At 8:30 we set out to hike to the Edmund Fitzgerald Lookout. The ship Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a terrible storm in 1975. The storm was so fierce the ship broke in half! Looking at Pancake Bay, it is hard to imagine. Canadian singer, Gordon Lightfoot, wrote a great song about the incident.
The hike is rated moderate for a 4-mile out and back hike gaining 383’ for 1.5 hrs. We made it two hours by spending 30 minutes or more at two lookouts at the top. The walk is through a pretty forest with lots of Canada’s native birds – the mosquito. We didn’t have any bug spray and didn’t wear a bug suit. We were the first to the top where there are two beautiful overlooks of Lake Superior and Pancake Bay.
Turkeytail mushrooms
After sharing an apple, we headed back down. What makes it a moderate hike are all the roots and muddy areas, so you must watch every step. Several muddy areas had slippery logs to walk across. Happily, we made it back down, and I was dripping in sweat. It was chilly when we started and I stupidly had on a cotton T-shirt and a cotton fishing shirt – bad choices as it heated up. Many hikers has on shorts and T-shirts. The national birds are going to have a good time.
Back at camp, we had lunch and took a 30-minute nap. At 74 degrees and sunny, we opted for an hour or so on the beach. There was a little bit of a breeze, but a perfect beach day really. Not that it was crowded yesterday, but there were fewer people today. We explored an atlas-like book of southeast Ontario. I had this book from 12 years ago, and it still proved helpful. It boggles the mind to look at all the lakes and rivers in Canada, and to comprehend how it was explored and mapped, mostly by canoe.
Looking at the maps, we noticed the trans-Canada hiking trail, as well as a lot of long distance hiking trails. There are hundreds, probably thousands of canoe trails with campsites along all over the place. A train travels through parts of this, and people load their canoe and gear on the train, getting dropped at their destination. I can only imagine!
We did two loads of laundry at the Sault Ste. Marie KOA before hooking up. Bill and Joan have everything you could ever need at this campground, including a trailer wash, and it’s all in top shape. We did our grocery shopping yesterday, and filled up with gas. It’s not like we are going into the wilderness, but we will be in provincial parks for the next five weeks.
It is only 40 miles to Pancake Bay Provincial Park, and check in isn’t until 2:00, but first a visit to McCauley’s Motel in Havilland Bay. We were lucky to get right through the construction area, which saved us 30 minutes. Although I paid $8 for a little magazine for the “Lake Superior Circle Tour,” it lacks in detail. We passed beautiful Chippawa Waterfall right beside the road with no turnout or warning. Then there was a fabulous view of Lake Superior with mountains in the background, but there was no scenic overlook. I will have to be more alert and quicker on our next drive.
Pulling into McCauley’s Motel, so many memories came back to me. Kelly had seen a fishing show on TV where Ady was advising the fishermen where to go. We parked next to the spot Ady had let us camp for 5 days for free. We had a very large decal made by Mike Chanail with “Fish Across Canada” below. Ady said it would be good advertising for him. It was a famous fly shop, run by one of the great characters and gentlemen of fishing. He had it all; maybe a hundred rods hanging from the ceiling, a huge supply of flies that he tied himself (“What else am I going to do in winter?”), a whole wall of fly-tying materials, reels and so much more. It was just fun to wander up and down the isles. Kelly describes this well in his book, If the Fish are Bit’n, which you may still be able to find on Amazon. Ady helped us so much, telling us where to go and what to use. Later on the trip, we would call him to tell him where we were and what we were doing.
We knew Ady had passed away, but with some vestige of hope, we walked toward the building. A lady called out to us, “Can I help you?” She was very nice, telling us the motel and all had changed three times just since she had worked there 8 years ago. The fly shop was now part of the motel, where groups could stay. The restaurant was only open for dinner, but is very busy, and the motel stays booked all the time. She didn’t know anything about Ady or the fly shop or where everything went. I gave her (Theresa) my card in case she heard anything about where Ady’s merchandise went. She said two McCauley sisters still lived in town, so she would ask around. She suggested a place for lunch as we headed out. Martha took a picture of Theresa and me wearing my treasured Misty Mountain Fly Shop hat.
Greg and Teresa
the old Misty Mountain Fly Shop
We stopped at Theresa’s recommended place, The Voyageur’s General Store, and ordered whitefish tacos, which were delicious, and came with a huge order of French fries. Next door we bought one of their famous apple fritters. Even with splitting everything, it was more than we could eat.
It was too early to check into Pancake Bay, but we tried it anyway. A nice young lady checked us in, telling us how to get to our site. It is a huge campground, and it was full. It was full when I booked it four months ago, but I took a spot way in the back. Baking into the site, I struggled to navigate with trees blocking me in front. Finally I got to a reasonable spot only to discover a muddy place next to the trailer. We decided to put the trailer on top of the muddy spot, but that some wiggling too.
Pancake Bay PP. Site 6. A little muddy
After setting up, we chilled for a while, then went down to the bay to see what it was all about. It was a huge 3.2 km. C-shaped, white sand beach. Kids were playing in the shallow water. One had already mastered his paddle board. People were playing corn hole and some other game where they bounce a ball off a small trampoline-like ring. With a perfect 73 degree, sunny day, many were just sunning themselves or reading a book beneath their umbrella.
Pancake Bay
Really, really clear water
We decided to walk to the point on west side of the beach. After walking 30 minutes to the point, it was clear why this was such a popular place. It is one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. Beautiful, soft sand with some smooth, round rocks for decoration, crystal clear water and shallow depth add up to enjoyable conditions. Shallow depths allow the water to warm in the sun, so I decided to test it. It wasn’t a hot day and the water was chilly. I came to a drop off and took the plunge. It was quite refreshing, so I did it a couple more times before wading back out. There wasn’t much wind, so I didn’t have to dry off. It all adds up to pretty perfect conditions with gorgeous scenery.
It’s next to impossible to get a campsite in Anastasia State Park to the east of St. Augustine. Only Jane B knows how to get it done! Although we love North Beach Campground, we drove over to Anastasia to check it out. The campground is excellent, and there are two main attractions – the beach and a big lake. It is also nice being close to St. Augustine. We went for a long walk on the huge, flat, peaceful beautiful beach, where there are no houses or hotels for four miles. The alternate mode of travel was the bicycle, or even better, an electric bike with fat tires. This is one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. I can’t imagine what it is like in warmer months.
On the way back to town, I stopped at a car wash and washed my filthy truck. We stopped at Ace Hardware for a new thermometer for the outside of the trailer. Then we met Sandra and Ruff at O’Steen’s Restaurant for lunch. We have eaten there before, and it is truly unique. They are always busy, with lines outside. We checked in and sat on the bench outside. I asked a fellow, who looked the part, which bike was his. He said the red one. It’s bike week, and they had enjoyed the ride up from Daytona for lunch at O’Steen’s. I sat next to a young man who rode a different kind of bike – a bicycle – with his grandfather. Four ladies were dressed nicely and had obviously been here many times before, as the the lady keeping track of the line knew their names. We were still sitting when they came out from having their lunch, toting little leftover boxes. I offered to buy one, but got no takers.
From last year
After serious study and debate, we all ordered the lightly battered and butterflied shrimp. They also have great vegetables and hush puppies. It’s where we learned about Datil sauce, made from local Datil peppers.They are great shrimp! Great service, great food at a good price. It’s on my favorites list.
