Lake Gichi-Gami

Friday, August 21, 2015

Awoke to a gorgeous day; sunny, cool, and very few clouds.  Our agenda included three more hikes, the first was to the Agawa Pictographs.  These are paintings, not carvings as we saw in New Mexico.  Those are petroglyphs, carved into the black coating of some rocks.  Pictographs were painted by Objiwe using a paint consisting of finely ground hematite and fish oil.  They estimate they were painted in the 1600s.

It is remarkable they are still visible considering the exposure in this climate. They get rained on, awash by waves, and harsh winters.  Many are very faded and will likely be gone in 50 years.  Petroglyphs are in arid climates with little snow.

We only saw two.  The rocks and waves today made it too dangerous to venture along the cliff.  A ranger on station kept dummies from trying to kill themselves.  The rock they are painted on is called Inscription Rock.  This is scared Objibwe ground, with spirits they felt helped them win battles with the Iroquois and gave them protection.

These are two we saw showing a fish and a mythical creature.

  Well as they say getting’ there is half the fun.  Geez, the trail to these things was short but a real stinker!

Aside from the pictographs, the view was spectacular.

Our next stop was Kathleen Cove.  This is along the coastal trail that travels along the coast through the park.  Big surprise here was the white sand beach.  Actually the water was pretty warm, maybe 70-ish.

The scenery was jaw dropping.

Our last stop was Crescent Lake trail, a 1 mile loop between several small lakes.  The four lakes abutted the trail and the area is used as a canoe/kayak portage between the lakes.  This is Crescent Lake.

The surrounding woodland contains yellow birch, which we had never seen before.  It was also home to some really unique mushrooms.

We have no clue what kind they were, but really different.

We asked a Ranger about the absence of wildlife, of which we did see a few birds and squirrels today.  Some bird species have begun migration south.  As for the critters, they are not acclimated to humans and remain at a big, safe distance.

For those of you wondering about this post title, it is Objibwe for Great Lake, or as we know it, Lake Superior and it is that! 

Tomorrow we move to Wawa, about 60 miles up the road. There are a couple of waterfalls we want to check out.  Our impressions of this area are positive.  We think it compares well with coastal Oregon.