Lake Superior Pancake Bay

It was a marathon day driving here in part because I stopped at Old Woman Bay and Katherine’s Cove to explore and walk the beaches.  At Katherine’s Cove there was only an older couple on the beach sitting on a bench.  When I got back they were gone but had left a bouquet of flowers on the shore.  It was a photo op but also a story I won’t know.  

This is Group of Seven Country and every stop I made claims them as their own.  Apparently they had a box car fitted up like an olden days RV. For several summers they travelled through this area stopping off on railway sidings when they found a good site. 

Algoma was my friend McConnell’s territory when he was director of CAS. He said it was as big as France, would take two days to drive through and every mile was beautiful.  He was so right.  He has been riding with me today reminding me of the stories he told of his years here.  When it was time to find a campsite I had been spoiled by the day parks and felt like goldilocks. The campgrounds were too noisy, sites were too small or too open. When I finally arrived the park staff said I could pick my own site but recommended 229.  It was a good choice, right on the lake and well treed.  It was also just behind the camp hosts site. 

Sometimes I wonder what people are seeing when they meet me.  While I was at Quetico I was talking to 2 young park staff about the trails.  I said I wanted to go on the Frenchman’s portage.  They looked at each other then looked at me and said they couldn’t recommend it for me.  It was too rugged.  When they described it, three hours of up and down with lots of big rocks I understood it would be hard alone but I don’t expect others to agree with me from the get go.  I don’t feel old and don’t think I look frail but I get the feeling people are making these assumptions about me or at the least trying to protect me from myself.  Maybe I should just be grateful.

At any rate, Pancake Bay is a long narrow campground on the side of the highway but the sites on the lake are quiet and listening to the sound of the waves is like being by the ocean.  The fog had followed me on and off all the way down from Rossport and in the evening crept in here too.  I didn’t mind, walked the beach, rode my bike, had a great shower and sat on the shore watching the waves til dark. 

Lake Superior Pancake Bay Day 2

This little guy was on his first day camping.

In the morning the fog lifted and there was a beautiful sunrise. Only myself and another old guy were up to see it.  Soon after the clouds rolled in and it started to rain.  I was going to go to Killarney to meet up with Ray and Nancy but the weather there was worse so I decided to have a ‘be good to me day’ and stay put.  When I went to register I noticed the campground had emptied out. The park rangers had time and were helpful in giving me ideas of where to go on the way to Huntsville and Algonquin. 

It has been lovely day.  I’ve worked on photos, read, walked between showers (which turned out to be a walk in the rain) and I am grateful for this chance to slow down a bit. The skies opened up around dinner time and a beautiful rainbow went from the shore out across the lake.  I walked for almost 2 hours along the beach.  It seems endless, well maybe 5 km.