Soo Superior

Lake Superior holds 13% of the world's fresh water - more than 1/8.  That is mind boggling.  It is the largest of the great lakes and has wave heights of 20 to 30 feet during storms.  Its depth is 733 feet below sea level.  It is fed by more than 200 rivers and drains into Lake Huron through St. Mary's River.  The lake is 25 feet higher than Lake Huron, thus locks are required to avoid the rapids.

From Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario you look across at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.  Thunder Bay is on the opposite end of the Lake, being about seven and a half hours from Sault.  Lake Superor borders Ontario on the Canadian side and Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin on the American side.  The Lake Superior Circle Tour is 2,100 kilometres long (1,300 miles) and some motorcyclists take a couple of weeks to navigate around the whole lake. 

Lake Superior living is not for the faint of heart.  I hiked a bit of the Gros Cap Loop Trail, although need to return in the summer for better access.  The vistas from the bluffs are awe-inspiring, but you are aware at all times of the danger of the water and the rugged terrain surrounding the lake.  Anyone who lives on Lake Superior is hardy by nature.  Wood stoves, unpassable roads in winter, ice everywhere, a complete lack of people, and barren woods are the norm.  As you walk, you can easily hearken back to pioneer days when the living was more difficult, particularly in remote areas.  This is still a remote area, despite being only a few minutes outside of Sault Ste. Marie.  I encountered a total of ten vehicles - all trucks - and saw two people outside during my two hours of exploration.  If you are seeking solitude, Lake Superior is for you.

Gordon Lightfoot wrote The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald to commemorate the sinking of the ship in 1975 near Whitefish Point, an area known as the graveyard of the Great Lakes.  All 29 crewmen died and no bodies were ever recovered. Unlike most bodies of water where the bodies eventually float to the surface, Lake Superior's cool temperature keeps them underwater.  There are numerous wrecks on the bottom, with the challenge for scuba divers that the lake is so deep you cannot access them without commercial diving equipment.

Swimming in Lake Superior is only comfortable in August when the maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) is reached.  There are many places still to see, including Pancake Bay and Batchawana Bay, both on my TO DO list.  For now, I was delighted to be struck by the sheer size and power of the lake as viewed from the bluffs.  Definitely worth a return trip in August when we can swim in the world's largest freshwater lake...hopefully with more than just cadavers for company.