Canoeing

CANOEING

Hey there. jaded sophisticates, sleazed out in Shangri-La and ready to set sail? Why not give port the heave-ho and ship out for the day in a canoe! Once the sole province of the aborigine and now within the grasp of even the white man, canoeing is a fine way to get together with the great outdoors that most city people never get to experience. Thrill to the sight of crawdads, pollywogs, frogs, and toads. Contemplate the mystery of the leaping fishes. Get high. Take your clothes off. Go swimming. A whole world of excitement waits you in the land of snails and adventure.

There's only one place right in town that rents canoes, and the Argo Park Canoe Livery, situated at the foot of Long Shore Drive, across the river from Lansky's junk yard. Renting aluminum canoes and the rare wood & canvass Old Towns, Argo Park is open 12-9 M-F. and 8-9 on weekends. They require a $10.00 deposit plus drivers license, and charge a declining hourly rate starting at $I.75 per hour, with a maximum charge of $7.00 per day. The trips you can make from Argo Park are upstream to just below Delhi Park, and downstream to Geddes Pond, though you'll need a buddy in a car with a car-top carrier (rented at Argo) to get back. You can reach Argo Park at NO-8-7411, and if no answer, at 761-2400, extension 297.

You'll need wheels to get to Skip's Huron River Canoe Livery, situated in Delhi right by Delhi Park. They offer two and four hour trips on the Huron from Dexter and Hudson Mills respectively; they truck you upstream and you paddle back. The trip from Hudson Mills costs $10.50, with a $20.00 deposit. The trip from Dexter is $6.00 with a $10.00 deposit. Open all week from dawn to dusk, you can reach Skip's at 769-8686.

Out by Kensington Park, on 6564 Kensington Rd., is Dutchman's Landing.They offer river trips on the upper Huron of two, three, and five to six hours. costing $5.50, $6.50, and $ll.00 per canoe respectively. The price includes lifesavers and pickup. Dutchman's Landing also offers canoes for use on Kent Lake at $1.50 per hour. Though they're usually sold out on the weekends, they have plenty of canoes during the week. Groups should call ahead for reservations at 437-3388.

Hell Creek Ranch, located on Hell Creek in Pinckney, offers a four hour lake trip through Bruin, Half Moon, Silver and South Lakes for $11.00 and a deposit of either a driver's license or $50.00, or you can paddle down Hell Creek for $2.00 an hour, maximum $15.00 daily. For more info call 878-3632.

For those more adventurous, try checking out extended trips (days, weeks) on the Au Sable, Manistee, Rifle and other rivers in the northern part of the lower peninsula. You can write to the DNR in Lansing for information on canoe rentals, tips, etc. at DNR, State of Michigan, Lansing, Michigan 48926. You can also hit up your local Michigan Conservation Dept. for further information.

If you're inclined towards a real wilderness canoe trip, there are two great areas within two days of here where you can go. The Algonquin Provincial Canoe Park in Canada, east of Lake Huron, in ruggedly beautiful terrain of water, granite, trees and sky. Located in the oldest rock mass of the continent, the park has limited access. Peak crowds are in July, and late August usually is best for a minimum of people and bugs.

The second area is west of Lake Superior, right on the US Canada border. The terrain is the same rugged 3.5 billion year old Pre-Cambrian Shield as in the Algonquin. The US half is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, run by the Forest Service. On the Canadian side, the Dept. of Lands and Forests operates the Quetico Provincial Park. Canoeing through the BWCA is free, but it'll cost you money in the Quetico. The area is noted for Walleye fishing, rapids, waterfalls, and numerous islands. Access is at three main points: Ely, Minnesota, the end of the Gunflint Trail north of Grand Marais, Minn, and at the northern extremity of the park from Atikokan, on Highway 11 between Ft. Francis and Thunder Bay.

The last two places mentioned are less used, and consequently better starting points, though it takes more effort to get to them. Ely, Minn, is the major put-in for the park area, and maintains ten major outfitters who have an average of two thousand canoes out at any time. Traffic at this end is horrendous, the portages are like highways, and you have to get five or six lakes into the park before its safe to drink the water.

Once a very clean wilderness area, the park has gotten more and more trashed at the edges as the hordes have advanced. Three days from civilization, however, and you'll swear the place is timeless. A fine natural high and a great place for visionary experiences, this trip is well worth the effort.  -- 

Tom Kuzma