Kriste's Adventures: Hike...Lookout Louise

After a short and scenic ride on the
MV Sandy, we arrived at the trail head for Lookout Louise. It's rated as a difficult trail due to the steepness of the trail, but the many switchbacks do help the 1 mile climb upward toward the sky! I paused at Hidden Lake to see by chance if I could spot a moose....no such luck, but it was scenic just the same!

There was a large group today, 7 folks on a family reunion trip, 4 ladies from Florida, a hiker bound for Mount Franklin and myself and Andrew the NPS intern. The solo hiker quickly left us in the dust as the rest of us paused frequently to listen to all the tidbits Andrew provided about the flora, fauna and geology of Isle Royale. Today's hike was actually pleasant, the terrain was more to my liking and most of it was shaded! Yay!

Onward and upward we went until we were finally at the summit. WOW! Now this is what I came here to see! This made up for the lack of spectacular views from yesterday! This was my first glimpse at Duncan Bay. I immediately fell in love with the area and someday hope to return to camp and kayak in this area!

This is the view looking westward toward the end of Duncan Bay in the direction of Lane Cove. As I looked to the north/northwest you could vaguely make out land in the distance...Sleeping Giant Provincial Park in Ontario!

I was immensely grateful that the duct tape on my hand held and my wound remained closed so that I could reach this vista! I really longed now to make the 10 mile trek back to Rock Harbor via the Greenstone Trail like I had been planning on doing for months...but I had to be realistic and now with an injury it was not the smartest thing to do....plus I didn't pack a lunch and

would have needed a LOT more water..

So, I descended with the original group, minus the 4 that opted to walk back. It was tricky for some going down, so we took our time and that allowed me to stop and examine the plants and flowers at my own pace without holding people up behind me.