In my seemingly never-ending quest for visit all of the lakes in the Ottawa National Forest, I set my sights on an epic adventure to tackle every lake in the Cisco Chain in one go.  These 15 lakes are all connected after water levels were stablized in the creation of a dam on the Cisco Branch of the Ontonagon River.  They're almost entirely ringed with fancy homes too, so it's not quite as backwoods-feeling as the Sylvania Wilderness is just to the east.

I won't regale you with the details of every lake since there were so many, so I'll only focus on the highlights here.

I started at the boat launch on the eastern side of Thousand Island Lake, then headed due north towards the more undeveloped side of the system.  I traipsed through Big and Little African Lakes before crossing through a swamp channel to Clearwater Lake.  The channel is doable even in a 14' kayak, but it's not very easy and is on par with some of my Misery Paddle Tours.  If you're like me and like pushing the boundaries of paddling, then go for it!  I backtracked out of there and jogged over to Record Lake, where I camped on the island.  It's one of the few fully public lakes.  Don't expect quietude though: two pontoon boats found there way here while I was visiting which definitely ruined the vibe.

The next morning, I returned to Thousand Island Lake and ticked Cisco Lake, Lindsley Lake, Fishhawk Lake (where I hiked around the island briefly), Morely Lake, Big Lake, West Bay Lake, East Bay Lake, Poor Lake, Mamie Lake, and Indian Lake.  Phew!  I pulled out through the forests of Indian Lake, hiked back to my truck, and retrieved my kayak before heading home.  Together with Mule Lake, Long Lake, and Snapjack Lake, I conquered 18 lakes in one weekend.  A big step towards achieving my goal!