Cruising on Salty Paws: Gichionimgamiing to the Apostle Islands

Paddling through one of the Apostle Islands Sea Caves

Minnesota's Split Rock Lighthouse

The western edge of Lake Superior is Minnesota. This rugged coastline is mostly straight, characterized by cliffs and high bluffs. These are the foothills of the Sawtooth Mountains and further inland are the Iron Mountains, so-named as it has been the USA’s major source of iron ore for over a century.

“There are few natural harbors along this rugged coast. Our Minnesota stops included Grand Portage, Grand Marais, Silver Bay and Duluth.

Grand Portage license plate

Our first US stop after being in Canada was Grand Portage. This town is in the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, home to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (another name for the Ojibwe). The Ojibwe name of the reservation is Gichionimgamiing as shown on the license plates of residents. Gichigami is the word for Lake Superior.

The words on the bottom of the license plate, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, are a sad reminder of the high rates of violence against Native people and a tool to raise public awareness and and increase investigative funding for missing and murdered indigenous people. The red handprint is universally recognized as the silencing of indigenous voices and the ongoing fight against injustices.

Replica of 36' Ojibwe canoe that could carry 12 paddlers,
their gear and 4 tons of furs from Grand Portage to Montreal.

Grand Portage is home to the Grand Portage National Monument, a reconstructed fur trading post and the 8.5 mile portage footpath that was used by the Ojibwe and French-Canadian voyageurs to bypass the rapids and bring goods and furs between the boundary waters and Lake Superior.

The Ojibwe and the fur traders both prospered from the lucrative trade thru much of the 1700s. Everything changed in 1803, however, when the border between the US and Britain/Canada was settled to be the Pigeon River, just north of Grand Portage. The British North West Company moved its fur operation north to remain in British territory and avoid American taxes.

The Spirit Tree

While in Grand Portage, we heard a lot about the Spirit Tree, a cedar sacred to the Ojibwe. The tree was referenced by a French explorer in 1731, and now can only be seen by a non-tribal member when accompanied by a member of the local band. I spoke to the security officer at the local casino, and two hours later Eric Reddick, an Ojibwe, led Ron, Dick and me to the tree.

The tree is only 15 feet tall and seems to grow right out a rock. Eric noted that the tree might be as old as 1,000 years although published estimates put it at 300-400 years old. The path leading to it is lined with small offerings tied with red ribbons. We all made our own offering. Mine was both thanks and a wish for continued good weather and smooth seas.

Eric Reddick, our Ojibwe guide

We talked with Eric for two hours, covering multiple topics including the percentage of blood to be classified as a tribal member. To paraphrase Eric, at one time a drop of African blood was used to increase the slave population, and now a high percentage requirement will lead to the eventual extermination of his Ojibwe band. Eric is 3/8 Ojibwe, but his child with his non-Ojibwe spouse is only 3/16 Ojibwe, below the 1/4 threshold set by the larger Ojibwe bands in Minnesota. Grand Portage band has only 1,000 members compared to the over 50,000 members in the other bands.

The Silver Bay Marina is a great
marina, but the town is 2 miles away.

Our travels down the western Lake Superior shore included two stops in harbors of refuge - Grand Marais, a very nice tourist town; and Silver Bay, a beautiful marina not close to anything else. Our last Minnesota stop was the delightful harbor town of Duluth.

Duluth and its sister Wisconsin city of Superior once were the 2nd largest port in the United States. They now rank 20th as shipments of coal will drop to zero after this year, and iron ore and grain volumes have declined. At the same time, Duluth has become a very livable city with wonderful parks, a 7-mile beach, great restaurant choices and a strong boating community.

While in Duluth we were thrilled to see the 1,000-foot Indiana Harbor enter the harbor under the Aerial Bridge. The next day we took a harbor tour and saw the same ship docked at a large pier to receive its cargo of taconite pellets.

