Isle Royale

Rock of Ages Lighthouse entering Isle Royale

Moose racks under sign
is a very good sign!

Unripe thimbleberries

Heading out of Grand Marais, MN,  on Tuesday, July 23, we bumped our way to Isle Royale meeting 2 to 3 foot waves  head-on.    Forty-five miles later we passed Rock of Ages Lighthouse—the entrance marker to the southwestern end of Isle Royale.   By the time we reached the dock at Windigo, the wind was howling, making docking a challenge.  Once secure, we checked in at the Ranger station.  Isle Royale National Park has many restrictions designed to keep the area a pristine wilderness.  For us that meant knowing the rules on generator use, dock space, no wake zones, gray water, etc.  A sailboat joined us at the dock later in the afternoon.  The wind calmed and we enjoyed a short nature walk that evening.  We found thimbleberries (a delicacy in this area), but unfortunately they were not ripe.  We have been told that all the berries are late this year as it has been a rainy, cool summer.

Approaching Isle Royale

At Windigo Dock

Wednesday in a brisk SW wind, we moved 30 miles to Hay Bay—a small bay off Siskiwit Bay on the south side of the island. We anchored in a sheltered spot and within an hour, Tom spotted a bull moose in the shallow water.  I have been waiting since Vermont last summer to see a moose, so this was very exciting!   We watched him for a half hour as he repeatedly dipped his head underwater and came up munching a mouthful of weeds.  After he left, a female (cow) moose took his place using the same grazing technique.    Add to this loons trilling and we decided this was a fine spot to anchor!

Bellowing moose

Bullwinkle

Love the loons!

Beautiful sunset at Hay Bay

Mama moose

Thursday turned cool and rainy.  We decided to move sixteen miles northeast to Chippewa Harbor.  The water was fairly calm, but we were one of the few boats moving as the rain continued, at times moderately heavy.  We had no trouble entering the harbor. Both the charts and Dahl’s book were very accurate.  We passed through the first basin, and squeezed through a narrow passage into the second basin.  There we went to the far end and anchored.  The wind switched to 20 mph NE so we did considerable swinging, but held fast and did not bounce.  We were hoping to hike a short half mile trail to Lake Whittlesey, but the weather did not cooperate. 

Friday was windy, cold and rainy.  We stayed aboard at anchor wishing we could be out exploring the trails.  No moose here, but several loons and a mama duck teaching her two ducklings to swim and hunt.

Narrow passage leading to inner basin

 Saturday, even though rain was forecast, patches of blue sky were all we needed to head out hiking.  First we dinked to the trail immediately behind our anchorage and hiked a short half mile trail to Lake Whittlesey.  We saw many wildflowers blooming including columbine—at least three months later than it blooms for us in Missouri.  The shoreline was hopping with baby frogs and many tadpoles were swimming in the shallows.

Beautiful iris blooming at Lake Whittlesey

 After returning to the boat for lunch, we dinked about two miles up the basin to a dock by the Chippewa Harbor campground.  I was impressed by the screened-in shelters provided at the campground for the backpackers.  There we caught another short trail to Lake Mason.  Blueberries were just starting to ripen along the trail and we each picked a handful to make blueberry pancakes.  It felt really good to get out and stretch our legs after a few days of being “boat-bound”.

Camping shelters at Chippewa Harbor

Tom overlooking Lake Mason

Sunday dawned cold, windy, rainy and downright nasty.  And it stayed that way all day.  At night the rain stopped and the wind settled, but too late to move on.  Faint pink in the sunset gave us hope for Monday.

Promising sunset??

Monday we awoke to bright sunshine and flat water.  Unbelievable that such change could occur overnight.  We struck out for Rock Harbor, the northern welcome center, where we docked for the evening.  As we entered Rock Harbor we passed Hallelujah, a trawler flying a gold looper flag.  They saw our flag and hailed us on the radio.  They were circumnavigating Superior counter-clockwise, so we enjoyed swapping anchorage ideas with them.  It was really good to talk “looper” again.  I do miss that camaraderie.  

Abandoned lighthouse at entrance to Rock Harbor

Guest lodge at Rock Harbor

Trail marker for Scoville Point

Beautiful views along the trail

The two wanderers on Scoville Point

Boardwalk over marshy area

After we were settled into the dock, we took off on a 4 ½ mile loop trail that led to Scoville Point, the northernmost tip of the main island.  The point is named after a Detroit environmental journalist who campaigned diligently to ensure Isle Royale became a national park.  Everyone tells us that the flowers and berries are at least three weeks behind normal, but the wildflowers along the trail were plentiful and gorgeous.  And the view from the point was spectacular.  In the distance we could see the Canadian cliffs we will pass as we make our way along the north shore. 

Met along the trail

And his friend

Lake Superior Diver’s boat pulled into the marina shortly after we returned from our hike.  Tom went over to see about getting his nitrox tank refilled and ended up signing up for a dive the following day.  Dinner at the lodge restaurant was a treat that night.

Last check before descending

Monster of the Deep

Tuesday morning we followed the dive boat and we rafted with it at the dive site.  They were diving on   the Emperor, a 525 foot ore carrier built in 1910 and at the time Canada’s largest ship.  In early June 1947, it ran aground on Canoe Reef and sank with the loss of 12 of the 33 crew.  The bow now lies 40 feet below the surface while the stern rests 140 feet deep.  Upon return, Tom told of an old boot that sits ominously upright on the floor of the crews’ quarters.  Dishes and pots and pans still line the galley.  Water temperature on the surface was 45 degrees and at 120 feet down, 41 degrees.  Tom said it was a deep, cold, fabulous dive.  This is definitely dry suit diving and I was glad to be at the surface!

Entering McCorkle Bay

Mama having a talk with baby.
(Click on picture to see baby better!)

Once Tom thawed out, we detached from the dive boat and headed to our last anchorage in Isle Royale,  McCorkle Bay.  It is described as one of the jewels of the island and we could understand why as we wound our way to the back of the bay.  We chose an anchorage in a side bay near the end where we were entertained by a mama loon and her baby.  Papa joined them later and yodeled up a storm when a group of gulls tried to steal their fish dinner.   A dinghy ride in search of moose led to a promising cove guarded by a large bald eagle, but unfortunately no moose.

Sleeping Giant as seen from Isle Royale
Cliffs surrounding Thunder Bay--our next port