Day 5 Isle Royale

Day 5 Isle Royale

Today is a rest day sort of, we went kayaking this afternoon in the Tobin Harbor.  We paddled 6 miles to the end of the Tobin Harbor and back.  It was awesome, quiet, serene and beautiful.  The only sounds were the waves crashing against our boat and the loons that followed us along the way.  I thought I got pretty good at replicating their sound but Steve strongly disagrees.  I’m posting a couple of pictures that were from our kayak.  Some of you commented on the blog that you were seeing Isle Royale through our eyes so I thought it was appropriate to include the front end of the Kayak in the pics.

I also am writing about some of the history that we have learned while we are here; tons to talk about.  Today we met our new next door neighbor out on our deck and he has been coming here for over 25 years, very interesting listening to the excitement in his voice about the history of the island. I know I mentioned some of this in an earlier blog but wanted to give you the whole story.

Isle Royale in early 1921 was already a vacation-land with several lodges and scores of summer homes.  Who would protect Isle Royale and its wilderness beauty?  Enter Albert Stoll, Jr. who visited Isle Royale in September 1921. 

Albert Stoll Jr. was the Outdoor editor for the Detroit News.  It was through a series, which Stoll began writing in December 1931 that pushed the idea that Isle Royale should be a wilderness park.  Mr. Stoll was move by the islands natural beauty and thought the island should be protected from further exploration and preserved for all people to enjoy.  He called the Isle Royale “practically the only bit of unspoiled nature east of the Mississippi”  Albert Stoll Jr. recognized the spiritual value of Isle Royale far outweighed it’s material resources, in terms of gaining support, so he crafted his articles to promote this idea.  Stoll’s articles and convictions continued to make an impact from 1921 to 1930, generating public support which led to the establishment of Isle Royale National Park.  One of his articles happened to find its way to a very important desk, that of Stephen Mathers, director of the National Park Service.  After reading Stoll’s article, Mathers decided he was right and took this thought to the Park Conference, a group created to screen potential national parks.  It would take until 1931, however, for Albert Stoll, his dream of Isle Royale NP to come true. 

As we walked the Stoll trail a couple of days ago, we looked around at the Natural beauty and wilderness that surrounded us.  In the back of our mind we remembered that our enjoyment of the trail is a living tribute to one man’s devotion and accomplishment.  Thank you Albert Stoll Jr.

Day 4 Isle Royale

Day 4 – Isle Royale Mt. Franklin Hike

Today the hike we chose was about 11 miles in total, our starting point the dock at Hidden lake in Tobin Harbor.  Since we wanted to do a one way hike we opted to be dropped off at our starting point and work are way back.  Our plan was to take a water-taxi to our starting point but Steve found out that it was much cheaper to schedule us on the tour boat instead of the water taxi.  They were going in this direction anyway so we just hitched a ride.  It worked out great, $16.00 a person. 

From Hidden Lake boat dock we hiked up to Lookout Louise, beautiful views from here of the whole Tobin Harbor area.  Back in the 1930’s this area was a booming mining town and the place to be; now there are only the remains of a few summer cottages.  Four of these cottages still remain privately leased the rest belong to the National Park.  It was interesting that the National Park allows Artists to stay in these cottages weeks at a time to work and educate people that come to the island.  

From the Lookout we connected to the Greenridge Trail and hiked approx. 5 miles until we reached the summit of Mt. Franklin, elevation 1000 ft.  The trail was tough in places, very high foliage, up to my armpits, lucky we met a fellow hiker yesterday that told us to make sure we wore pants on this trail.  We listened thank goodness.  We ate lunch at the top of Mt. Franklin, enjoyed the views and talked with other backpackers, the real backpackers that stay in the back country the entire time they are here.  I’m way beyond this I like my hot shower not to mention a cold one at the end of the trail. We finished the hike by connecting to the Tobin Harbor Trail taking us back to the lodge. It was very hot today which is very unusual this time of year; we went through all of our water by the end of the trip.

Our total trip time including picture taking, lunch, and a few extra stops along the way, we finished in 6 hours 38 minutes.  It was kind of fun coming to the end of the trail head because one of the couples that was on the tour boat this morning was standing there at the trail head and remembered us.  They couldn’t believe that we made it back when we did.  It was fun having such a nice greeting when you come out of those woods huffing and puffing but totally ecstatic over the wonders and the beauty we saw today.

Saw traces of Moose, where they bed down, and even heard their cry but have not physically seen one yet.  Maybe tomorrow.

