Circling Lake Superior--Entry 2

Tues. Sept. 4-6: For a second night at Rabbit Blanket the temperature stayed nearly steady around 64°, much to our surprise. We took time to again enjoy morning coffee down at the lake, all the while reveling in the thought that it was the first day of school back at home. There was no wind so the reflections of in the lake were wonderful. Marv had gotten so much packed the night before that we ate breakfast and broke camp and got back on the road by 10:00, as we had planned. The sun came and went as we drove to Wawa and stopped at the iconic Goose Information Center.  After filling the truck for $105.35(OUCH!) we drove a washboard gravel road to see the nearby Scenic High Falls. From there we continued on TransCanada Highway 17 to White River where we had lunch. It was sunny and 80°. A woman came to join her friends for coffee at the corner table in the restaurant and was heard to declare, “Holy Smokers, it’s hot out der!” They are working on Hwy. 17 in several places and we had to wait for our turn to go on some bridges. The rugged, rocky hillsides and combination of boreal and Great Lake-St. Lawrence River forests make for spectacular vistas all along the way. Neyes Provincial Park was about an hour and a half beyond, but as we got nearer the park we entered dense fog which slowed us down a bit. The fog/mist continued the rest of the way to the park and the temperature dropped to 65°. We were able to self-register at two electric, pull-through sites right on the shore of Lake Superior, where we can hear the waves lapping on the long expanse of sandy beach. Marv & I walked on the beach in the fog and wondered how long it was, since we could see only a short way in each direction. I waded in the cold but not unbearable water and could imagine swimming in it had the hot sunny weather stayed around. Neyes is much smaller than Lake Superior Park but it has a rich history. It was used for a time during WWII as a prisoner of war camp. We’d like to learn more about that but the Visitors Center was closed when we arrived, perhaps for the Season. We’ll have to find out tomorrow if it will be open at all while we’re here. The fog lifted enough for us to see that there is a point to the southeast and a hiking trail goes out there. We ate another of Gustafson’s smoked whitefish while we played “Hand & Foot” again and Marv & Pat got their revenge on Ross & my win yesterday then we enjoyed Pat’s warming Taco Soup. Afterwards Marv & I walked around two of the camping loops before going back to get our bikes and the fish skin to dispose of in the one bear-proof receptacle, having read that we are in bear country. Since we had the bikes out, we rode around a third camping loop and saw that there are very few sites occupied now that we are past Labor Day.  Back in the camper we read, downloaded pictures, and blogged until bedtime.

When we went to bed the temperature was 61° and by morning it had risen to 64°. Weird! It had cleared a little bit; enough that I could see some pink in the sunrise out the window by our heads. Marv made scrambled eggs full of veggies that we ate with toast. We took the end of our coffee down to the lakeshore to enjoy. I cut up the melon from Ken Dagner and shared half with Ross & Pat. We all walked over to the Visitors Center, where there happened to be a park worker who told us it was closed for the season, as we feared. But she gave us the park brochure which was full of more information on the park. We all began the 1.5KM Point Trail but Pat soon turned back because her feet are bothering her. Ross, Marv & I walked to the end of the trail and then picked up the 1KM “Under the Volcano” Trail. It is a self-guided hike across rugged, rocky shoreline with 11 Interpretive Panels explaining the geological and geomorphologic history of Neys. We found out we were basically crossing the hardened magma chamber of an ancient volcano and explained the fascinating differences in the rocks and minerals. It was a very, very difficult scramble over rocks and boulders of all sizes and we were all pretty tired by the time we got to the last panel. The sun made partial appearances through the clouds and the day was warming up. Making our way back we realized that part of the time we could follow a trail through the woods, which was somewhat easier. We returned to the campsite three hours later, very ready for a cold beer, a short rest, and some lunch. After a while we felt ready to take on the 2KM Lookout Trail. Ross, Marv, & I rode our bikes to the back of Loop 4 to start the trail. Ross decided he couldn’t bike the trail and didn’t have the right shoes to hike it so he headed back while Marv & I soldiered on. Soon we were doing a rock climb up a steep drop-off and then hiking across slippery rock outcroppings. We got to Lookout #1 and found that we couldn’t see much of the promised vista because the trees have grown up to hide it. We went a bit farther but it was starting to rain, which made the rocks even slipperier. We decided it made most send to return the way we had come and were glad for the decision after I slipped and fell twice and the rain was increasing. We hightailed it back to the campsite, stopping once in a picnic shelter along the way to see if the rain would stop but it didn’t. We read and rested up then Marv made veggies to take to Ross & Pat’s for Happy Hour and I went to shower. After we ate a chicken dinner we played a card game while the sky cleared. We all went down to the shore line to watch a really nice sunset, although neither Ross nor Pat stayed until it was all the way set. We got a few things put away to make an earlier getaway tomorrow and then relaxed in our camper. Bed was going to feel great after all the strenuous hiking today!