Adventure awaits on one of the world’s largest lakes.

THE SNAKE THAT ISN’T A SNAKE

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MAY 2019 boyslife.org GRAND ADVENTURE ON THE

Taking in the sights of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula by kayak.

Story and photographs by W. Garth Dowling

14 BOYSLIFE.ORG F MAY 2019 GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO (2) his tent poles on the first night of camping. of night first the on poles tent his of puzzle the solve to tries Irving Owen Above: Michigan and Huron. Lake Lake connect which Mackinac, of Straits the of waters choppy the right) through to fight (left Garbacik Albert and Irving Owen Right: out the Lower Tahquamenon Falls. Tahquamenon River after checking Left: Michael Loftus paddles down the W their homestate. U.P.) newthings about andlearn Upper Peninsula (knownasthe Michigan’s around kinds ofcoolstuff Base. Theguysgottocheck outall Council’sColeCanoe Crossroads t wasoneofsixScoutswho Michigan managedthrough Adventure, LakesKayak intheGreat participated National Lakeshore. Rocks Pictured picturesque Northville, Michigan. Northville, 755in GarbacikofTroop Albert theGreatLakes? That’s a great amountofwater.That’s agreat That’s 6,000,000,000,000,000! 6 quadrilliongallonsofwater. theyhaveabout For starters, Alber “It blewmeaway Plus, ther hat’s sogreatabout e’s the perfectly e’s theperfectly the night on Grand Island in Lake Superior. Lake in Island Grand on night the for kayaks their right) to store (left Irving Garbacik, Michael LoftusAlbert and Owen ,” says BOYSLIFE.ORG

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15 Brent Cadreau paddles out of a narrow passage made by a crack in the giant rock formations of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

THE BEST OF THE U.P. think Michigan had waterfalls — The Great Lakes Kayak only streams and lakes.” Adventure was born from the Cole Actually, Michigan is said to have Canoe Base staff’s love of the Great nearly 200 named waterfalls, with Lakes. They wanted a unique way to all but one in the U.P. Between one share some of the best of what the kayak put-in and another, the guys U.P. has to offer. saw Munising Falls, Miners Falls Participants get to use sit-on and Tahquamenon Falls. kayaks, dipping their paddles “The Upper [Tahquamenon] into the waters of three of the five Falls we couldn’t kayak,” Albert Great Lakes: Michigan, Huron and says. “But it was a really cool sight. Superior. The adventure begins It was just beautiful. And the lower when they kayak from Lake falls you could walk through it, and Michigan to Lake Huron below the it was cool to feel the water rush the cliffs and see all the different famous Mackinaw Bridge. by you as you stood on the rock.” rock formations and the colors.” “I liked the boats,” says Brian Those hues come from water Cadreau from Troop 261 out of St. VIEW FROM THE WATER dribbling out of cracks in the Clair, Mich. “I would actually want Exploring Pictured Rocks sandstone, carrying along bits of one. You can use them for fishing, National Lakeshore was a iron, manganese, copper and other and if they get a bunch of water in highlight. America’s first national minerals that leave vivid stains on it, it’s not going to sink.” lakeshore, Pictured Rocks features the rocks. A support crew on land sandstone cliffs soaring anywhere “I did not expect Pictured Rocks transported the group — along from 50 to 200 feet above the to look like that at all,” says Austin with its boats and gear — to water, with small caves and arches Waller, also from Troop 755. “You different areas, allowing the guys carved in the rock. Throw in some know, you hear people talk about to visit as many neat places as they weather-sculpted formations that Yellowstone or other big parks, could in five days. look like castles, animals and but no one ever really talks about Though all the guys are people, and the whole thing just this park.” Michiganders, they found their looks awesome. home state had a few surprises. And what better way SAILORS TAKE “I didn’t expect the to see all this than from Tahquamenon Falls to be in WARNING the water? The guys also soaked Michigan,” says Brent Cadreau, “You can see a lot more,” in some history at the twin brother of Brian. “I didn’t says Michael Loftus from Great Lakes Shipwreck Troop 755. “From land you Museum at Whitefish Point. only go to the one For centuries, traders have lookout on the cliffs, but from the water you can go along The Grand Island East Channel Light was built in 1868. It hasn’t been operational since the early 1900s but still stands tall on Grand Island.

Owen Irving visits the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and learns the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a freighter that sank in Lake Superior in the 1970s.

16 BOYSLIFE.ORG F MAY 2019 Exploring the Great Lakes used the Great Lakes to transport The Great Lakes Kayak Cole Canoe Base offers three ways to goods, cargo and passengers. The Adventure ended with a final paddle explore the Great Lakes: combination of a lot of traffic and down the Rifle River in middle • Great Lakes Kayak Adventure: The August quickly changing weather made Michigan back to Cole Canoe Base. adventure changes every year with new for a lot of shipwrecks. When it was over, not only had things added to the itinerary. Of the 550 known major they witnessed firsthand much of • Great Lakes Sailing Adventure: Explore shipwrecks in Lake Superior, at the majesty of the U.P., but they Lake Michigan or Lake Huron aboard the least 200 are near Whitefish Point, also learned a few things about 52-foot ketch Retriever sailing out of making the area known as the kayaking that will be helpful for any Mackinaw City, learning sailboat handling, “Graveyard of the Great Lakes.” adventures down the road. steering and more along the way. The most famous among these Albert suggests bringing a • Cole Canoe Base High Adventure program is the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the second long-sleeve tech shirt offers a 50-mile hike along Lake Superior largest to have ever sunk in the and pants. that takes in Pictured Rocks, or a three- Great Lakes. “On the water you need night camping adventure on Grand Island. After exploring the museum, something that will breathe, but some of the guys walked outside to you want to keep the sun off you,” the actual point, where there was a Albert says. “And, well, my shirt got wall of fog over the water that day. really smelly after a while.” f “You can really understand how a lot of ships could wreck,” Michael The Scouts pull their says. “The fog was some of the kayaks ashore beneath thickest I’d ever seen.” the giant cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Know Before You Go • Five lakes make up the Great Lakes of North America: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. (It’s easy to remember — it spells HOMES.) • Lakes Michigan and Huron are connected by a strait and by some definitions could be considered a single body of water. • Only Lake Michigan is entirely within the United States. The other four are shared Left: A small beach on the east side of Grand with Canada. Island gives the gang a chance to stretch their legs. Below: The Scouts paddle down • Lake Superior is the largest and deepest Rifle River on the final section of their trip. at 31,700 square miles, with an average depth of 483 feet. It has a maximum depth of 1,332 feet. • All four of the other Great Lakes and more could fit inside Lake Superior. • During World War II, the U.S. Navy converted two Great Lakes cruise ships — the USS Sable and USS Wolverine — into aircraft carriers to train pilots for carrier landings and take-offs far from the threat of enemy submarines. They were the only fresh-water, paddle-wheeled, coal-fired aircraft carriers ever made.

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