I made a plan to visit Isle Royale in September 2023 with my inflatable kayak. The plan was to spend a week at McCargoe Cove and paddle in sheltered waters.

Then in early July, probably inspired by finally watching George Desort’s Fifty Lakes One Island, I got to wondering if anyone had ever hiked all the trails in the park in a single visit. Such a feat requires some paddling, both to cover the portage trails and to reach trails in other areas accessible only by water. My choice of vessel is a sea kayak.

I figured that I could be ready for such a trip by summer of 2025. The backpacking and hiking are the easy parts for me, but I have little paddling experience.

By mid-August I had found and purchased a used Seda Viking.

I canceled my McCargoe Cove plans and rebooked on Isle Royale Queen IV in order to focus on paddling in Rock Harbor and Tobin Harbor.

A friend gave me most of a roof rack and I scrounged parts for the rest of it. My husband and I watched numerous videos on how to safely transport a kayak.

We visited a local paddling shop for some equipment and advice, because knowledge gaps are many and YouTube videos can take one only so far.

I learned and practiced a wet exit with a spray skirt on a local lake. I spent a few hours paddling on the same flatwater lake.

I did one test paddle with the local paddling shop, during which the owner very nicely suggested, based on my (non-)experience, that not going was the wiser course of action. My plan was to never leave Rock Harbor or Tobin Harbor and to be completely honest with the rangers about my experience level, so my expectation was that would be enough to compensate for my lack of experience.

I completely outfitted the kayak and rented both a drysuit and a GPS satellite messenging device.

My husband made some minor repairs to Kayak. On the morning of my September 21 departure, he said “I love you, and don’t worry about scratching the boat.”

And then Kayak and I left.