7 August 2016, Sunday

After breakfast we drive a short distance north on route 17 to Old Woman Bay. There we find a plaque commemorating Bill Mason, paddler, artist, poet and advocate for this beautiful land. It was his film, Path of the Paddle, that first got me excited about paddling. It was from one of his books that O got the model for his otter tail paddle. Many of his award winning films were made nearby.

The wind is already kicking up a few whitecaps on the water as we begin our hike up a granite ridge overlooking the bay. It is said that one can see the face of Nokomis, grandmother of the Ojibwe people in the rocks of the cliff rising from Lake Superior across the bay.

After our hike we picnic near the beach and then drive south to Gargantua Road which winds from 17 down to Lake Superior over 14 km of rough gravel road. We are hoping to hike to Rhyolite Cove along the Superior hiking trail. Unfortunately, the drive is slow-going and by the time we find the trail, it is too late to make it to the cove and back before dark. Instead, we elect to return to camp for showers and laundry and return tomorrow to attempt the hike. This is supposed to be the most challenging section of the multi-day Superior hiking trail.

Back at Rabbit Blanket Lake the showers and laundry room are unoccupied. Soon we and our clothes are clean. Our dinner is tortellini with chicken and mushroom sauce, accompanied by tomatoes and wine. And now, content, we are sitting on our rock watching the golden evening sun on the trees across the lake.