Slow Hand 2023 To Lake Superior and back

[Dwk]

Damn,SeaDog I started to itch looking at the mosquitoes!

 

[O C Diver]

Reminds me of the blind mosquitoes on Lake Okeechobee I had to deal with last Sept. View attachment 139941View attachment 139942View attachment 139943View attachment 139944

My solution for inside bug removal is a shop vac. Easy to suck them up and no bug parts from swatting them.

Ted

 

[twistedtree]

That's astonishing. Do they bite?

 

[hmason]

Oh man I've had that experience. Didn't realize that the ceiling was covered in bugs until a couple fell into my dinner. Used the dust buster. It required numerous emptying.

 

[O C Diver]

One of the unmistakable signs that you're on Lake Superior is that all the raw water fittings are sweating from high heat humidity in the engine room and cold raw water.







Ran the heat all day as the outside air temperature on the lake was maybe 60 degrees, in almost July.

Life is good!

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Well it's been an interesting few days. I tucked into a cove off of Whitby bay to avoid the weather Sunday through Tuesday. Needed two days to get to Whitefish Point and then to Munising on the South shore of Lake Superior. Wednesday I was underway around 5am and at Whitefish Point around 7pm. The forecast changed (it does that a lot on Superior). Was planning to anchor under the point (hook) to be protected from North winds. Instead the forecast changed to winds out of the East through the night and then out of the South. Instead I chose to go out on the lake and about 20 miles down the South shore. Ended up anchoring in front of a lighthouse about 0.3 miles off the beach. You need to be this close to get a reasonable depth to anchor in. Considering the reputation and all the shipwrecks in this area, it felt weird not being in a more protected spot. The wind fell out and you just knew something bad was going to happen.

Got up around 4am. The calm winds were gone. Forecast was 10 to 15 knots out of the South from 10am on. The forecasted winds were already there. Most of the South shore allows you to be within a mile of the beach with atleast 40' of water. After passing Grand Marais the wind picked up. From there to Picture Rocks, 25 gusting to 40 knots. That lasted about an hour and a half. They call it sailing under the beach when you're so close to shore that the waves are about a foot, but the boat is modestly heeling from the broadside wind. Tuned the corner at Picture Rocks to head for Munising. There's no Munising, only fog and 15 to 20 knot winds. Ended up going into Murray bay on Grand Island for a quiet night on the hook. Anchored in the protected hook next to the shipwreck the tour boats take you to (you can see it clearly from the surface). The wind fell out; the loons started their calls; I had some more wine.

This morning was clear with blue skies and light winds. Headed to Munising from the bay around noon. Winds were out of the North around 10 knots. Once out of the bay, there's a fog bank ahead.







The fog is being pushed onto the land by the wind. While the distance to Munising was only a couple of miles, the visibility in the fog was about 200'. Lots of Securite calls from the tour boats navigating in the fog. Most don't have AIS and many of the boats have dinner plate size radars. Apparently fog signals are optional around here also.

If you come to Lake Superior be prepared for weather that doesn't resemble the forecast. AIS, radar, and a good chart plotter are very beneficial. Be prepared for those who aren't. Have plan "B" and "C" thought out in advance. It can be magical, if you plan it well.

Munising is a nice very small city. More about it tomorrow.

Ted

 

[kthoennes]

Ah, I so enjoy reading your posts, and all the place names on Superior. My favorite Great Lake by far, but you can't be a slouch, have to stay vigilant, cautious and well prepared.

 

[O C Diver]

Spent Sunday evening through Tuesday morning in Marquette, on the hook inside the breakwater. Their 4th of July fireworks are very impressive.

The Ore Dock from where they shoot the fireworks.


Some perspective of size. It's about 90' tall!


Sunrise over the breakwater on the way out.



Slick calm on Superior.



Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Well it's time to head to Isle Royale. The National Park Service punched my ticket and authorized my 3 week itinerary this morning heading out from Houghton around 4am. Houghton and Hancock are a nice stop for a few days. This is home to the world's heaviest and widest double decker lift bridge. Originally designed for ore trains on the lower level and cars on the upper level, it also boasts a 100' opening so that the 1,000' ore ships could transit underneath. With the removal of the trains from the upper part of the peninsula, the lower section during the winter is used for snowmobiles. The winter before last, they had almost 30' of snow.





