This account relates my recent solo excursion to Isle Royale National Park, a special place of reflection & inspiration for 20 years.
Prelude
The world has fallen away from me… And what a world it was. Over the past 10 months, my wife and I made a very stressful move, and I battled a difficult depression, was honored at my 20th high school reunion, and finished my most intense period of work yet, culminating in the Museum's most spectacular event to date, the Dance Theatre of Harlem Gala. The 10 & 1/2 hour drive up the length and most of width of Michigan is one of decompression, and after listening to the Detroit Lions win their first game of the season, my soundtrack accompanies a full moon rising to create surreal cloudscapes over Lake Superior.
Day 1: Monday, September 12, 2011
After an always excellent breakfast at The Pines Restaurant, I board the Isle Royale Queen IV for the 3 hour voyage - during which we're warned by the Captain of high winds over the next 3 days. Upon arrival, I limber up with a 90 minute dayhike out to Scoville Point and back.
So the Voyageur II ferry, scheduled to take me to the other side of the Isle tomorrow morning, will be leaving this afternoon due to expected gale-force winds and 7-10 foot waves. We embark under threateningly beautiful skies: blues and grays translucently shifting above the clouds and gradually gradating to oranges and screens.
The ride on Lake Superior is rough, and soon 5 footers are rolling by. To starboard it grows black; to port, a distant line of clouds visibly drops rain along its perimeter. As lightning flashes overhead, we head into Malone Bay to shelter for the night. Thor’s handiwork lights the ensuing storm as we trample through the rain. Enthralled by the views afforded by the south-facing shelter, I finally fall asleep as the moon rises, clouds breaking with dappled stars beyond.
Day 2: Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Awake to find Orion rising and the full moon setting as indigo night yields to morning bright. It becomes a strikingly sunny day. Hopefully whatever winds are in the north, the lee of the land protecting us.
Help free me from the ravages of mind & thought, and directly and intimately experience the joys and sorrows of life.
I am now in a most dramatic panorama – sitting at Rainbow Cove, massive breakers rolling in from Lake Superior as the sun shines overhead, the Rock of Ages lighthouse far to starboard, a bald eagle soaring on thermals. Cloud formations march to the north, sparing these skies.
We land at Windigo around 11:30 am and I set off just shy of noon, pack weight 63 pounds. The first leg of the 9 mile hike ends a climb to a dramatic vista taking in Superior, swampland, and the Feldtmann Ridge, upon which I can see a lookout tower. The hike itself is gorgeous, before this vista winding along the Windigo waters, and after the climb descending into Alpine meadows, mist from Superior seeping into the forest primeval. Finally, I am alone at Feldtmann Lake, which is as beautiful as I remember it.
Day 3: Wednesday, September 14, 2011
It's a cold morning, 39º, so I take my time packing up. The 10 & 1/2 mile hike along the Feldtmann Ridge passes by a mossy, boulder-strewn waterfall deep in the woods; meanders through grassy meadows; and descends into a beautiful birch forest before ending at the stunningly colorful Siskiwit Bay, contrasting myriad greens of the many trees with light and deep blues of sky and water, and red pebble beaches and pathways.
It never gets above 50º, and feels 10º cooler due to steady wind. Apple trees have grown since I was last here in 1999, and I eat my fill of fresh fruit.
Day 4: Thursday, September 15, 2011
It's 37º this morning. I see a bald eagle overhead, and a red fox rushing down the trail. Head inland and uphill today, and the hike is difficult. I can see my breath the entire way so it couldn't have even made it into the 50's. Thankfully, it warms a bit upon arrival at Lake Desor, and I take a swim in my favorite swimming hole. Again, being the only person within miles, I enjoy solitude. The succession from primarily birch to a more mature climax forest is becoming more evident every year. The past winter was harsh, and that may have hastened many of the older birches' demise.
Day 5: Friday, September 16, 2011
Today is my longest day on the trail at roughly 6 hours over the 12 miles to Todd Harbor. Though I didn't feel it during the hike, I could hear the wind from the south, and the water off the north shore is filled with whitecaps. It's been perfect hiking weather - sunny and 60º.
On the northern shore of Isle Royale, yet looking WSW, Todd Harbor has the most incredible sunsets. I enjoy yet another one sink behind Canada; the stars peek out, finally bringing the Milky Way with them after the past few nights' gibbous moon, and I enjoy a small fire down by the lakeside.
Day 6: Saturday, September 17, 2011
It's another beautiful day: sunny, slight breeze, 65º. This gorgeous summer's day gives way to a beautiful fall day, with aspens shedding golden leaves against a robin's egg-blue sky. Soft clouds move in from the southwest.
Day 7: Sunday, September 18, 2011
Leave McCargoe Cove at 9 am under a gunmetal-grey sky. 80 minutes into the hike is what I like to call "Altar Rock," a formation of boulders high on a ridge in such an array as to inspire religious reflection. An absolutely massive, fatherly spruce (with offshoots growing in abundance around it) elicits a wish for patience and discipline in parenting, that most rewarding, and trying, of tasks. It starts to drizzle after 1:30 pm, but by then I am thankfully snug in a sheltered hammock at Daisy Farm.
A prayer said on Altar Rock really applies to every trip here, to return home more disciplined, purposeful, and lighthearted. Something to keep in mind as I return home, if not every day. It rains steadily, and I can hear the roar of the waves on the southern shore.
Day 8: Monday, September 19, 2011
The world is wet when I awake, but soon enough there's a sharp edge to the clouds that moves away to the south. With that, the weather clears. The final hike reflects this trip, a quieting of a frantic mind, and one of retreat, recovery and renewal. I've prayed, affirmed and intended on every trail, and after coming through the storm of this past year, with its attendant trials and tribulations, I am confident in returning and applying these lessons of discipline, purposefulness and lightness of heart to my everyday life.
And after 70 miles with a 60 pound pack, being a bit more light on my feet!
To see more photos, click here to view the Facebook photo album of this trip.
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