I have a habit of daydreaming over maps.
When I open my Rand McNally to pages 54 and 55, I see not just the enigmatic shape of Minnesota, but all of the places I've been and all of the places I've yet to explore.
My eyes have been drawn many times to the upper right-hand corner of the page, where a sliver of land in Lake Superior edges into view. A dotted line crosses the blue ink of the lake, connecting the land to the town of Grand Portage: the ferry route to Isle Royale National Park.
What I hold in my hands is paper and ink; but in my mind, I see a boat, I see the oceanic expanse of Superior, I feel the boat rocking and spray coming over the bow. I see a low green landmass on the horizon: an island wilderness without cars or roads, without towns or telephone wires -- a place where moose and wolves are the most populous mammals for most of the year. ¶ I have been on that boat in my mind many times.
Last August, I put down the atlas and went to Isle Royale. A friend told me that the ferry to Isle Royale usually runs a little late. Not on the day I left. I got to the dock at 7:55 a.m., and I was the 48th passenger on the boat, which was loaded to capacity. We left at 7:56.
The M.V. Voyageur II is a utilitarian craft, 60 feet long, with an open bow and a bus-like superstructure. I watched a deckhand heave my backpack onto the roof, and I stepped into the crowded cabin. I felt the diesel engine vibrate as I nudged my way through Gore-Tex-clad passengers to the open area aft, where I squeezed into the last, narrow opening on a bench.
On open water, a cold north wind whipped spray off the whitecaps, and the boat lurched on swells as it headed east. I had to keep my eyes on the receding horizon to avoid getting seasick. This wasn't quite the way I'd imaged the journey, but I didn't care; in three hours I'd be there.
Isle Royale National Park is made up of more than 400 islands, spread out over 850 square miles. The namesake (and biggest) island is more than 40 miles long and about 9 miles across at its widest.
Although Minnesota and Ontario are both closer, the island is part of Michigan. Why? Michigan lost Toledo in a dispute with Ohio in the 1830s and was compensated with most of the Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale. This was before Minnesota was around to object, and no one asked the Ojibwe.
• • •
Disheveled backpackers, ready to start their journeys home, greeted us on the dock at Windigo, the marina and ranger station at the west end of the island. The Voyageur has a two-day cycle. After it stops at Windigo, it circumnavigates the island, picking people up and dropping them off at various points along the way. At Rock Harbor, on the east end, it overnights before returning to Grand Portage.
As the ferry departed, a ranger gave the fresh group a brief orientation. "Isle Royale is the least-visited park in the system, with 17,000 annual visits," Valerie Bowen said. "But it's the most revisited park; 40 percent are return visitors. Some magic keeps drawing people back."