During the summer they keep the bridge raised where cars use the snowmobile center section. For size perspective, the clearance in the center is now 32'.

If you stop here, a trip to the Quincy mine, now a National Historical Park is an amazing experience.

https://www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/historyculture/quincy-unit.htm

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Mine

Ted

 

[BDofMSP]

We love Houghton and visit every year. Some good restaurants and brew pubs there.

Safe journey. We just got back for Isle Royale and had a wonderful experience. But you are a pro there now ...

 

[O C Diver]

We love Houghton and visit every year. Some good restaurants and brew pubs there.

Safe journey. We just got back for Isle Royale and had a wonderful experience. But you are a pro there now ...

Yes some very nice restaurants. One of my must stops is the Library. While maybe not everyone's choice, the garlic and tiger shrimp pizza is one of my favorites.



Ted

 

[O C Diver]

This is why I come to Isle Royale.

Southwest end of Florence Bay at Todd Harbor.











Time to go hiking.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Wait for me, I'll be back.


There are an amazing amount of butterflies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers at Isle Royale.


I know who lives here.

Smack the water with your tail mr. beaver.






You never know who will block the trail.


Mom and her yearling.


Thanks for waiting patiently for me.


15.6 miles was too much today, but some very memorable experiences.

Ted

 

[BDofMSP]

Jealous. We never saw moose although constant signs of them. Of course we weren't hiking 15+ either ...

 

[FWT]

Damn

I've been following.

This is over the top.

Its creating an ambition I barely had.

 

[ScottC]

Some amazing shots, Ted!

 

[Old Sea Dog]

^^^^^^ what he said!!

 

[O C Diver]

Part of what interests me about coming to Isle Royale is the history. So this morning I moved from Todd Harbor to McCargoe cove. So who was McCargoe? Captain McCargoe sailed his British warship "Recovery" deep into the cove to hide the ship from the Americans for the duration of the 1812 war. I don't know which is tougher, sailing into this cove with a square rigger or surviving winter temperatures of -25 degrees F.

So this is McCargoe cove. I'm anchored at the blue dot.


The satellite image gives you the view of a narrow channel with walls that can rise over 100' that are heavily wooded. There is a marsh that further inland becomes a valley with lakes.


So the captain sailed his 90 ton warship, leaving the green buoy to port and sailing his square rigger around the red buoy to starboard and didn't manage to hit the reefs on the way in.


Obviously there were no buoys, so he had to know where the reefs were, negotiate the turns and sail to the end of the cove. Pretty amazing.


The rest of the day was spent dinghing around all the coves looking at wildlife. I will be dinghing down to the campground dock tomorrow morning for another day of hiking.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Peaceful and quiet this morning.







Time to go for another walk.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

So these pictures are from yesterday, Tuesday July 11th.

Part 1

Mr. Loon came by the boat in the morning, but not close enough to get a good picture. They start calling around 5am.


So this isn't a very good picture, but it gives you some idea how high the side walls are of McCargoe cove.


These are a series of inland lakes shot from the ridgeline facing North. The ridgeline is about 200' above Lake Superior. In the first one, left of center near the top, is Canada. While too far away in another, you can see Thunder Bay, Canada with the naked eye.










Flowers seem to be everywhere at Isle Royale.


I hiked about 13 miles yesterday and fared better as the ridgeline wasn't as high.

Soapbox alert:
It's wonderful to see solitary hikers whether passing or going the other way, because they have no one to talk to. Yesterday was chatterbox day. Couples or small groups chattering away, and wondering why they're not seeing any wildlife. On a relatively calm day, the moose and other wildlife can hear you a hundred yards away. If that wasn't bad enough, a couple coming the other way was listening to an audio book as loud as one of them speaking. If you're that clueless, hike in a city.
Stepping down from the soapbox.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

So these pictures are from yesterday, Tuesday July 11th.

Part 2

So, back to the history of Isle Royale. About 1.4 miles from the McCargoe cove campground is the Minong copper mine. It was in operation from 1874 till about 1885.

