Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Hi Blog! Wednesday, August 5, 2015, was our first full day in Thunder Bay. Yesterday, as we drove around Lake Superior from Wawa, we passed the entrance to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. You couldn’t help but notice the large mesas jutting out into Lake Superior. One in particular had the appearance of a large man lying down - the Sleeping Giant. Here is what he looks like.

We started our adventure with a stop at the Marie Louise Lake Campground where we picked up our day pass and copy of the trail map. At the office, they suggested we go ahead into the campground and stop at the visitor’s center. It was well worth the side trip. We learned a lot about the Sibley Peninsula on which the Sleeping Giants rests. Before heading to the trailhead for our hike to the base of the giant, we decided to take a few photos of Marie Louise Lake. Just as we hit the beach, our phone rang. It was Katie! After a great chat, Kathy suggested we take a selfie with Katie, who was on the phone.  Here it is:

By the time we finished chatting with Katie and driving to the trailhead, it was lunch time. We ended up eating our trail lunch at the trailhead. After snarfing our turkey sandwiches, it was time to hit the trail - the Kabeyun Trail, that is. Here is Kathy adopting the trail:

Since we were getting a late start, we knew we were going to have to hoof it if we wanted to get all the way to Lehtinen’s Bay and the base of the giant. The trail is approximately 8 kilometers or 5 miles one way. We would be following an old carriage road the whole way, so we were hoping to make good time. The trail took us right by Perry Bay.

In a couple miles we came to a side trail out to a campsite by the lake. We decided to poke our heads out to see what we could see. Here is the view looking ahead to Tee Harbour.

This stop also provided us with a chance to use the restroom. Well, sort of....

As we continued our hike, we ran across an old friend of ours - thimbleberries! Unfortunately, it is a little too early in the season for the berries in this neck of the woods. They are still just flowering.

We decided to take a little rest at Tee Harbour. We were surprised to step out onto a sandy beach.

This sheltered cove provides a safe haven for boaters visiting the Sleeping Giant to anchor for the night.

Here is one boat getting ready to anchor.

We only had 1.5 miles left to go before we reached our destination. As soon as we stepped out onto the black sand beach, we felt dwarfed as the Sleeping Giant rose before us.

The Sleeping Giant has a legend to explain its existence.  Nanabosho (the Giant) was the son of Kabeyun, the west wind (our trail is named after the west wind). He led the Ojibwe people to the North shore of Lake Superior to save them from their traditional enemies, the Sioux. One day while sitting by the lake, Nanabosho discovered silver. Frightened for his people, he made them bury the silver in the tiny islet at the end of the Sibley Peninsula (now known as Silver Islet) and swear never to reveal its whereabouts. To the Ojibwe, the silver was worthless, but if the white men found out about it, Nanabosho knew they would take the Ojibwes’ land. The secret was out when vanity got the best of one of the chieftains. He made himself silver weapons and was soon killed in battle with the Sioux. A few days later, Nanabosho saw a Sioux warrior canoeing across Lake Superior, leading two white men to the source of the silver. To save the secret, Nanabosho disobeyed the Great Spirit and raised a storm which sank the canoe and drowned the white men. As punishment, Nanabosho was turned to stone. Today the Giant still lies in the place where the Great Spirit struck him, majestic in repose, his heart stilled, forever watching over his silver secret.

After five miles, Kathy was happy to take a few minutes and dunk her tootsies in the cold clear water of Lake Superior.

Before too long, it was time to wish the Giant sweet dreams and head back to the trailhead. While we did retrace our steps back to the trailhead, we always manage to see something we missed on the way out. As we hiked back, we noticed that there were whole villages of mushrooms and fungus in the forest where the fir needle floor was moistened by nearby streams or rain runoff.  The variety of fungus was astounding.  Here, Dave communes with a particularly large mushroom buddy.

As with most of our stops, we wish we had more time to enjoy this spot, climb the Sleeping Giant, or traipse over to see Sea Lion rock. However, we have lots of information about this Provincial Park and hope to return some day.