David and I (Patrick), spent a few days the week before Memorial Day to enjoy the Apostle Islands. Devil's Island is my favorite and this time of year is seldom visited. We were prepared for the worst and brought along the heated tipi but instead of rain and sleet we had sun and minimal wind.

We spent Sunday evening at one of the campgrounds in Washburn and awoke to gray skies and drizzle. After the traditional pre-launch breakfast at the Egg Toss and picking up the permit we headed to Little Sand Bay. We were pleased to hear that we were the only registered kayakers so would have the islands to ourselves. After Memorial Day things can get pretty crowded. Ice-out was early this year. In fact, I managed to get out for a weekend trip to Stockton and Oak Islands with a small group of friends three weeks earlier.

By the time we launched the skies had cleared and with just a slight breeze we headed for Devil's Island via Bear Island. After a great lunch on Bear we arrived at Devil's. The wood we had left at the site last November was where we'd left it. Kept the wood-cutting to a minimum so we found plenty of time to stalk the great gray owls that seem to be thick as flies on the island this year. The following day we circled the island, played in the caves and, after some dillying and a bit of dallying, we headed over to Oak Island. We arrived in the late afternoon but managed to find time for a death march through every trail on the island. Trails were nice and dry which beats reports of Sand Island being a mud-pit at the moment.

The following morning we broke camp early as the forecast was calling for 20mph winds by the early afternoon. A nice peaceful paddle back to Little Sand saw us back in time to beat the coming storms the accompanied us on the drive home. All in all, a great trip.