Midwest Adventure: Isle Royale National Park #3

Our last day on Isle Royale just happened to be the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Parks. It seems appropriate to spend it at one of the nation's most remote (not, however, the most remote) parks.  

Happy birthday!

We had to leave on the 2:45 p.m. ferry back to Copper Harbor and we had to be out of our room by 10:30 a.m., so we decided to take one of the tours offered at the park in the morning. 

The Sandy

We took the Sandy (Isle Royale's tour boat/water taxi) out of Rock Harbor through the top of Tobin Harbor to Hidden Lake. Then, a Ranger led us on a one-mile hike up to the Greenstone Ridge to a place called "Lookout Louise." We had about 24 people in the group, most of whom were doing just the hike/tour as we were. A few were going up the lookout and then taking the Greenstone Trail back. The trail runs 40 miles from one end of the island to the other. This is generally done as a four- or five-day hike. The segment back to Rock Harbor from Lookout Louise is 10 miles.

The Ranger

Our first stop was Hidden Lake, which is just a few paces from the dock. This small pond was formed by beavers and has an active lodge on the opposite shore. We didn't see any of the beavers. On such a hot day, I am sure they were sound asleep in the lodge waiting for the cool of the evening to come out and chew up some trees. There were, however, some American Black Ducks -- a new duck for me. I was surprised that they aren't really black. Who knew?

American Black Ducks

The trail was similar to the ones I had hiked the previous two days except that it did climb up rather rapidly. It was hot, so the abundant shade was appreciated.

Beautiful shade

Lookout Louise is on the Greenstone Ridge, which runs down the center of the island. It affords a view of the north shore and Canada beyond. It was hazy, but we could make out a lighthouse and the town of Thunder Bay, Ontario, in the distance. I think there's a funny story about the name involving someone nearly falling off the steep overlook, but I missed part of it. Suffice it to say, it's steep, so you need to watch your step. 

Look out!

We were allowed to wander back at our own pace. Scott went early so he could cool off in the boat. On our way back, I saw no animals (beyond the ducks), but I did see evidence of animals -- ample moose scat and a very large otter print.

Scat and prints, but no critters

Then, it was back across Tobin Harbor ...

Back to the harbor

... back to the Rock Harbor to have lunch and wait for our ferry.

Me at the Park sign

But, wait, it was the 100th anniversary of our National Parks. So, I collected the autographs of all the Isle Royale rangers at the VC in my National Park Passport along with a stamp for the day. I really should have planned better so that I could have visited my 59th National Park on that day, but this was 54! Still, five more to go!

Making progress

And, then, it was time to take the ferry back to Copper Harbor. Although I had heard folks who had come in on the morning ferry say that the ride had been "fine," the captain informed us that it was going to be rough -- very rough.

The ferry

I took a Dramamine, put on my wristbands and, as soon as we boarded, secured a spot in a corner of the front deck on the opposite side from when I came over, figuring that I wouldn't get hit by waves on that side. As soon as we left the dock, we started slamming into waves -- big enough to lift a 12-year-old boy on the deck into the air. I was immediately hit with waves. Luckily, I had rain gear on.

A few minutes later the captain ordered us off the front deck. I went immediately to the back (no way was I going inside). I had avoided the back before because it was the smoking area. But, no one was smoking. It had some diesel fumes, but was otherwise OK.

It was a wild ride! If you want to see what 3-to-6-foot seas look like, click here.

Of course, lots of folks didn't follow the rules to avoid seasickness (and the decks couldn't hold everyone anyway). So, some were sick. I wasn't!

When we goy back to port, the captain told us it was the roughest crossing of the year! I think we deserved a certificate!

Heading out; Photo: Scott Stevens

We were supposed to spend a second night in Fort Wilkins (that's why I didn't tour the Fort the first day; I was going to do it the next morning). But, Scott wanted to get on down the road a bit. So, we headed south and ended up staying in Houghton.

In looking back at Isle Royale, I feel that I both saw enough and didn't see enough. Maybe the longer ferry rides would have been like a full tour of the island. And, that might have been fun to do. But, with our rough seas, it might have been miserable, as well. I always regret not doing certain things on trips. But, I do feel that I did get a good sense of the place.

As we were leaving the Keweenaw Peninsula, we did stop to taste on of the UP's specialties: the pasty. These meat pies were eaten by miners who emigrated from Cornwall in Britain and have become of staple in the UP.  I have had delicious versions in England and Australian (and at an Australian restaurant in Fort Collins, Colorado). 

Pasty (kinda nasty)

This one, not so much. A rather bland, heavy, dry filling and the sauce offered -- ketchup! But, ya gotta try the local delicacies.

Now, we were headed for real civilization -- Chicago!

Trip date: August 12-September 5, 2016