Robert Twigger is a British author and explorer who is often referred to as, ‘a 19th Century adventurer trapped in the body of a 21st Century writer’. He was educted at Oxford University and later underwent training at Martial Arts alongside the Tokyo Riot Police. He was awarded the Newdigate prize for poetry, the Somerset Maugham award for literature and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. In 1997, while he was on an expedition in Northern Borneo, he discovered a line of menhirs crossing into Kalimantan. In 1998 He was a member of the team that captured the longest snake in the world- documented in the Channel 4/National Geographic film and book Big Snake; after that Robert became the head of the expedition that was the first to cross Western Canada in a birchbark canoe since 1793. Most recently, in 2009-2010, he led an expedition that became the first to cross the 700 kilometer Great Sand Sea of the Egyptian Sahara totally by foot. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines including The Daily Telegraph, Maxim and Esquire. He has also published several poetry collections, the most recent being in 2003, with Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing. One of his books, entitled Real Men Eat Puffer Fish (2008) is a humorous but comprehensive guide to repeatedly overlooked but not exclusively masculine pastimes.

I could go on, but if your interested in learning more about this adventurous customer, you can visit his blog at RobertTwigger.com. I hope to keep in touch and find out if the trimaran trip leads to another noteworthy adventure.

Located about 26 miles west of Bend, Oregon, off the Cascade Highway, the lakes are accessible right from the highway so you get in and paddle without much difficulty. Both of these spring fed lakes are connected by short channels which you can paddle to get from one lake to the other. The water is crystal clear and not very deep, with the maximum depth of 8 feet. You can see fish swimming below your boat. That sounds awesome to me.

The scenery is absolutely beautiful as these pictures sent in by our customer show. Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top and South Sister surround both Sparks Lake and Hosmer Lake. Broken Top and South Sister are all part of the Three Sisters Wilderness area. Ray Atkeson, a famous Northwest photographer refers to this place as the most beautiful place in Oregon.

Paddling the lakes is a delight with no disruptions from speed boats since gas motors are not allowed. The only motorized boats you will find on the lakes have electric motors.

You can kayak through the different coves and channels in search of wildlife. Some of the wildlife you might see along the shore line include mule deer and black tailed deer. River otters, California gulls, ducks and a great blue heron can also be seen. Overhead you may see osprey, red tailed hawks, night hawks, golden eagles and something I would love to see, bald eagles. Along the shoreline of Sparks Lake you will find lava formations that formed the lake and at Hosmer Lake you will see reeds and water lilies, always a favorite of mine to photograph.

This truly is a beautiful location to spend some time out in the great outdoors paddling and taking in the awesome scenery. Thanks Mick for sharing these gorgeous paddling locations with us.

However, the weather was just not going to cooperate with us. Sunday was cloudy and overcast and we really just wanted to stay near the resort after the long drive, so we took advantage of the Labor Day sales at the Outlet Mall right across the street. From then on, the weather went down hill fast.

Monday was even cloudier with scattered showers, so we couldn’t paddle. Tuesday was just plain wet with record amounts of rainfall. No paddling scheduled Tuesday either. Wednesday there were flash flood warnings out for the area and roads were closed everywhere. Some folks we met at the resort joked that we could paddle some of the roads. That got a quick laugh, but in reality that’s a sad thought.

Just a few miles from where we were staying, a Pizza Hut was flooded to its rafters and floodwaters had dislodged a cooler, causing a gas leak that was difficult to get shut off.  We watched a flash flooded road from the window of our room claim one vehicle and a passenger taken away in an ambulance. Thursday brought more rain to the already saturated area. A state of emergency had been declared. Water companies were asking people in the area to conserve water and the wastewater plant in Hershey was under water. It was time to get out of Dodge … I mean Hershey! If we stayed any longer, we just might be staying in the area for an extended stay as the rivers were still rising and there just might not be a way out on Friday.

