Check out the new wayside at Split Rock

If you've driven on the North Shore this summer, you surely experienced the traffic back ups for construction in the Split Rock area. MnDOT completed a two-year-long project straightening out Highway 61 just west of the Lighthouse. The new highway is gorgeous, wide and fast.

The new highway alignment runs about 200 yards away from one of the North Shore's most distinct wayside rests, a classic pull-off with a great view of Split Rock Lighthouse and the open waters of Lake Superior. For the traveler dedicated to enjoying Lake Superior, this is a great change. 

Follow the spanking new blue "Wayside Rest" signs off of Highway 61, and you'll loop away from the new highway and back over to the old highway. 

Not only is the old wayside rest still there, it has been substantially improved. I love the variety of rocks found in the pillars...North Shore gabbro and diabase, granite from somewhere, even a southern Minnesota limestone.

Now, instead of having highway traffic speed by just feet away from you as you try to take in the view, scenic viewers have the overlook all to themselves. A foot trail leads away from the overlook toward the lighthouse; next time I'll find out where that goes,

MnDOT may iron the curves out of Highway 61 until it's an arrow-straight line from Duluth to Grand Portage, but as long as they leave these quiet and scenic waysides, I'm okay with it.

Near collision in Duluth Ship Canal

BBC Orinoco headed for the wall of the Duluth Ship Canal South Pier

BBC Orinoco after evasive maneuvers

The BBC Orinoco came uncomfortably close today to a collision with the South Pier Lighthouse. At the time, a thick fog was on the lake, and a strong current was running out of the Duluth Ship Canal. Even as the announcer from the Marine Museum was announcing the arrival of the boat, the boat itself could barely be seen in the fog.

As the ship's bow came out of the fog at 2:00pm, the ship was headed directly for the edge of the South Pier rather than for the middle of the Canal as most ships align. The ship turned in to the Canal and away from the lighthouse and pier head at the last moment, appearing to miss by a few yards. 

BBC Orinoco in Duluth Ship Canal after narrowly missing South Pier

 The BBC Orinoco had left Thunder Bay yesterday and will load beet pulp pellets in Duluth, according to Duluth Shipping News.

The current at the mouth of the Duluth Ship Canal has been noted and feared by Great Lakes navigators for over a century. When the Mataafa collided with the piers in 1905, partial blame was placed on the currents. Lighthouses stand at the end of both the South and North piers to help ensure safe passage into the piers.

Incidentally, it appears that the fog horn located in the South Pier lighthouse was not operating at the time.

Insider's guide to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

Split Rock Lighthouse, November 10, 2009

Split Rock Lighthouse is a towering beacon over Lake Superior and an icon for the state of Minnesota. For many people, the lighthouse is the North Shore. The state park that surrounds the lighthouse, however, is a hidden gem that only some visitors enter and only very few truly explore.

The view from Split Rock Lighthouse

If you stand with the crowds around the base of Split Rock Lighthouse, you can't help but notice and enjoy the view down the shore. One rugged cove leads to a steep rocky point, and then another and another, as far as you can see. That entire landscape is within the boundaries of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, and you can hike, camp or even bike through the heart of it. 

THE BEST CAMPING ON THE NORTH SHORE
This is my personal opinion, though I've heard from many people who feel the same way: the best place to camp on the North Shore if you want real quiet, real privacy and real adventure is the cart-in campground at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Twenty campsites are scattered through the woods and along the shoreline. Each site comes with its own cart, which you can use to roll your camping equipment from the parking lot to your private campsite. 

Fourteen of the sites can be reserved in advance through the Minnesota DNR's reservation system. Virtually the entire summer of 2011 is already reserved. 

Insider's tip: Six sites are available first-come, first served. I've found that if you arrive before 10:00 am on a Tuesday or Wednesday, you should be able to get one of those sites; stop at the park office to get on a waiting list. 

Since sites can be reserved 365 days in advance, now is the time to reserve your top pick for the summer of 2012.

SECLUDED LAKE SUPERIOR BEACHES
Hanging out on your own rocky beach, feeling the splash of cool waves, enjoying a private picnic by the lake shore...that's quintessential North Shore. And you can have it in Split Rock. There are at least eight separate beaches in the park, ranging from the broad, steep beach at Little Two Harbors next to the Picnic Area to the remote beach in Crazy Bay. 

