Lake Superior Circle (Part 3)

8/28/15
Breakfast burritos with eggs, sausage, vegetables and hash browns to start the day. Chipmunks supervised breakfast. We walked to the visitor center for hike intelligence. We chose a coastal hike- dunes, woods, rock, blueberries (ate a lot!, Rocky too), beaches, driftwood- beautiful.

Beach dunes meeting the forest.

The trail went along the beach for a ways.

Lots of driftwood.

A crack in the bedrock.

The trail climbed through the woods.

Rock is never far below the soil.

View to the lake and the rugged shore.

Blueberries!

The blueberry walk.

Another view of the shore.

Birch tree and fungi.

The lush woods and rock.

Rocky on the trail.

Birchbark.

More driftwood.

Driftwood detail.

Rocky likes to lead the hikes.

Are you guys coming?

We had a late lunch back at camp and returned to the visitor center to charge electronics and send messages to the kids. I downloaded pics to the computer and had a nice chat with the young park ranger. Back to camp at 4, we packed up in anticipation of leaving early in the morning. We made dinner of leftovers, had a nice fire and showers before bed. Tomorrow's agenda: Wawa and Lake Superior Provincial Park.

The view of Hattie Cove from the visitor center at Pukaskwa National Park.

The beach at sunset.

8/29/15
We had a rain storm overnight and woke to a very foggy morning. We had a cold breakfast and packed up. We drove to Wawa, gateway to the most remote section of the north shore. We visited Young's General Store, a tourist trap in the guise of an old fashioned general store. We enjoyed browsing the vast collection of all things tourist (including some very funny t-shirts) and bought some fudge. We ate lunch with the locals at the Viking restaurant in town and drove to Lake Superior Provincial Park. This is the most wild part of the north shore of Lake Superior, a beautiful drive in the fog. We stopped at Old Woman Bay, Katherine Cove (of course), and Agawa Bay.

Katherine at Katherine Cove

Agawa Bay is the site of native pictographs on a lakeside cliff. The hike in to the site was challenging- rocky, steep and slippery in parts. Access to see the pictographs is from a sloping rock ledge at edge of Lake Superior. The lake level was higher than recent times. Signs warned sternly of the danger of getting washed into the lake by a rogue wave. Lots of people were there. People were taking their shoes off to go barefoot for better traction on the rock. After waiting my turn, I did the same. Although these paintings are not ancient- probably made within the past few hundred years, they were interesting to see and learn about.

Warning!

Rocky shore at Agawa Bay.

Rock cliff.

Stuck rock.

Rock steps through a crack in the bedrock.

Trail to the pictographs.

The rock ledge leading to the pictographs.

A sign interpreted the pictographs and showed more that were not visible from the ledge due to the high water level.

After seeing the pictographs we drove to Agawa Bay campground. We got a nice site overlooking the lake. Kathy did laundry while I made dinner. The Ontario Provincial Parks were the nicest parks we have camped in. Clean facilities, hot showers for no additional fee and useful amenities like laundry machines. Kathy had a shower after our dinner of chicken and vegetable teriyaki noodles. We had cell service, a rare event so far and got a text from the kids (a photo of them together) and sent them one. We watched a nice sunset and walked around the park to exercise Rocky.

Camp at Agawa Bay Provincial Park.

Setting sun over the lake- view from camp.

Nice campsite.

Kathy called her friend who has a cabin not far from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and we made plans to stop there for a visit the next day.

Lake Superior Circle (Part 2)

8/26/15 Wednesday
We had oatmeal with raisins, cranberries, almonds and brown sugar for breakfast. We took nice, hot showers after breakfast and reserved our campsite at Sleeping Giant for another night. We drove to Silver Islet, a small, historic mining town on the coast, and hiked to Sea Lion Rock.

Sea Lion Rock.

We enjoyed a nice rest on a beach of polished stones and skipped some rocks into the big lake.

We took a back roads scenic drive around Marie Louise Lake and had lunch in a remote campsite next to the lake.

