A beautiful day for a passage
In our usual way, since the most popular anchorage is north of Strawberry Island, we set our hook in the middle of the broad stretch of water to the south between it and Tanvat Island. Since we arrived around midday, we took the kayak on a lap around Strawberry Island anyway. On the other, popular side, we had a brief, but pleasant chat with the only other cruising boat we have seen in a while. They were a trawler on the Great Loop who were killing time until the rivers open in Illinois in late October.
More great scenery under blue skies around Strawberry Island
The next day, we got an early start for a circuit of much larger Tanvat Island, to the south. Tanvat is very convoluted. We found so many private, protected little inlets that are only accessible with a kayak with a four-inch draft. We were getting to the point where we were a long way from Begonia in either direction and thinking we had perhaps bitten off more than we could chew. We were going to be pretty tired when we got home.
We've learned we can nibble on the beautiful sumac berries - they tastes like a woody lemonade
Then Maryanne suggested we add some extra distance by going deep into one of the nearby inlets to a thin spot on the island. The water has been half a meter above datum lately and we have been finding lots of places where we have been able to squeak through narrow passages over what the chart clearly indicates is dry land. She thought there might be a chance we could get through and effectively cut our Tanvat circumnavigation in half.
It turned out we couldn’t paddle through, but we got the next best thing. As we approached, we spotted a sign indicating an 80-meter-long portage trail. By then, that was sounding like a lot better deal than five extra miles of kayaking, so we picked the thing up and started walking.
A shortcut portage
That took a lot of pressure off us to cut any corners on the way home, so we made the most of the scenery on that side as well. Our best find was what we are pretty sure was an American Mink. It scurried away as we approached, but its curiosity about us kept getting the best of it, so it kept coming back to have a look. Head on, it even looked like it had a tiny, tiny bear face.
Finally some decent pictures of (what we think is) an American Mink that seemed as curious of us as we were of him/her. We spent a good ten minutes just watching each other (up until then while we'd seen them in Georgian Bay, they were always in montion and just a blur).
We've been so grateful for the glorious weather (it isn't every day, but its so nice when it shines).
Anchorage location On google maps
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