After some time in Houghton with our friends at Michigan Technological University, we depart under the famed lift bridge for two weeks at Isle Royale.
Our first stop is on the southern shore’s Siskiwit Bay at the Malone Bay Dock. The small dock near the ranger station provided just enough room for Monarch, and we disembarked for a walk on the one-mile nature trail that leads to the inland Siskiwit Lake. The trails on Isle Royale are a pleasure, well-marked and moderate in difficulty.
The Siskiwit River flows in several branches into the bay.
Next day, the predictions were for heavier winds, so we decided to head to the protected harborage of Moskey Basin.
Two days later, when there was room at Caribou Island, we moved to its dock. We still shared the small dock with two powerboats, with fishermen from Houghton.
Caribou Island has nice hiking, and we spent the day doing so. We found a moose carcass along the trail.
Thimbleberries were at their peak, and Jerry displays the fruits of his labors.
A highlight of the trip was our invitation to dine with Isle Royale Park’s superintendent, Phyllis Green and her husband Jay. We know her from our association with Michigan Tech. She has the best cabin on Mott Island, and we got the grand tour.
Phyllis’ sauna decorates the yard.
The next day, we dinghied to Edisen Fishery, an early 1900s family fishing operation nicely restored by the Park.
The Edisen Fishery is the best surviving example of a family gill net fishery complete with a dockside fish house where the catch was cleaned and stored before shipping to Duluth. The fish house had an impressive collection of antique outboards, and net drying reels still sat in the yard. Volunteer staff here are a retired couple who help out here in the summers and volunteer in winters at Everglades National Park in Florida.
One-third mile from the fishery is the Rock Harbor Lighthouse, restored by the Park Service and housing an excellent maritime history exhibit on Isle Royale. We were fascinated by the exhibits of the shipwrecks throughout the island’s history, and the photographs of families who endured extreme hardship to live here year-round.
The lighthouse stairway was wide open for a climb to the top, where the view was stupendous. Next we cruised over to Daisy Farm Dock, where we hiked for an hour along a beautiful trail, working up an appetite.
Our reward was back aboard Monarch, where Marty whipped up an impromptu and recipe-less Thimbleberry Galette, the real fruits of our labor, served warm and alamode.
No comments:
Post a Comment