It was a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. We spent a lazy afternoon in camp. I enjoyed a beer from the fridge while looking at the sun-dappled lake. I loaned some tools to the neighbor camper to fix his son’s bike- much appreciated. I think it is the first time the tools have been used, although I carry them every trip. We visited the nature center which had a very nice exhibit on the Silver Islet silver mine, including an impressive model of mine in cross-section. Almost 400 meters deep, the mine was flooded when the pumps ran out of fuel. The mine was never re-opened and now sits beneath the water of Lake Superior. The little town remains. We bought Kathy a Pepsi at the camp store and made a sausage, vegetable stir fry with rice for dinner. Had a nice walk around the campground after dinner including a chat with a neighbor from Thunder Bay- a fisherman with lots of local knowledge about places to camp and paddle. We talked about Lake Nipigon- according to him, a place everyone should see in their lifetime. Wild and untamed, 10 foot waves for 3-4 days at a time. Not for small boats. Lake Nipigon has been added to our list of places to see.

The sleeping giant shrouded in morning fog.

8/27/15
We had a cold breakfast of cereal. During breakfast, the neighbor kid chased a fox out of their campsite with great energy. The neighbors told of waking up to a skunk in their tent vestibule! What would you do!? We packed up and drove to a short hike before leaving the park.

Our first stop-  Ouimet Canyon- very scenic and interesting. Geologists are not certain on how it was formed but it is an impressive crack in the earth. The canyon is so narrow and the walls so steep that the sun rarely reaches the bottom. Giant blocks of granite have broken from the walls and litter the canyon floor. As a result, ice remains year-round and rare arctic and sub-arctic plants native to regions of the far further north survive in the unique cold environment of the canyon floor. The rock pinnacle in the shape of a head inspired a legend:

""Long ago there were giants. Omett was one who helped Nanna Bijou, a great spirit of the Ojibway people, to raise mountains and make new lakes. Omett fell in love with Nanna Bijou's daughter Naiomi. One day Omett was moving mountains when a piece broke off and fell upon, and killed Naiomi. Afraid of Nanna Bijou's anger Omett hid her body in a shallow lake and covered it with a rock shield.
Searching for Naiomi, Nanna Bijou walked over the shield and felt vibrations from under the rocks. He reached into the sky and grabbed a large thunder bolt and drove it into the ground. The rock split open, and in the wide canyon he discovered Naiomi's body. Nanna Bijou buried Naiomi in the bottom of the canyon.
From her grave grow rare and beautiful flowers found only there. To punish Omett, Nanna Bijou turned him into stone and placed him on the canyon wall to watch over the grave forever. "

The stone column inspired an Indian legend.

Steep canyon walls...

...protect a rare environment at the canyon floor.

The canyon opens to a wide valley to the south.

A boreal forest surrounds the canyon.

We stopped at  Nipigon for gas, eggs and water and continued to Rossport- stopping at scenic overlooks along the way including the northern-most point on Lake Superior. Ate a fine lunch at Serendipity Gardens Café in Rossport. Kathy and I shared split pea soup, a ham and cheese sandwich and chocolate cake with raspberry sauce- very good. I took Kathy past the Rossport Inn where our son Eric and I stayed years ago. The Inn was closed- Kathy peeked in windows. We drove to Aguasabon Falls and walked on the beach at Terrace Bay. Aquasabon Falls is notable as a man-made falls created by reversing the flow of the Kenogami River away from Hudson Bay to Lake Superior instead to create a hydropower facility.

Aguasabon Falls.

Terrace Bay.

On to Pukaskwa National Park for camping. Selected a nice campsite, fixed dinner, walked to the visitor center which was closed, and had a fire. Evening was cold, wet, foggy. The next day would bring new adventures.

Lake Superior Circle (Part 1)

Sign along the trail at Pigeon River Provincial Park

"Superior is Gichigamiing, the 'great water.' She is the 'inland sea,' the 'sweet water sea,' the home of Mishibizhii, the trickster and Nanabijou, the Sleeping Giant." ... Pigeon River Provincial Park

Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to travel all the way around Lake Superior. Something about the vastness of the water and the power of the storms. It is a deeply spiritual place to native people. It is the largest lake in the world by some measures, covering 31,700 square  miles and contains 10% of the world's fresh water. The clarity of the water is legendary. The lake is 1300 feet deep and 40 foot tall waves have been recorded. Two countries and 3 states share its shore.

I have driven the Minnesota shore countless times. I have kayaked in the Apostle Islands of Wisconsin and the Slate Islands of Ontario. I have toured the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. But never had I been all the way around the big lake. We talked about it for years and now we've done it.