Unnamed beach below Day Hill

Insider's tip: I just discovered a new beach this weekend, a small cobblestone beach with a great view of the lighthouse. Head out the back door of the Trail Center building in the park, and walk out across the main Little Two Harbors Trail. Follow a little unmarked trail that seems to lead to a cliff edge. This opens up to a great ledge rock shoreline full of splash pools. Head up the shore toward the lighthouse, which looms above. You'll find a gravel beach that's about 100 yards long and 10 yards wide. 

GITCHI GAMI BIKE TRAIL
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is at the midpoint of the longest stretch of completed trail of the Gitchi Gami State Trail. You can ride west about seven miles to Gooseberry Falls State Park or seven miles east to the quaint town of Beaver Bay. 

Iona's Beach

Insider's tip: This is not an easy bike trail. There are steep hills and sharp curves. You may have to leave your toddlers on training wheels at home. I recommend going west to Gooseberry State Park and planning to stop at Iona's Beach about halfway there. Iona's Beach is a state Scientific and Natural Area and was set aside to protect its unique red shingle beach. 

Next time you're on the Shore, take the time to explore this hidden gem of a state park. You'll be glad you stopped by.

Big, free day at Split Rock Lighthouse

Saturday, June 11, is the annual open house at all Minnesota State Parks. That means all one-day vehicle permits are free. Perfect! Now you can join me for a great guided hike Saturday at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

Most North Shore state parks have trails and landmarks that are open only to those with vehicle permits. This weekend, use this opportunity to explore these trails and landmarks for free.

At Gooseberry Falls State Park, the open house lets you visit the whole lakeshore area with its dramatic stone buildings and open, rocky Picnic Flow. At Tettegouche State Park, the free vehicle permit will let you easily access the High Falls of the Baptism River. At Cascade River State Park, Saturday's free permit gets you access to the lakeshore picnic area and a mile of ledgerock walking. 

See Split Rock's Lighthouse and take a guided hike

This Saturday's open house gets you free admission not only to the state parks but also to Split Rock Lighthouse itself. So make day of it in Split Rock!

Andrew Slade atop Day Hill, with lighthouse in background

I'll be guiding a pleasant hike during the open house. Meet me at the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park Trail Center at 10:00am Saturday. We're going on a 2.6-mile hike on the Little Two Harbors and Day Hill trails. We'll stop at secluded beaches and scamper to the top of Day Hill, where a mysterious stone fireplace frames dramatic lake views. The hike will take about two hours.

After the hike, come to the Lighthouse for a free tour. I'll be signing copies of my new book, Hiking the North Shore, at the museum store there from 1:00 to 3:00pm.  

Eats and treats after the trail
The North Shore's newest dining option just opened up...right at Split Rock Lighthouse! The folks from Splashing Rock Restaurant at Grand Superior Lodge have opened the Third Rock Deli, serving sandwiches, wraps and salads. 

Travel note: construction on Highway 61 is in full throttle now near Split Rock. Expect delays, either if you're driving through or just stopping at the park.

Book Review: Safe from the Sea, by Peter Geye

The North East Minnesota Books Award winners were announced last week, and the winner for fiction is....the North Shore and Lake Superior!! 

Actually, it was the debut novel of Peter Geye, Safe from the Sea. Ostensibly the story of reconciliation between father and son, the real star of the book is ominous Lake Superior and the colorful communities and people that cling to the lake's edges.

This is a short novel sprinkled with cultural references familiar to anyone who's spent some time in Duluth and on the North Shore. The names have been changed, but you can spend time at the Anchor Bar (transplanted to Canal Park), the Blue Water Cafe, Grand Marais itself (known here as "Gunflint", at the base of the "Brule Trail."), and the varied neighborhoods of Duluth's hillside.

The central story concerns Olaf, the aged survivor of a famous Lake Superior shipwreck, and his son Noah, who has moved to Boston and runs an antique map business. One of only three survivors, Olaf's life had been in decline ever since the wreck, threatening his family and his health. But he can't escape the pull of the lake, serving on the lakers for two more decades, never fully telling his story of the shipwreck. 

