Wandering Along The Pictured Rocks

by Scot Stewart

There are waterfalls, little two foot drops by the lake, hidden twenty footers in the woods, and the amazing Spray Falls, spilling down nearly 70 feet. Every so often there is a perched dune, a sand dune plopped atop a high cliff. And then there are the famous rock formations themselves, layers of limestone and dolomite, stained green, red, white, blue and by copper, iron, calcium and manganese.

A hike along any part of the western portion of the 44 mile long North Country National Scenic Trail through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is filled with a variety of sights, smells and sounds. The trail is used during the winter by some cross-country skiers but once the snow is gone the hiking begins, especially for those seeking solitude. Spring is a quiet time on the trail, especially when it comes late and the snow lingers.

The trail is often graced and fragranced by spring ephemerals blooming before leaf-out, if they are to be found by early pollinators. Trailing arbutus is first, followed by Dutchmanʼs breeches, squirrel corn, yellow trout lilies, spring beauties and with their hairy stemmed purplish blue flowers, round and sharp-lobed hepaticas. The trail east of Minerʼs Beach offers some of the best views and aromas, with the flowers often wrapping around the garlicky leaves of wild leek.

As beech, birch and sugar maple trees fill out, the trail darkens considerably in the canopied

areas, but serenading hermit thrushes, warblers, rose-breasted grosbeaks and other summer residents maintain the welcoming air. In late summer more unusual appearances, like mystifying fungi-like dead manʼs fingers, black three inch long apparitions, come poking out of the ground.

Cliff tops overlooks provide incredible views of the Lake Superior geology. Dolomite-capped layers of multicolored sandstone bridge the gap between trail and the lake one-hundred fifty feet below. Exposed sandstone along the trail and its spurs hide small waterfalls and a myriad of exotic ferns growing on and below their ledges. In all, eighteen species of ferns and six moonwort fern species grow in the Pictured Rocks, including the slender cliff brake and the Christmas fern.

Open areas along the trail can lead to small ponds, sometimes inhabited by beaver, salamanders, black ducks and wood frogs. Edged in the white fireworks-like tall meadow rue, the dainty dangling orange blossoms of the jewelweed and other wildflowers, they provide the perfect compliment to the dense woods. Sweet red raspberries are another mid-summer treat to be found in these sunny areas. The openings along the cliffs may be perched dunes - sand dunes 150 feet above the lake formed when ancient sand blew atop the cliff.

Some of these spurs lead to or follow creeks

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and streams feeding into Lake Superior. One, the Mosquito River trail, follows the waterʼs edge past a number of gentle cascades and small waterfalls. Green mosses, equisitem or scouring rush, and ferns match the green overhead. Silent, except for the sound of water and the trill of an occasional winter wren.

Cooler temperatures usher in the end of summer. In some years the beech trees provide a double treat. At their bases, an unusual flower blooms. Long and narrow, the delicate pinkish flowers of the beech drops, a parasitic plant, appear. They attach to the roots of host plants and draw the substances of life from them. After the flowers have set seed they fade and dry, leaving brown shafts as the sole reminder of their life below the ground.

The second part of the beechʼs summer work is its seeds - beech nuts, tasty wonton-like structures in armored shells. About the size of baby peas, they have a rich taste similar to almonds. Humans arenʼt the only ones that treasure the flavor. For fallen seed, the race is on between chipmunks, squirrels and some birds. And for the ones still in the trees, the smooth gray bark of the tree itself tells the tale. Distinct claw marks proclaim the path of black bears as they hooked, slid and scurried up the trees to beat the rest to a nutritious meal.

For the prankster hiker, jewelweeds leave the perfect opportunity to have a chuckle with a