By it's nature, unless you travel by water, such a trip is a road trip. The distance by road around the lake is 1300 miles. We traveled 2173 miles, using 134 gallons of gas over 14 days. We camped in 10 different campsites. We had a couple of guide books (book 1 and book 2) which were useful. Before the trip we got a lot of information from the Lake Superior Circle Tour website. We used DeLorme map books and computer USGS maps with GPS for back roads, off the highway side trips. More about this later. We spent most of our time in Canada and Michigan since we are familiar with the Minnesota and Wisconsin shores. There is a lot of beauty to see in those states as well.We skipped the Keweenaw Peninsula this time since we have already toured there.

Click on the map for a larger version.

I kept a daily diary of sorts which was helpful in sorting photos and putting together this trip report. It is amazing how much you can forget in a short time. I've included links to some sites for those who want more information. I hope you enjoy the report.

You can click on the photos to see a larger version.

8/24/15 Monday
We left home about 9 AM. Had lunch at the New Scenic Café, as is our tradition when driving north. Stopped at the Wolf Ridge ELC near Isabella, Minnesota where our kids had formative experiences as elementary school students. Kathy had never seen it.

Stopped at the Split Rock Lighthouse overlook and Cascade River for photos and at Tofte Ranger District for dispersed camping information, thinking we would boondock somewhere. It is allowed, but finding a suitable site without going out of our way proved difficult.

Split Rock Lighthouse in the distance.

Cascade River

We eventually camped at the familiar USFS Temperance River campground. The campground was empty when we arrived and we took our favorite site by the river. A young family in a station wagon showed up later and camped on the opposite side of the campground. We hardly knew they were there. It had been a drizzly day and night, windy with temps in the high 40s. Seemed very much like fall, not late summer. We walked the forest roads after dinner to stretch our legs and let Rocky get some exercise.

Temperance River campsite.

The river behind our camp.

Walking after dinner.

Rocky getting some exercise.

8/25/15 Tuesday
We broke camp early and had breakfast at the Blue Water Café in Grand Marais. We filled up with gas and filled our 5 gallon gas can as well since gas is more expensive in Canada. We kept the extra gas can full, using it and refilling it periodically throughout the trip. It allowed us to be a bit more adventurous in our exploring, not worrying about running out of fuel which is scarce along some parts of the Canadian shore.

The Pigeon River originates in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and becomes the boundary between the US and Canada until it reaches Lake Superior at Grand Portage.  The river was a major transportation route for the Voyageurs during the fur trade and a long portage (the Grand Portage) was required to pass the falls. The end of the portage at Lake Superior became the site of a major North West Company trading post and fort. We drove past the historic fort at Grand Portage having been there before but stopped at an overlook near the border.

Looking towards Canada and Lake Superior.

We crossed the border after surrendering our eggs due to the bird flu quarantine. We were the only travelers there. It was a new experience showing our passports to enter Canada.

A couple of trails left from the Canada Visitor's Center parking lot. We did a short nature trail before we found the right trail to the High Falls of the Pigeon River on the Canadian side. After the hike, we had lunch in the picnic area. After some wrong turns in the truck, we also found the middle falls.

Pigeon River as it meets Lake Superior

The High Falls of the Pigeon River.

The Middle Falls of the Pigeon River.

Wild Purple Asters along the trail.

Back in the truck, we drove to Kakabeca Falls Provincial Park west of Thunder Bay.  The falls, called the Niagara of the North- is a major tourist stop. We made a short visit to see the impressive cascade.

Kakabeca Falls- Niagra of the North.

We stopped briefly in Thunder Bay to exchange US money for Canadian at a bank. The exchange rate was in our favor- got about $130 CA for $100 US. The next stop was Fort William Historical Park- the fort was moved by the North West Company to this location from Grand Portage after the Revolutionary War to avoid having to pay taxes to the new United States of America. We were late in the day so we had a short informative tour with living history actors- very interesting. We would like to have had more time there.

A fishnet being woven at Fort William.

Kathy peeking into a building at Fort William.

After the Fort, we drove to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park for camping. We got a nice site by the lake. We ate a quick dinner and walked the dog. The campground was very crowded but not with people- a young buck with velvet antlers was browsing, a fox wandered through our campsite and a skunk chased Kathy into the camper while I was walking Rocky.  Chipmunks and squirrels kept us company.

Young buck unconcerned with people.

A nice campsite...

...with a view to the big lake.

The sun sets...

... over the sleeping giant.

Most of the day was grey, misty, windy, cold. But the weather cleared for a nice sunset. Our adventure was underway.