Day 3 Arrived on Isle Royale

Day 3- Isle Royale

We boarded the Isle Royale ferry at 8:00 am bound for Isle Royale island, 58 miles from Copper Harbor , cost of the ferry isn’t cheap around 220.0 for two round trip.  We are staying at the Rock Harbor Lodge on the Island, the cost is steep and reservations a must.  It’s the only hotel on the island and it closes by September 7^th until Spring.  The ferry reached the island in about 3 ½ hours.  We were lucky today the Lake was very calm so required no motion sickness pills and felt energized to hike today.

The depth of Lake Superior is 600 to over 1000 feet deep in spots.  Temperature this time of year is around 50 degrees, however, this year it’s at around 60 degrees. 

We hiked the Stoll trail today (named after Albert Stoll a conservationist who was instrumental in preserving Isle Royale as a National Park) to Scoville point (a copper prospector) back on the Tobin Harbor Trail.  A relatively short hike (4.5 miles) passing many different plant species, flora, rocky shorelines, as well as the remains of the Smithwick Copper Mine. 

Read a quote today from some of the literature on the island.   “Lake Superior buffers Isle Royale from human abuse, yet creates a mystique that tempts human curiosity.  Lake Superior assures that there is no other place like Isle Royale".  Although we have only been here and explored a ½ day we can surely attest to this.  We are in awe of its beauty and the fact that this is Pure Michigan.

Day 2 Today our destination is Copper Harbor via route 41 and some scenic routes with stops along the way. First stop was this beautiful sandy beach with sand dunes just past Munising. Great place to stretch your legs, skip a few stones, and use the restroom.

Next stop was at a roadside scenic pull off just before Houghton; Canyon Falls and Gorge. This hike is fairly easy; it meanders through the woods to a waterfall and a massive rock Gorge, well worth the stop and an easy hike. The rock face colors were spectacular with all the minerals deposits and the sun reflecting off them. We continued on our way through Houghton (forgoing the Grist Mine tour-a little too confining for me) and then Hancock where we stopped to pick up Pasties for our picnic lunch. We decided to wait to eat them until we found the perfect spot. Venturing on we stopped in Calumet, MI and took a self-guided tour of the restored Opera House, it is still a work in progress but it’s was beautiful. From the hand painted murals, wood staircases, to the ornate balconies and ballroom you could almost envision the theatre back in the early 1900’s. The first play ever performed there was March 20, 1900. The historical society has been able to collect many photos and memorabilia from the early days and them available for you viewing.

Continuing on we decided to get off the main highway (Route 41) and take the scenic route to try to get in a few small hikes, waterfalls, lighthouses, and beautiful scenic shore lines. There are many little roadside picnic areas along the way and a perfect spot for lunch. We pulled into one called Tobacco River picnic area, just past the town of Gay. The pasties we bought were still warm and very tasty and the views were awesome.
We ventured on stopping at Havens Falls in Lac La Blanc area and continued searching for the trail-head for the Montreal Waterfalls. We had a number of directions from brochures and the internet, only one specific enough to get us close to our destination (or so we thought). Having no signal of any kind on our many electronic devices we relied on instinct and good old fashion maps. Well, we found the road we were supposed to turn on, Smith Fisheries, only to discover that this very narrow dirt path of a road had private property signs posted everywhere as well as a barricade across the road a little way down it. Being that our trip was in its’ infant stages we opted (yes even Steve) to obey the rules and turn around forgoing the 2 mile hike to the Montreal Falls. Disappointed and convinced that we took a wrong turn somewhere we continued about 15 miles into Copper Harbor and asked for directions to the Trail Head of the Montreal Falls. We were in the right place, they said that since this is off the beaten path and usually only locals (Yoopers that is) hike this area, the private property signs are just ignored and you should venture on. Too late in the day to drive back, hike the 2 miles, and get out before the sun goes down so we went to Plan B. The adventure guide suggested that we hike an area nearby called Horseshoe Cove. Once again directions were a little sketchy but we found the trailhead and hiked out to this beautiful cove surrounded by trees, water, and lava rock formations. We also stopped at another area to see a lighthouse that protected the harbor. The evening ended with Dinner and watching the sunset from a beach about 5 miles South West of Copper Harbor.

Day 1

Day 1 Today began the first leg of our WAY UP NORTH journey. We stopped at the picnic area on the UP side of the bridge for lunch. Nice little park with great views of the bridge. (Take Rt. 2 west then a left by the Quality Inn).

Next stop Marquette, MI total miles driven 1st day 441. We stayed at the Historic Landmark Inn in downtown Marquette and walked to the lighthouse and the beach to take in the views and soak up some sun. Dinner was at a restaurant overlooking the harbor called Latitudes, great meal and reasonably priced. For dessert we walked into downtown an historic ice cream and candy shop called “Donkers” est. 1896. It was a blast from the past still had the narrow squeaky wood floors and red vinyl soda fountain stools. Very cool, ice cream was good as well, yes I just had a bite of Steve’s.