Noah meanwhile has not become fully a man himself. This generation gap between hard-working immigrant and class-conscious son has been plumbed to great depth by Garrison Keillor for comic effect, but this is the first time I've seen it done for northeastern Minnesota and with such serious intent. 

Author Peter Geye, 2/10/2010

The language is lovely, and some perfectly crafted and luminous sentences emerge from the page like a Lake Superior agate shows through cobblestones on the beach. The storyline is predictable; the book is even meant to be cataloged in libraries under "Prodigal Son (Parable)-Fiction." Yet the predictability makes it easier to follow the characters and their evolution.

The book could have been strengthened in two ways. One would have been to have a knowledgeable copy editor catch what were to me glaring factual mistakes. The doomed ship would not have been carrying "twelve tons" of taconite, as it often is stated, but twelve thousand. 

Second, it could have been an even better novella than a novel; there is a whole level of extraneous detail, from the press of a waitress' apron to a fascination with cinnamon rolls. Chop out the extra detail, focus on the main storyline, and this would be one tight novella.

Thanks to the folks at the North East Minnesota Book Awards for bringing attention to this book. It is obviously the product of love and admiration for Lake Superior, the North Shore, and the unique qualities of this region. 

A pirate ship on Lake Superior

It was a scene right out of Pirates of the Caribbean. The efficient crew of the salty ship left the harbor at first light and was seen sailing away into the sunrise. At 6:00 AM today, the BBC Orinoco slipped through the Duluth Lift Bridge and headed out to safety. No pirate attacks in this harbor.

The ship was the BBC Orinoco, and the crew had good reason to fear pirates...they and their good ship were attacked by pirates just six months ago, as they sailed the Arabian Sea. 

It's a great story. Pirates boarded the vessel. The crew retreated to their onboard citadel, where they were safe from the pirates, and called the Indian Navy. The Navy sent in commandos, rousted the pirates, and the ship was free to continue.

Here's a quote from Pakistan Defence:
At daybreak, the naval forces, which had arrived at the scene, commenced their actions. MARCOS slithered onto the merchant ship from a Sea King helicopter and took the crew, who were locked in compartments, to safety, while the helicopter provided air borne fire support. The merchantman was boarded by naval personnel and a thorough search is currently in progress. The ship will set course for its destination once the boarding party reports all clear. Although no pirates remain onboard, implements such as crow bar, knives etc., were found aboard the ship.

Plus the ship just drips with international intrigue. It's registered in Antigua. The crew is from the Ukraine and the Phillipines. It's owned by Germans. The name Orinoco is a river in Venezuela and Colombia, and is the subject of song from Irish singer Enya.

Godspeed, Orinoco!

The Presque Isle heads out...two boats in one!

The Presque Isle headed out onto Lake Superior this morning from the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. It's eerie to watch these ships emerge from behind the ice dunes that still line the beach. 

Presque isle is French for "almost an island." The boat is really "almost a boat." It's a combination of a barge and a "push tug," both with the same name. The tugboat part fits very neatly into the stern of the barge part, and both add up to a single unit over 1000 feet long. There are pictures of the two parts at Boatnerd.

Presque Isle is also the name of a town in Maine and one of the main rivers at Porcupine Mountains State Park on the Michigan shore of Lake Superior. 

Just another interesting bit of Lake Superior shipping!

Wandering over the fog with Casper David Friedrich

My morning walk along Lake Superior with the dog is normally pretty lonely and quiet. This morning, the sea smoke was roiling out of the open waters, rising higher in the crisp cold air than normal and hiding a saltie out at anchor. A tugboat slipped out of the ship canal and headed out toward the saltie. The tug boat sound its horn, an unusual sound for winter.

There was one other person on the beach this morning. I think it was Steve, a photographer and reporter for the Duluth paper. There we were, two writer/photographers looking through the fog for a story. Steve was walking over the mounds of ice by the water's edge. You couldn't see any open water, just a sea of fog.

Earlier this year I found an Edward Hopper painting, Rooms by the Sea,  while I was picnicking up at the McQuade Harbor. Today, I found a classic painting of the German painter Caspar David Friedrich. Der Wanderer Über dem Nebelmeer (The Hiker over the Fog Sea). "Fog Sea" was an apt description for Lake Superior this morning, and Steve was the perfect model.