So, our much-anticipated Hershey trip will go down as a memorable one, though not in the way we would have liked. We are sorry the people of that area have such devastation to deal with and we pray they will be able to recover quickly. Paddling our inflatable kayak in the Hershey area will have to wait for another time.

The Apostle Islands, as I said, are in northern most part of Wisconsin off the Bayfield Peninsula and consist of 22 individual islands. This area is part of the National Lakeshore with 21 of the 22 islands as well as 12 miles of the mainland considered as part of this National Park.

Being interested in kayaking, this would be an exciting sea kayaking adventure. The sandstone cliffs and caves provide great paddling opportunities and there’s plenty of wild life and natural beauty in this unique area.

If you plan to kayak, there may be a launch fee at some of the locations, but there are two free launch sites within the National Lakeshore area. Myers Beach is a popular launch spot to explore the mainland sea caves. There is also another free kayak launch site located to the west of the National Park Service dock at Little Sand Bay. Temporary parking for loading/unloading equipment is located to the west of the NPS visitor center.

Camping is also available in designated areas on 18 of the islands and on the mainland. If you plan to camp, permits are required in advance and cost $10.00 per site per night. They do have group rates available for 8 to 20 people costing $20.00 per site per night. You also need to be aware that campfires are not permitted on Stockton Island at Julian Bay, on Raspberry Island beaches or on beaches near campsites that have fire receptacles.

Because it is on Lake Superior you need to consider weather conditions. The lake can be unpredictable. A wet suit or dry suit is recommended when paddling, especially in the spring and fall when average daily highs are about 60 degrees in May and September. Summer months the average high is only 70 degrees. The average lows can range from 40 degrees in May to 50 degrees in mid summer through September. You can also expect windy conditions with average wind speeds from 5 to 20 knots producing 1 to 4 foot waves. On occasions you may even see 6 to 12 foot seas and winds of 30 to 40 knots. You need to be prepared for weather delays with extra food and also first aid supplies, rain gear, an extra kayak paddle, a cell phone or possibly a marine radio. The best time to kayak in the Apostle Islands is July or August.

If you are like me, you will enjoy the scenic beauty and wild life of the area. There is an abundance of migratory birds in the spring and fall. Deer, red fox, coyote, beaver, otters and black bears are some of the animals you can be seen on the islands and mainland. Stockton Island has an average of 35 bears in just over 10,000 acres making it one of North America’s most densely populated areas for black bears.

This area also has one of the largest collections of lighthouses in the country. With nine lighthouses in the area a lighthouse lover with have plenty to see and explore. There are two lighthouses that are no longer in service but have guided tours: Old Michigan Island Lighthouse and Raspberry Island Lighthouse. Four of these lighthouses are still in service and two of those have guided tours: Sand Island Lighthouse and New Michigan Island Light Tower.

With so much to see and do this is an ideal vacation destination, whether you are a kayaker or not. And before I end this adventure to the Apostle Islands I want to pass on one more little known fact about the area I found interesting. This was the last official trip President Kennedy made before he went to Dallas in 1963.

Taking good pictures can be difficult. Not because it’s hard to take a “simple” picture. It isn’t. But in order to take a “good” picture you need to make some observations of the environment and do a little planning.

No matter what the subject of your photos is, the same principles apply. The subject needs to be the main image you see, the amount of light shouldn’t wash out or put the subject in a shadow and, of course, you shouldn’t move the camera and blur the shot.

All of that is the basic stuff, however there are a few tips that pertain specifically to taking pictures of fish that you might want to check out. An article that was featured in a previous “Paddle The World” newsletter, features 15 tips on how to take better fish photos. Check it out and next time you land that lunker, you can capture the ‘proof’ for those ‘fish story’ doubters.

The article archive of the web site PaddleTheWorld.com is a great place to find tips and information on a variety of subjects. And subscribing to their free monthly e-mail newsletter is a good idea for any paddler.