Superior Hikes and Black Fly Bites

(2024 Heartland Ep 7)

We left the North Shore Scenic Drive and Grand Portage behind and crossed the border into Canada, looking forward to nine nights at several provincial parks and a national park on the north shore of Lake Superior.  It would prove to be a memorable experience in several ways.

Letting the Sleeping Giant Lie

After a restful night at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, we undertook an ambitious hike to the top of the sleeping giant the next morning. 

Minutes after starting out we were SWARMED by black flies.  We hastily pulled out the Deep Woods Off, spraying it generously on our legs, hands and faces (we were wearing long sleeve shirts thankfully). 

The bug juice helped…some.

In all our travels we experienced worse bugs only one time – last summer when driving to Chena Hot Springs in Alaska.  When we stopped to take a short hike, the mosquitoes were so bad we got back in our truck and kept going!

That wasn’t an option this time, so we kept moving, swishing and swatting as we moved along. 

We hiked up and down a series of hills for nearly three miles and came to a junction with two trails to the top of the giant.  We were told one trail was extremely steep and the other was slightly longer but not nearly as steep.  We chose the second one.

The trail narrowed and followed a small creek.  We crossed the creek several times, hopping across rocks attempting to keep our feet dry.  The trail was very steep in places and at mile five, we reached the final junction to the trail to the top.  Ahead was a boulder field that we would have to scramble to keep going.

^{Stopped by a boulder field and steep climb!}

We were covered with bug bites and already weary from the hike, so we let the sleeping giant lie and turned back. :<(

The World’s Richest Silver Mine                   

We finally reached the parking lot, climbed into our truck and drove to Silver Islet, a small town near the park.  We were in search of something to comfort our sore feet and aching muscles. 

At Silver Islet General Store, we purchased a couple of their ‘famous’ cinnamon buns (review below) and learned about the Silver Islet mine.

In 1868, a silver vein was discovered on a barren rock just offshore from the store.  A mine shaft more than 1000 feet beneath the ice waters of Lake Superior was constructed, and more than $3.25 million (nearly $75 million today) in silver was extracted before the mine was closed in 1884.  It was the richest silver mine in the world at the time.

Later, we redeemed ourselves a bit with a shorter hike to the Sea Lion formation on the edge of Lake Superior.  The formation, which resembled a sea lion at one time, was formed by an intrusion of molten rock through thick layers of sedimentary rock.

1000 Kilometers Deep?

The next morning, we followed a RabbiTRAIL to Ouimet Canyon, a provincial park not far from Sleeping Giant.  The canyon is an impressive gorge, cut into the rock of Lake Superior’s northern shore by ice, wind and rain.  

A sign at one of the canyon viewing platforms claims it is more than 1000 kilometers to the canyon’s bottom.

Although the actual depth is about 100 meters, the sign refers to the climate at the canyon’s bottom.  The steep canyon walls protect the bottom from sun and weather, and Arctic plants found there closely resemble those at Hudson Bay, nearly 1000 kilometers to the north!

We found the rugged 150 meter wide and two kilometer long canyon to be quite stunning!

Rainbow Falls

Our bug bites began to heal, and we continued our journey along Lake Superior arriving at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.  The park is named for a series of waterfalls that flow across colorful rock layers to Lake Superior. 

We hiked a couple trails to several beautiful vistas of the lake.  Although the bugs were not as bad as at Sleeping Giant, Pat did not take any chances.  She wore a head covering that protected her from the bugs any time she was outside the camper!

At the end of one hike we had our first close encounter with a Tesla Cybertruck.  The EV is as large as Percy, our pickup.  We wondered about the vehicle’s range and the location of the closest charging station!

Cinnamon Bun Review

The Silver Islet General Store doesn’t ice their buns – they sprinkle them with sugar.  We were told this is ‘eastern’ style.  The buns resembled coiled biscuits which made them a little dry.  They had good cinnamon flavor however.

Our preference is iced buns with pillowy (raised?) dough.

Score – 3 out of 5.  Braeburn Lodge has nothing to be worried about.           

Next Week

A POW camp and leg injury – our Lake Superior park travels continue.