Canal Park: Gorgeous and free

Great news, Duluth residents and fans of the REAL North Shore. You can come back to Canal Park now. Parking is free and plentiful. Park at a meter and pay nothing; it's after October 15th. 

The gulls have left the Marine Museum and are hanging dolefully on the South Pier. Virtually no need to fear gull droppings in your hair. The gates on the South Pier have been closed, but the North Pier, on the busy Canal Park side of the Canal, is still open for all.

And the late fall light is gorgeous, turning everything blue and aglow, like the Swedish flag.  

Get down here while it's gorgeous, before November storms and January ice turn it gray and treacherous. 

Deer season hike #1: Corundum Point

For the next two weeks, it will be deer season on the North Shore and throughout Minnesota. 500,000 hunters will take to the woods and do their part to reduce the voracious deer herd. Thank you, deer hunters: every deer you shoot leaves hundreds of white pines and cedar trees free to grow.

For the other three million Minnesotans who are not out deer hunting this week, the great outdoors is still open. Grab your blaze orange cap and vest and head on out.

Here's a great fall hike that's in a hunt-free zone: Split Rock Lighthouse State Park between Lake Superior and Highway 61. It's the three and a half mile hike to Corundum Point and back.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park surrounds...you guessed it...Split Rock Lighthouse. Since the lighthouse is so popular, many people forget about the expansive state park beyond. The park has the best, accessible lakeshore of any North Shore state park. There are miles of hiking trails. Split Rock's trails are particularly good for hiking in the fall, since the grass has been mowed back. Try to go on a cool morning, when the ground might still be frozen.

 

Turn off Highway 61 at mile marker 46, a few miles past Gooseberry Falls State Park. Pick up your state park vehicle permit at the park office. Then follow the signs to the park's trail center. Park the car here and head out.

You can follow the park's Hiking Club Trail signs all the way to Corundum Point. Basically, you're following whatever trail is closest to the lakeshore going west. You start going along Little Two Harbors Bay. Views of the lighthouse open up as you near the first point (first picture above). The trail enters the park's campground; you'll walk by most of the scenic lakeshore campsites.

The trail winds around the steep side of Day Hill, passes a rugged North Shore cobblestone beach, then reaches the spur trail up to Corundum Point.

Take the short spur trail to the top of Corundum Point. The trail gets rougher as you go; keep pushing on, since the view from the top is spectacular.

FYI, if you go to the park on November 10th, stay around for the annual lighting of the beacon, on the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Four saltie ships, four celestial surfers

Out in big broad Lake Superior, salties have been at anchor waiting for the fall harvest to come in to Duluth's grain elevators. Meanwhile, local surfers have been waiting for the swells to come in to Duluth's surf breaks. The surfers got theirs first. This morning there were four ocean-going ships and four stand-up surfboarders out on the lake behind our house. Something about that symmetry of four and four really captured my imagination, so I grabbed the camera to take some pictures.



The stand-up surfers were paddling out into the waves, turning and riding the waves back in. Their wetsuit-clad figures looked symbolic and eerie, like pictographs on the water; they stood so straight and their boards were hidden under the water line. If I had been a ancient Anishinabe and seen these guys, I would be sure they were gods, gliding over the lake's surface.



Another lovely, ethereal morning on the shores of Lake Superior.

Thrillin' to Agate Bay

Ah, Agate Bay! Was ever a North Shore landmark more aptly named? The name makes me think of gravelly grit slithering under the foaming lip of a wave, bits of glassy agate shards glistening, maybe a herring gull rookery and the smell of wet lichen.



But the real, the only, North Shore Agate Bay is a thrill of another kind. Agate Bay is one of the two bays that make up...wait for it...Two Harbors. It's not exactly wavelets and lichen, more like the industrial link between the Iron Range and Lake Superior.



I had the opportunity to guide a few out-of-towners out on the breakwater that runs from the tip of Lighthouse Point out into Agate Bay. It's a one-of-a-kind North Shore experience, and not one to try on a stormy day. The sides drop off precipitously into deep,clear and cold Lake Superior, and there's only a cable railing.