Our questions remained - why taconite pellets, and what does it look like? Answers came in our visits to the Maritime Visitors Center and a tour of the museum cargo ship William A. Irvin,

Iron Ore

Natural iron ore has from 30% to 65% iron and was discovered in Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range in the 1880s. For the next 75 years or so only high-grade ore, 60% or more iron, was mined as it could be scooped directly out of the ground and sent directly to blast furnaces. By the late 1940s the demands of world wars and industrialization had depleted almost all the high-grade ore. America's mining and steel industries were in danger of collapsing.

Left behind in the mining pits was taconite, a hard rock containing no more than 30% iron and considered useless waste since it could not be processed in the blast furnaces. Dr. Edward W. Davis, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, and his team spent decades to find a way to make taconite economically useful.

Taconite Pellets

The taconite rock is crushed and ground into a powder, and then magnets are used to separate the iron-rich material from the waste rock. The resulting iron concentrate is combined with a binding agent, traditionally clay, and rolled into marble-sized balls. The balls are then baked at very high temperatures to make them hard enough to withstand shipping and handling. The finished taconite pellets contain about 65% iron. Newer pellets use improved binders and processing to increase iron content and reduce impurities.

Now there is a boat I like in Corny!

After two days in Duluth we headed east, now along the southern shore of Lake Superior. Our first stop was Cornucopia, affectionately known as Corny. We had a great lunch at the Fish Shed, hiked to Siskiwit Falls and enjoyed the little harbor town.

Dick, Ellen, Molly and Bill in our
Bayfield lodging. Salty Paws
isn't big enough to sleep four!

Then we reached the Apostle Islands and Bayfield, the center of boating in the area. My wife, Molly, and Dick's wife, Ellen, joined us here for the Rosborough Apostle Islands Rendezvous. Erik and Paula Scott did a fantastic job of organizing the 4-day event and suggesting options for side trips.

The Apostle Islands are the most popular boating area on Lake Superior, and much of the activity begins and ends in Bayfield, Wisconsin's smallest incorporated city. Bayfield reminds me of a small aversion of Bar Harbor, ME. The city is known for its sailing culture, Victorian architecture, quaint shops, restaurants and being the gateway to the Apostle Islands.

The Rosborough community gathered in Bayfield

There is not a better place to host the Rosborough gathering, and I thank Erik and Paula Scott for their hard work to make it happen. Our 4-days of activities included two dinners, a breakfast, a presentation from the Executive Director of the Friends of the Apostle Islands, activity choices ranging from kayaking to fishing to a concert and more, and a group cruise to Stockton Island for an overnight at the dock or anchoring.

Here are six Rosboroughs at the Bayfield City Dock. There were a total of 11 boats in the Rendezvous.

Salty Paws heading out of Bayfield with Dick preparing the stern, Ellen on the bow and Bill at the helm.

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore includes 22 islands, 21 of which are in the National Lakeshore. They also feature 9 lighthouses, 60 or so campsites, over 50 miles of trails, 12 public docks, 3 quarries, an old fish camp and old farms.

Dick paddling at Sand Island

What really stands out, however, are the sea caves. The northern shore of Lake Superior is made up of hard igneous and metamorphic rock while the southern shore is the much softer sedimentary rocks, mostly sandstone. Waves, wind and repeated freeze-thaw cycles wear down the sandstone creating caves and various rock outcroppings and formations.

Here are some pictures from our islands visits and the rendezvous.

Sand Island

Sea Caves at Sand Island

Eagle

2-mile boardwalk in progress at Sand Is.
to allow wheelchair access.

Bill, Dick and Ron on top of Sand Is. Light

Devil's Island

Molly and I along with Ellen and Ron kayaked around Devil's Island while Dick got a tour of the boat by the captain.

A few of the many sea caves on Devil's Island

Manitou Island

Volunteer Les greeted us at the dock on Manitou Island. He is spending 11 weeks there this year to tell people about the fish
camp. At times, he doesn't see any people for up to three days.

Manitou fish camp. At one time in the past, there were dozens of commercial fish camps around the Apostle Islands.

Dick, Ron and I hiked to the beach on Manitou Island.

Basswood Island

Brownstone quarry on Basswood Island. Stone from this quarry and others was used to rebuild Chicago after the
Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and, before the introduction of steel, was the popular building material in the Midwest.

Raspberry Island