Lake Superior Day, 2020 - A Circle Tour

Text and Images by Philip J. Kucera, except as noted.

The First People named the lake Kitchi-gummi, or Great Water. In 1620 - the same year pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock - when arriving at what's today called Sault Ste. Marie, the Jesuit missionary Etienne Brûlé dubbed the inland sea beyond the Soo rapids Supérieur. The Upper Lake.

Later, English landlords as they're wont to do, simplified that to Superior. And so it is.

We northerners pay homage to Lake Superior on the third Sunday of July each year. Personally, I carry a large garbage bag when visiting a beach or two. Superior's shores stay amazingly clean year 'round, thanks to efforts made by hoards of locals and visitors...out of respect.

This year Frank and I, along with some guidance provided by time travelers, invite you on a tour of favorite stops around the big lake. We'll start our trip going clockwise from Sault Ste. Marie. From there in 1659-60, the two French explorers Radisson and Groseilliers were the first to skirt the entire south shore. Along the way they traded with Native inhabitants, European goods for furs.

Translated from Radisson's manuscript: "It was to us like a terrestrial paradise. We went along the coasts, which are most delightful and wondrous, for its Nature that made it so pleasant to the eye, the spirit, and the belly".

In 1721 Pierre Charlevoix cautioned: "when a storm is about to rise, you are advertized of it... two days before, you perceive a gentle murmuring on the surface of the water...the day after, the lake is covered with large waves. But on the third day...the lake becomes all on fire; the ocean in its greatest rage is not more tossed....

A south shore fisherman working out of Black River Harbor once told me, "When you look out there at the lakes' end and you see pimples all across that long line, it's time to head for shore fast, cause a big blow is coming pretty quick."

An English gentleman, Frederick Marryat traveled the south shore in a birchbark canoe in 1837, along with two hunting companions and five crewmen. All were amazed at the wonders of nature.

"We landed at dusk, much fatigued; but the aurora borealis flashed in the heavens, spreading out like a vast plume of ostrich feathers across the sky, every minute changing its beautiful and fanciful forms...we watched it for hours....

From Father Dablon, in the 'Jesuit Relations, 1610-1791': "...extensive fishing is carried on...of a kind of fish found usually only in Lake Superior and Huron...called in the native language Atticameg, and in ours 'whitefish,' because in truth it is very white: and it is most excellent...

Did I mention there are incredible restaurants along the entire lake shore, many of them off the beaten path? Some still serve fresh fish.

Colonel Camille Pisani, journaling Prince Napoleon's tour of Superior, wintered over in 1861-62. "The inhabitants of the region are...as the crew of a ship caught in the ice of the polar seas and forced to hibernate. Their winter is terrible. The temperature often lowers to the freezing point of mercury. The lake is covered with a very thick layer of ice, increased by heavy snowfalls...terrifying storms break the ice crust; the stormy lake piles up the ruins of its prison on the shores...

The Minnesota shore is a nearly unbroken rock wall from Duluth all the way to the Canadian border. Between rising stone and big water, in many places there's just sufficient room for the famous Highway 61 to weave it's way north.  With enough trees to give the surroundings at least a half wild look the entire 150 miles, it's one of the most scenic shoreline drives in the country.

Count two dozen state parks and scenic waysides, with a like number of fishing hamlets along the way. Among those is tiny Hovland, located about a dozen miles short of the Canadian Border, on Chicago (Horseshoe) Bay.

The day before Thanksgiving 1958, young Carl Hammer headed out in his 16' open skiff to pull nets before a major nor'wester struck. The storm arrived early. Worried  his fishing partner hadn't returned, Norwegian born 63-year-old Helmer Aakvik set out in his old wooden skiff to find Carl, but he and his boat were gone. Helmer worked the lake for over 28 hours in gale force winds, 20-24 foot seas and temperatures all the while well below freezing, searching for his friend.

You can listen to the story here.

F. Hutton

There's something to be said about the tenacity of the inhabitants of the Lake Superior Basin.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017, a buoy set in eastern Lake Superior by Northern Michigan University, recorded a storm wave of 28.8 feet in height and hurricane force winds clocking just under 80mph.

Both the day prior and the day after the storm, seas were near calm. What we call a White Squall.

On the Canadian shore, Rossport once supported a large commercial fishery and was a prime source for whitefish. A former Canadian Pacific rail stop, today the scenic town attracts tourists arriving by boat or auto.

Fish tugs still head out from the port, in calm weather and not. Boats working Canadian waters are generally larger than their counterparts in the U.S. Northwest gales have a tremendous reach across the northern half of the lake as they batter the east shore.

Now we're almost back to the Soo, with just one more stop to make.

F. Hutton

On the face of Agawa Rock in Lake Superior Provincial Park, amid dozens of red ocher pictographs, is an image of Mishipeshu, the Great Underwater Panther, the ancient Spirit of Lake Superior. Mishipeshu is Lake Superior. Angered, it will upset a 40 foot birch bark Montreal Canoe in a moment. A proper offering—Kinnikinick (tobacco) perhaps, or a treasured trinket, might smooth 30 foot seas in like time.

And now we've reached the end of the road…

Every day, a visit to Lake Superior is a celebration. This was fun. See you on the lake.

*

Philip Kucera's been my dear friend and mentor for longer than either of us should like to think on. From Phil I've learned more about the Superior Basin and fine art than anyone else, by far. It's my distinct pleasure to have turned over this space to him, for Lake Superior's namesake day.

#lakesuperiorday2020 #lakesuperiorcircletour #lakesuperior