James’s Blog

I’m seriously thinking about another Lake Superior trip this summer. The trip will be 7-10 days. Here are some ideas.

First choice: Isle Royale National Park.

Park info: Maps are here.
User fee: $4 per person per day.
Camping permits: Individual parties, 1-6 people, will receive their backcountry permit onboard the National Park Service ship the Ranger III or when they arrive on the Island at the Rock Harbor or Windigo Visitor Center. There are no fees associated with this permit. There is a $25 group camping processing fee for each permit issued to a group, 7-10 people. Groups must reserve their campsites in advance of their trip.
Lodging: Rock Harbor Lodge is the only place on the island. $190-310 per night.

Getting there: Drive from Chicago to Houghton, MI (7.5 hours), then take Ranger III to Isle Royale.
Ranger III fare: One-way fare $54; Group rates (7 or more) $47
Ragner III schedule:
June 2 through September 13
Houghton to Rock Harbor on Tuesdays and Fridays, departing Houghton at 9:00 a.m. EDT
Rock Harbor to Houghton on Wednesdays and Saturdays, departing Rock Harbor at 9:00 a.m. EDT.
The leisurely ride to Isle Royale takes 6 hours.
Houghton Lodging: Super8 Motel. About $75 per night.

What to do: 4-7 days of backpacking, the rest dayhiking/kayaking/canoeing.
List of rental prices is here; about $30-40 per day.
National park page of other activities.
Detailed hiking itinerary will be decided later, but I’m thinking about a trans-island hike (30-40 miles one way).

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Second choice: Pukaskwa National Park. I have been there before, but would like to hike the whole Coastal Trail this time.

Park info: Maps are here.
Fees are listed here. About CAD 6 per day, capping at 5 days.
Frontcountry camping: about CAD 23 to 25 per site night.
Backcountry camping: about CAD 9 per person per night, capping at 7 nights.

Getting there: Drive from Chicago to Maraton, ON (12.5 hours). Then take a “water taxi” to the trailhead. This will probably be pretty expensive; details available at National Park.

What to do: 6-8 days of backpacking on the Coastal Trail (about 60 km). Here’s a rough trail map with vastly underestimated hiking time. Possible to visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore during the same trip.

Ever since Yen and I found the sheep head at a meat counter in a Chinatown grocery store, it seems like sheep-themed stories are all around us. First there is the upcoming New Zealand horror movie Black Sheep, then there are all those controversies with the gay sheep studies. I suppose it’s only natural that someone wrote a story from the gay sheep’s perspective. I cannot get over the following paragraph:

Finally, my dad found me with Rick, and he flew into a blind rage, yelling that he had no son, and that if I was lucky I’d end up as a cheap Peruvian cardigan worn by a truck-stop hooker in Alaska. And so I ran away, and I went wild. I experimented with everyone and everything. Bulls. Mules. Duck, duck, goose. I found out exactly why they’re called the Three Little Pigs. Call me Old McDonald, because I had the farm. I even made some adult films, and maybe you’ve heard of them: “Wet Wool,” “Lassie, Come Here,” and the mega-selling “Hoof and Mouth.” Then, one morning, I woke up next to a horse, a hen, and an ear of corn—that’s right, all the food groups. And I was disgusted with myself. What was I, livestock?

I’m a little weary of this weekend’s forecast, with multiple days of highs in the single digits.

I couldn’t remember if there were ever days with highs in the single digits when I lived in Michigan. I went to NOAA’s Ann Arbor page to check how they’re faring with this cold spell, and found this amusing tech glitch.