Historic Isle Royale Mining Companies

The things that amaze me about this are:

This went on year round where winters can exceed - 25 degrees F.

The mining itself was done without any form of power tools, just hand tools and dynamite.

It only went on about 10 years, but the amount of poor (waste) rock extracted by hand from the mines is incredible.

One of the vertical mines that was later incorporated into the below horizontal mine.

These are minature rails for hauling out the below big nuggets and the poor (ore content) rock.

The 5,720 pound nugget of almost pure copper.


Looking at the satellite picture, you can make out the hills of poor rock, including the 2 peninsulas going out into the lake.


The hills go on forever and it's amazing to think this was all done by hand and manual rail cars.






Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Today I Moved the boat from McCargoe cove to Lane cove.

Part 1

Another beautiful morning with zero wind. This isn’t normal here, so take it while it lasts.







So Lane cove is another long slender cove nestled between tree covered ridgelines in an idyllic setting. It's a tough job, but somebody needs to anchor here.






Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Part 2

After securing the mothership, it was time to scout out where I would dinghy to in the morning to go hiking.

Along the way I spotted some wildlife.

For those that aren't familiar, I have a 10' Trika dinghy with an Epropulsion electric outboard. I go slow; the engine is silent; there's no wake.

I'm sure we've all seen pictures of the bald eagle swooping down over the water to catch a fish in flight. Ever wonder what happens if it grabs to big a fish? It's called a grab and face plant. Lower right corner.


Eagles don't have reserve buoyancy to float like a seagull and webbed feet to build up speed and take off. So they have to swim to shore.

Apparently even the national bird doesn't appreciate somebody laughing his ass off at him.


So in this picture there's a family of ducks swimming by in front of the moose. On the left side.


So the moose decided to swim across the cove in front of my dinghy.










In case I haven't mentioned it, I really like my silent Epropulsion outboard.

Ted

 

[SteveK]

Very nice shots most will never see. Did the eagle make it to shore with the fish?

My sighting was same, faceplant. But that eagle did not let go and used the massive wings to paddle to shore and stay afloat. It then dined on what looked like a 5-6 pound salmon

 

[O C Diver]

Very nice shots most will never see. Did the eagle make it to shore with the fish?

My sighting was same, faceplant. But that eagle did not let go and used the massive wings to paddle to shore and stay afloat. It then dined on what looked like a 5-6 pound salmon

No, he lost the fish and was thoroughly embarrassed.

Ted

 

[SteveK]

teenager

 

[HeadedToTexas]

Amazing stuff, Ted. Silence is golden, and productive. Great camera work!

 

[O C Diver]

Amazing day!

It's going to take several posts worth of pictures to cover it all. Probably the best single day in three trips of coming to Isle Royale! Wanted to touch on a few highlights and will finish the rest tomorrow.

I saw a wolf. Burned into my brain for the rest of my life.

Another perfect morning in Lane cove. Not a breath of wind. That's the stern anchor line going out as there isn't quite enough swing room.



Here comes the sun.


Dinghing to the campground and beginning of the trail, a mother and her newborn (this spring) swim across the cove (left side, lower resolution on forum pictures dosen't show it well).

Climbing out.


So there's a federal law, if you want your Rocky and Bullwinkle card punched, you need a picture of both moose and squirrel on the same day. Squirrels can actually be tougher to see than moose. This isn’t your suburban squirrel that gets fed from the bird feeder and has nothing to fear. There are a lot of predators that like squirrel for dinner. So below is my squirrel picture. This is the 3rd trip that I've been able to get my Rocky and Bullwinkle card punched. For those to young to get the joke:

Rocky and Bullwinkle

BTW, I'm up to 8 moose so far this trip.


Now some of you may be thinking this is a boating forum, WTF. So I respectfully submit one lighthouse and two boat pictures (at about 3 miles) taken from the ridgeline this afternoon.






More to follow from a great day on a boating trip.

Ted

 

[CharlieO.]

Very impressive and inspiring Ted, thanks.

 

[ScottC]

Makes me want to ship my boat from Europe for some Great Lakes cruising!