Day 16: Sea Caves at Sand Island (Apostle Islands)

There are 21 Apostle Islands in Lake Superior (on the southwest corner), which were named by French missionaries after the 12 apostles (they clearly couldn't see all 21 islands). The islands were formed by wind wave erosion between ice ages, and were glaciated repeatedly after that. Terraces and wave cut platforms suggest that water levels used to be higher in Lake Superior. Of particular interest are the sea caves found on many of the islands. The Devils Island Formation geology is a red sandstone that formed from rivers depositing sediment thousands of years ago. The sea caves form when waves erode and undercut the base of the cliffs.

See the Apostle Islands on the SW corner of Lake Superior (in the Wisconsin portion)

Today Jeff and I had a chance to explore the sea caves of the Apostle Islands. We left Mike and Tonia's house at 8:30am and headed into Bayfield for some coffee at Big Water Coffee Roasters (also where I happen to be sitting at this very moment). We continued to Little Sand Bay where we unloaded boats and ate breakfast. Car after car loaded with expensive sea kayaks arrived and began unloading. One fellow paddler noticed my Greenland paddle and invited us to attend a Greenland-style camp in Minnesota.

Little Sand Bay harbor

We aimed for the western tip of Sand Island and began the ~2 mile crossing. The lake was calm, and we zipped across in 40 minutes. A horsefly insisted on buzzing in our ears/faces repeatedly. We hugged the shore for a couple hours, discovering our first sea caves on the north side of the island. A family of common mergansers (beautiful brown/gray ducks) perched on a rock withdrew from us a series of "ooooooo"s and "awwww!!"s.

Jeff thinking, "I'm not in Colorado anymore."

Jeff in sea cave

Nena in sea cave

More sea caves

At the northeast point of the island stands the Sand Island Lighthouse, which was first lit in 1881. It was built from sandstone quarried on-site. Unlike many of the other islands, Sand Island maintained a small population of year-round residents (farmers and fisherman). 4 years after the lighthouse was built, the lighthouse keeper paddled several miles into Lake Superior to save the entire crew of the flaming steamer, Prussia.

The Sand Island Lighthouse

We stopped for a short lunch break on some flat rocks on the west side of the island (mmmm champagne dill mustard). Jeff made friends with an ant while I basked in the sun. On the return crossing we encountered some cross-winds and choppy waves, but the breeze and spray was refreshing (and not salty!). We arrived with spare time for showers before returning Pierre, the yellow sea kayak, to the rental shop. Some of the employees noticed my BASK bumper sticker and said they were familiar with the Bay Area sea kayaking group. 

Back at the coffee shop, Jeff caved and purchased a Sugarbush Latte, which contains local maple syrup. YUM

Date: August 3rd, 2014

Distance: 13.5 miles

Time: 4.5 hrs