Isle Royale in Lake Superior

Greenstones,  Wolves, Moose, Thimbleberries, and the Isle Royale redfin lake trout

On the map, Isle Royale looks like the eye in the wolf’s head shape of Lake Superior with Duluth its snout and the Keweenaw Peninsula its mouth.  It is precious since there are few places left on this planet that have been preserved like this.  It is unique; some of the oldest rocks on this planet form Isle Royale, its plants and animals  and minerals.  There are copper mining pits on the Island where native Americans dug rich veins of copper long ago.

     When I think of Isle Royale, I think of Eden, a place away from cars and the noise of machinery. There is no traffic on Isle Royale; only hiking trails.   The sounds of Isle Royale are of bugling moose, the silvery songs of northern songbirds, the lapping of waves on rocks and the quavering voices of loons.  Sometimes there is the slap of a beaver’s tail.  The resident pack of wolves are elusive and seldom seen.  We did not hear them at all.

     My husband and I hiked the trails there and I’ll never forget the thimbleberries  higher than our heads along a trail.  We picked the large berries like none other I have ever tasted, copper color, tangy and delicious.

          We found greenstones, Michigan’s semi precious stone.  We stayed on Isle Royale for a week and every day we took a different hiking trail.  We watched a diving duck teaching her young to dive.  We saw a fox near its den, and had a close encounter with a moose.   As we hiked, my husband Norm said, “I smell a moose.”  I didn’t believe him, but as we came around the bend, there it was, bigger than life, standing athwart our trail.  We kept a respectful distance and it casually strolled off.

          We did not fish, but the rocks off of the island are the place where the Isle Royale redfin lake trout spawn as they have for millennia.  This is an endemic species and it’s good to know it is still returning to Isle Royale every year before returning to the depths of Lake Superior.

          In my book, The Dynamic Great Lakes, I have a section devoted to this very special fish, the Isle Royale redfin lake trout.

Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior

Hiking Isle Royale made me feel I was living in Edenic times.  Thimbleberry bushes  grow taller than people and bear delicious fruit.  We saw a moose and heard its cry like a rusty bugle but we never saw  the elusive wolves.   The quavering calls of loons rang through the air.  The reason it felt like Eden was the absence of cars and roads and the beautiful flora and fauna.  We hiked paths and found greenstones, a semi precious stone formed in the volcanic rock of the island.

We also saw ancient copper mines where the First Nations dug the very pure copper found on Isle Royale and traded it as far away as Texas thousands of years ago.

We had to buy tickets for the boat trip to Isle Royale far in advance.  A small plane also takes passengers to the island but tickets for the flight must also be purchased long in advance.

Even thought it is not easy to reach, the trip is well worth it.    Here is a link with particulars:
http://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm