I’m up again at 5 a.m. and relieved to read on the forecast that there’s still time to reach my island campsite before the storm. I’m bound for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore — 21 conserved isles of woods, beaches and cliffs rising from Lake Superior’s blue-green waters off the tip of Wisconsin’s Bayfield Peninsula.

Just a few days before, my calendar had unexpectedly opened; the summer days called for a last-minute paddling adventure. I checked backcountry camping permits for the Apostle Islands and was pleasantly surprised to find ample availability, with primitive sites costing $15 a night and standard backcountry sites with a picnic table, bear box and outhouse running $25.

Greg Weiss, of Lost Creek Adventures, a National Park Service-licensed kayak outfitter in Cornucopia, s

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