Beaver Island Michigan

Hello
Our group is coming back to the island again this memorial day and planning on spending time at Garden Island. I was wondering if anyone could provide inside info on a couple of subjects.

1. Poision ivy/oak. Is this island as contaminated as High Island is? it was everywhere last year on High Island.

2. Are there any established camping sites?

Last year we toured on a day trip to the island the Indian Cemetary which was very cool. Any advice on the Island other that what can be read in books ( we have serveral with maps such as refereneced on this site), would be greatly appreciated. Oh and we are a group of seakayakers. ( Yes Mr' fishing person that came to speak to us last year the same crazy's making crossings in the 3-5' waves last memorial day week)

Thanks we look forward to being back on the islands again. Hospitality was great last year.

R3P0
( James Robinson)

As to flora, it depends. Conditions vary by weather and Lake Michigan lake level. My experience of Grape Island and the west side of Hog Island in 2006 is memorialized at:
http://www.evanmpeterson.com/emp_thoughts4.html

...but I wouldn't want you to rely on it two years later. Last year we popped over to High Island in July and found that the weather had stunted the poison oak, which we waded through hip deep years earlier, but was ankle deep on the west side in 2007.

A local friend of ours visited Hog Island 20 or so years ago and reported that where we walked on dry ground in 2006 was nothing but an impenetrable swamp due to higher lake levels - and Grape Island was an island, not a peninsula.

Plan for and expect the unexpected.

Never herd of grape Island. Where might that be located?

Grape Island is a tiny island on USGS quadrangle maps from over 20 years ago when Lake Michigan levels were higher. It was between Garden and Hog Island. It is currently a peninsula at the southwest tip of of Hog Island.

Location:
Latitude: 460248N
Longitude: 0834319W

It's a great place for Northern Water snake watching. Otherwise it is a pile of sharp rocks that affords no shade and on a nice day 'tis a miserable place.

R3PO ........... A great source of Beaver Archipelago visitor information is the Chamber of Commerce web site: www.beaverisland.org . Phone is (231) 448-2505 and email chamber@csyip.net .

Jeff,

Really cool chart. Thanks.

And what is this streaking nonsense, anyhow? It wasn't poison oak on our tootsies that made bare skin on Garden Island hazardous the last time I was there. It was ravenous mosquitos. Perish the thought of running nekkid through a cloud of them.

TGIF.

Jeff wrote:http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/14911.shtml

Thanks as a sea kayaker, this is the map we use for navigation. Of course the water level is much lower now.

Thanks

Well, I don't know much about poison ivy. But! I would highly recommend wearing a hat made of tin foil, rumor has it that aliens are there and like to read your mind!!!!!!!!! BEWARE!!!!!!!!
ps, I recommend heavy duty tin foil, it works the best!

AEW,

Take off yer tin foil hat immediately.

This has been exhaustively studied by independent researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and their research indicated that wearing a hat of aluminum or other metal foil amplifies radio frequencies in the cranium. I kid you not. See:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/

That and it's simply not the fashion statement it once was.

Dammit, I have been fooled again. !!!!!!!

AEW wrote:Dammit, I have been fooled again. !!!!!!!

Heh, well we are helmet aware...

What about fishing on garden Island. Anyhave any tips?

BTW AEW do you still want me to bring the 8 track player up for you. We will be on the island may 20th, first boat.

R3P0

Hunting and Fishing


http://www.beaverisland.org/hunting-fishing/index.html

Chamber of Commerce wrote:Hunting and Fishing


http://www.beaverisland.org/hunting-fishing/index.html

Thanks for the info. I am wondering how bad the commorants have affected the fishing on the inland lakes? I have read the whole thread on commorants in the forums.

We are really excited to be back in the islands neighborhood. We're so impressed that we are seriously looking to become neighbors in the near future. This archipeligo is a sea kayaking heaven.