- Estimated Cost: $50
- Deposit: $15
- Max Trip Size: 7 people
This is a Voyageurs National Park trip appropriate to people who are newer to sea kayaking or kayak touring. You will need a kayak 14 feet or longer with significant room for your own gear, a share of the group gear and food for a 4 day trip. You may be able to access a Rover kayak. I also may have a kayak to access. We will plan some pre-trip kayak outings to practice packing and rescue skills, for people newer to camping on big water out of a sea kayak.
Drive up Friday afternoon. We can camp or stay in cheap lodgings in the area.
Plan to load boats and launch on Saturday from the Ash River entrance to Kabetogama. An easy 5 mile paddle from there to the Old Dutch Bay campsite on Namekan. On Sunday we will head back over to Kabetogama and wind our way up to the Eks Bay campsite, about a 10 mile day. Monday will be an exploring day or even relaxing in camp. Possibilities include a day paddle up the lake and up some beautiful creeks, also exploring hiking trails around Eks Bay. There is a possibility of hiking to an interior lake and even renting a canoe to be waiting for you to paddle there. Outside boats are not allowed in the interior lakes in Voyageurs. Tuesday we will pack up and head back to Ash River entrance, about 5-6 miles. At that point I will need to head home, but others could potentially stay for further exploration.
Estimated costs will be $15 for permits and camping, transportation to Voyageurs (I expect we will carpool), any necessary Friday night lodging (camping or hotel), food (we can decide to do individual or group food or a combination.)
This is an easy route with no big crossings and shorter distances to paddle. These are big lakes, but not like Superior. We plan to paddle in protected areas. If you have dabbled in kayaking and want to try and trip and visit Voyageurs, this is the trip for you. I also would welcome some experienced paddler campers to assist.We will plan to have 1-2 planning meetings, as well as 1-2 paddles in the boat you plan to use at Voyageurs. We will practice rescues and also discuss safety on this kind of a trip.