felt as though we might BE the lunch at The Antlers restaurant.

Moose Drool is one of my favorite beers.  Moose drool is not desirable at your  dining table.

How many RVers does it take to erect a circus tent?

The ladies helped too

A 1997 Newmar London Aire, a very rare vintage model

Just downstream from our campsite was the ferry to Sugar Island.  It takes vehicles of all kinds

An avian squatter at our campsite

We are enjoying some fine cool weather in the UP.  The last few mornings were in the low 50s, but it is warming.  Following are some current temperatures on this morning:

Back home in NC it is just plain hot!

We will be in Ely MN in about 1 1/2 weeks, where it is downright frosty!

Our Michiganer friends travel in comfort.

And they bring fudge!!!!

On Saturday we toured the town of Sault Ste. Marie, and we bought a ticket to the Tower of History, a 210' concrete observation tower overlooking the river. The Tower of History was built in 1968 by the Catholic Church as the Shrine of the Missionaries. The Shrine was meant to be part of a larger complex which would have featured exhibits about the early Missionaries such as Bishop Baraga. A community center and a new Church were also planned. The Church later cut the project in favor of other endeavors, and the Shrine of the Missionaries was donated to the Sault Historic Sites in 1980. It has been operated as the Tower of History ever since.  The following photos are from atop The Tower of History.  

A view of downtown Sault Ste. Marie and the Tower of History

At another campground on the way to town we spotted a Country Coach "Veranda" model.  The Veranda was a radical design that featured a wall panel that dropped down and out of the side of the coach to form a raised open patio.  It didn't prove to be very popular, and very few Verandas were produced.  Its cost of development and production, combined with a general economic downturn around 2009, likely led to the demise of Country Coach Corporation.

Tomorrow we move about 65 miles west to Newberry MI for three nights.  We hope to do some paddling while we are there before continuing west once more