The views are spectacular, both down the North Shore toward Knife River and into the harbor, where you get a rare view of ore boats at the docks.

My guests, from the Mott Foundation in Flint, Michigan, were impressed and only a little scared. One travels all the time for work, mostly to South America, and took the opportunity to leg it out on the flats. The other was more cautious, concerned about the drop-offs, wind and waves. Shortly after this outing, they informed the folks I'm working for that they'd get another two years of North Shore environmental funding. It must have been the walk across Agate Bay that convinced them.

To reach this unique North Shore spot, follow the signs off of Highway 61 in Two Harbors to the lighthouse. It's a turn toward the lake at the Dairy Queen. The route gets a little funky in downtown Two Harbors and through the Depot area.

Poem for the Lift Bridge: Boat unnah hum

I caught the Great Lakes' largest boat, the Paul Tregurtha, coming through Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge yesterday afternoon. Our neighbor was there too, with her toddler Piper. "We love these boats," she said in that first-person plural parents of speechless toddlers use.

Watch out when these young boat fans start to talk for themselves. Our older son at age 2 loved to tell and retell the whole story of a boat going under the bridge, sound effects and all.

The Lift Bridge, to our toddlers who rode cars over it, was known as "the Hum Bridge" for the distinct sound of tires on metal grates. "Unnah" was "under." To ride in the stroller under a tree was to go "Unnah Doe."



Here's his recitation:

Boat unnah hum

Honk! Honk!

Ding Ding Ding.

Up up up up.

Boat unnah hum.

Man, those were the days! Now we can hardly get him to tell us anything, even with sound effects.

Hubris: Let the shipping season begin

In many springs, ice piles up at the western tip of Lake Superior, as the big ice pack breaks up and easterly storm winds smash it in. I don't know why, but I get a kick out of watching lake boats get stuck in that ice.

Yesterday was a classic display of shipping hubris. I define hubris as "pride before the fall." Or another definition: "guys about to do dumb things." Like George Bush right before the Iraq war. The captain of the Lee Tregurtha headed out yesterday morning. We can hear the horns of the ships and the bridge as the boats pass under the Lift Bridge. Sure enough, in a few minutes the boat came into view off our back yard. And then it stopped.

Ice is just water, right? We can stir the ice cubes in our water glass, why can't our huge ship move the ice chunks in the lake? Because the lake is the boss. Because you can't mess with months of cold weather turned to ice, and the shoving power of Lake Superior winds.

So the Coast Guard boat Alder comes out and tries to free the Tregurtha. For hours.



Then comes my favorite part: the Alpena comes out, a bit to the right of the Tregurtha, rams the ice, and gets stuck too.

It reminds me of guys trying to push a car out that is hopelessly stuck in a snowbank. Or guys trying to crush beer cans on their foreheads, just because other guys are doing it. It's like every comedy routine Chris Farley ever did. If one guy can't do it, let another dude try. And fail.

There are way better photos of the whole thing from the Duluth News-Tribune. It helped them to have an airplane.

Was it the Alder's mighty diesel engines that finally set them free? No, it was the wind, which shifted to the west and spread the ice floes back out. What nature has wrought, nature will undo.

Guys do dumb things all the time. In this case, no one got hurt, and we got to watch it all unfold. I like that.

Change your life at Split Rock

You heard it here first. Or maybe second. Big changes are planned for Highway 61, the North Shore's main corridor, in the Split Rock area. For fans of hiking, biking or just scenic viewing, the changes are welcome and overdue. Construction is planned for Spring 2010.

Above is the plan for reconstructing the facilities at the mouth of the Split Rock River. The parking lot on the west side of the river is one of the most popular trailheads for the Superior Hiking Trail. It's the start of the highly-used Split Rock River loop. On a busy summer or fall colors weekend, the lot fills to overflowing with cars and hikers are forced out onto Highway 61.

In the last few years, the parking lot is also being used for bikers on the Gitchi-Gami bike trail, across the highway. A beautiful new bike bridge crosses the river down below Highway 61.

