Hello Phyllis, Here is another article for TCSKA if there is room for the January HUT: Sauna tour '99 by Sarah Ohmann This summer several club members and I decided to search out and test the saunas on the Canadian shore of Superior. These saunas have been built on Crown Land by Thunder Bay boaters and are available for anyone to use. Most are mentioned in Bonnie Dahl's cruising guide The Superior Way. The Border Islands (my personal name for them) extend in a line from just north of the border to Pie Island. Saunas are one reason to go, but the other is the excellent scenery and good accessibility from Little Trout Bay or Squaw Bay. There are a total of 3 saunas here ranging from ramshackle to deluxe: Flatland Island: water is low this year preventing boaters from getting into maintain this one, but on the other hand it means that kayakers will likely have the place to themselves until the water level goes up another two feet. There is a nice big grassy area for tents and a leaky shed in addition to the sauna, which is an older building, but still perfectly functional. Spar Island: This one is a little tricky, since it was built on public land but for private use. We didn't stop here since we were told that the "owners" did not welcome visitors. Rumor has it that there is a trail up tothe top of the big cliff on Spar which has an excellent view. Thompson Island: This one is the most deluxe of all of the north shore saunas, and the most heavily used. You will almost certainly find some of the Thunder Bay boating crowd here, but don't worry they are extremely friendly and helpful: they told us lots about the islands. It is not the greatest for tent sites however, though you can camp on the beach on the other side of the point and take a very short walk to the sauna from there. St. Ignace Island area: further north is another fantastic trip, this time more remote but also with excellent scenery. If you stop in at the sauna you will find other boaters, but if you would rather have a quiet trip it'svery easy to avoid people altogether. CPR Slip: on the south side of St. Ignace Island, this is another luxury establishment, including not only a sauna, but a bug-tight, new cabin. Demand for cabin space is high, but there is an open area for tents. Loon Harbor: Loon Harbor is a very pretty spot located on the south side of Black Bay Peninsula. The "Bahia Espana" is located in the narrow channel on the east side of Spanish Island, on a small island. It is painted with camoflage paint and may be hard to see. The island is very poor for camping and does not have a great supply of wood. Swede Island sauna: Just south of Loon Harbor is Swede Island, another popular spot for boaters. It also has a cabin that is used by travelers, just ignore the mining claim sign, it is supposed to placate the Ministry of Natural resources and disguise the fact that it is actually just a sauna.There are good tent sites here, but the sauna is a little small and won't hold a crowd. The only rules for using these saunas are: keep them clean, sweep them out when done, contribute to the wood supply, and don't forget to go jump in the lake! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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