I was on the fence about going around the north side of Lake Superior, or about venturing through the UP. I have seen most of the UP east of Marquette a number of times. While I would like to venture further west, living in Michigan, I figured I could do that any time. So it was kind of on a whim that I decided to make the trip go around the north side of the lake, and I'm really glad I did.
The border crossing took a little while. There was a long line of cars at the Canada side of the bridge. Having a car full of stuff, and never crossed the border as an adult before, I didn't know what to expect. They did ask me to speak with an immigrations officer, which I was assured was totally normal for people entering the country the first time.
And that was fine. The longest/worst part was the waiting. I sat and waited for probably a half an hour before someone finally talked to me, and she said she had just assumed I was with the guy next to me and sorry to leave me waiting. The interview was short, basically just repeating what I had told the guy at the window outside, and that was it. They did a very brief vehicle search, I think just to make sure my story added up (I was going camping, I'd be in Canada less than a week, and I was going on a longer road trip) and I didn't have any weapons within arms reach. He opened a few containers, moved some things around, and that was it.
Right away I was put into a different head space, being in a different country, and that was the intent. Kilometers? Why are the gas prices 111.9? The road striping is a little different (but in a good way?), I was hearing the occasional person speaking french, their moose crossing signs are hilarious -- it looks like the moose is charging out into the highway. But a lot of the familiar chains were there. Their Walmart "Supercenters" are smaller than an average one in the US, but whatever. It's different, but not that different. Big trucks with flags attached to the back of them is apparently a thing there, too.
O, Canada!
Just outside of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the Lake Superior shoreline was already giving me goosebumps. I have seen and been in Superior many times, and the Pictured Rocks area is no joke -- but this was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It honestly reminded me of pictures I've seen of other rocky shores in Europe. The lake is so big that it looks like an ocean, and there are huge rock formations, the shoreline is rocky and hilly, there are pieces of land jutting out into the water, islands, etc. I'm kicking myself for not stopping and getting pictures even of that, but I think the rest of the drive made up for it.
Driving through the Lake Superior Provincial Park was probably the most picturesque, and not coincidentally where I was stopping often and taking pictures. It seemed like every few miles (kilometers) there was something new to stop and take a look at. (I'll insert a big gallery with all or most of my Ontario highlights at the end of the post.)
All of the Trans-Canada Highway that I was on was great. Smooth roads, although I had to stop for construction several times, and you can tell a lot of people make it a goal of theirs to do the whole thing. I saw many other travelers, mostly Canadian but an occasional American plate. Cars, motorcycles, bikes. Actually quite a few people on bikes. I met a guy at the first rest stop I slept at who was riding from Quebec City to Vancouver.
It's interesting how different many of the parks I've been to already have been from Michigan State Parks. There is very little hand-holding. The first stop I made, a pretty good sized waterfall on the side of the highway, didn't have any guardrails or stairs or anything. You were allowed to go wherever you wanted. Out onto the rocks in the middle of the river, even. Seems like a very much Don't Be Stupid attitude, and I have to say, I like it. I'm sure these parks don't see as many people as some of the Michigan ones do. But, fewer accommodations, too. (More on that when I get to Sleeping Giant.)
Somewhere along the way, I think when I first came into Thunder Bay, I heard a mother and daughter having a conversation. It started out in French, then the daughter replied in English. And they continued conversing like that, understanding each other but still speaking the language they were most comfortable with. Never witnessed that before.
And of course, Canadian accents. Any Canadian who says they don't sound how we (Americans) think they sound is in denial. It was immediately perceptible. No, it wasn't "Eh" at the end of ever sentence. It's subtle. Different "So"s even. And the "Yah." Two different times I found myself in conversations and caught myself drifting into it. I was already aware that I do this a bit, but yeah. I was sounding proper Canadian. Put me on a hockey broadcast, I'm ready.
I stayed in Thunder Bay longer than anticipated, but mostly due to terrible/non-existent planning and lots of indicision. I criss-crossed the town several times, then backtracked way further than I should have when I went to Sleeping Giant. In all I probably put on an unnecessary 100+ miles just in that area. But lesson learned -- and that's a subject for another post.
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park was a place I wanted to go while I was doing research, but I didn't plan it well. I passed it on the way into Thunder Bay, because I wasn't ready to go when I first passed. I thought "Oh, I'll camp tomorrow." Well, tomorrow came and by the time it was noon I still wasn't ready or hadn't made up my mind. Wasn't until about 3pm that I decided I was going to do it. Took an hour to get back to the park, I took probably an hour packing up my backpack to walk in (6.5 kilos/~4 miles to my eventual campsite). I didn't end up sitting down or relaxing until almost 8.
I only paid for one night of camping. I probably should have done two. But I figured I would hike some of the trails the next day, head out, still have time to check out some of the sights, and then move on from Thunder Bay. Well, I was wrong.
The hiking was really intense, my brain wasn't converting km to miles very well, and even less well into time. I wanted to take one of the trails that went to the top of The Giant, walk part of the shoreline, and come back. Well, two hours into hiking and I wasn't even half way done with what I intended on doing that day. I eventually bumped into three people, they kind of asked my plan and where I was headed, and immediately seemed worried/doubtful. I had clearly over estimated what I could get done in a day. They said I probably could have done what I wanted to, but I wouldn't be back to my camp site until 8, 9, or 10. (Oh, and I had to be out of the park by 10 o'clock.) By then I was already low on water, only brought one snack, and the hiking was so severe (and I was alone), that I was legitmately concerned I might hurt myself, especially as fatigue set in.
Honestly, as soon as they left me I felt really embarrassed. Unprepared and unrealistic. I'm sure they didn't dwell on our conversation the way I did, but I felt like a dummy. I hiked up a little further before realizing even an abbreviated version of what I wanted to do was more than I had bargained for that day, so I turned around and walked the same route I had taken back to my campsite. I considered going for a brief swim -- but I had honestly tired myself out already, it had cooled down, and I had to soon pack up my stuff and walk out. So the nice little beach my tent was 10 feet from was sadly mostly wasted.
My legs are finally starting to feel normal. My feet feel a lot better, but my lower legs are still achy from all the hills.
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My re-entry into the US, which I was actually told several times would be more complicated, wasn't. It was basically "Do you have anything bad?" "I have some oatmeal." "Welcome back." Slightly paraphrased.
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Pictures
A lot of these got out of order as I uploaded them. I fixed some, but really can't be bothered with the rest. Sorry. They're all pretty. http://imgur.com/a/e9EQm
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