To help you get your bearings, here's a photo from last summer of hikers headed west toward the new bike bridge:



Look closely at the plan, especially that thick gray line that wraps around the yellow parking lot. That's a bike/walk path that leads UNDER Highway 61 to join the bike trail down below. How cool is that? What better way to make crossing the highway safe again?

Another project a mile or so east will straighten out one of the last real curves on Highway 61 and make the historic wayside view point more special. The plan is hard to read like this, but note the thick curving gray line (that's the highway as it is now...the one place you really have to slow down to stay on the road now), and note the straight yellow line with two pieces dropping south. You'll leave the main road for a short stretch to get to the historic wayside, with its old stone wall and great view of the lighthouse. Now you will be able to enjoy the view without being concerned about the Monson trucks at your back.



No word yet if they will restore the historic baby bear cage.

There's a meeting tomorrow (February 12) in Beaver Bay at the community center to discuss the plan. Information is also online from MnDOT, including the maps I butchered.

A holiday gift from Lake Superior

We had a big storm over the weekend, including snow and wind nearly all the way through December 21, the winter solstice. The wind and cold drove the waves of Lake Superior, and those mighty forces gave us this beautiful ice arch, right out on the lake behind our house.

We love arches. We go to southern Utah almost every year to hike the slickrock desert country and find natural stone arches, both the famous and the remote. So what a treat to have an arch show up right at our home. Literally, we are the only family with a view right out through the window of the arch. I feel blessed.

Here it is this afternoon, Christmas Eve. In the background is the Roger Blough going out with a load of iron ore pellets:



So, thanks for the gift, Lake Superior. And to all those who happen to come across this blog, I'll pass this on as my gift to you. Happy Yule!

Art on the beach

The beach here on Minnesota Point is constantly changing. In the summer, the sand is carved by the waves, swept by the wind, and sculpted by the kids.

In the winter, Nature adds a few more tools and materials. Now the waves dapple the shore with drops and sprays of water that may turn to ice, or icicles. Now the snow drifts down the beach with the northwest breeze, filling holes, cresting into minor new dunes. Winter even practices the technique of negative space. Footprints from fresh after the snowfall, once depressions in the snow, are now all that's left as the snow that was there has blown away.



The evening light casts its alpenglow not on mountains but on distant waves and the lighthouse. Once blue, the waves are golden. Once white, the lighthouse is briefly yellow.

Seeking the light

We are all seeking beauty, and many of us seek to capture beauty in a photo's frame, to understand, to remember. Our photos become our memories. And when there are no photos to be our memories, we may make do with symbols.



It was a busy day at Split Rock Lighthouse last week for the annual Fitzgerald memorial ceremony. I attended the somber gathering at the lighthouse itself. Hearing the bells and the names brought that tragedy home.

Right after the ceremony, I booked down the hill not only to try my own camera out on this, but also to see the scene.

Perhaps 100 photographers lined the shoreline west of the lighthouse, ready for their once-a-year chance to shoot the North Shore landmark with its lights on. This year had a little extra challenge for the lenses and f-stops: a waxing, near full moon up above the lighthouse.



In the low light, a tripod was critical. I didn't have a tripod. But I got a shot or two by resting the camera on a beach rock. As the Fresnel lens spun slowly around and the light turned toward me, I gently pressed the shutter release and held my breath for an exposure of at least a second.



In these beautiful places, I leave the beautiful photography to those people who know what they're doing (like they bring tripods, for example). These people with tripods are honoring the mariners of the Fitz too, just like the people at the bell-ringing ceremony. The lighthouse represents the hope for the sailors. Photographers and sailors' souls are all seeking the light.

The light at Split Rock

It was a beautiful evening at Split Rock Lighthouse this Monday. The lake was calm, glowing and smooth. The moon rose stealthfully in the eastern sky. People were smiling, telling stories, faces lit. The fact that it had been 33 years to the day since the Edmund Fitzgerald had passed by a dark Split Rock Light on its way to its destiny seemed novel, out of place.

A ship passed by in the distant shipping lane, under the waxing moon.


Then they began to read the names and toll the bell. 29 times. Plus one with no name, for all the other mariners who have perished on Lake Superior.



Lake Superior has claimed her dead and tucked them into dark places for eternity. Tonight, however, we were alight and alive.