Rock Caught In Ravine On Trail to the Agawa Pictographs
Fishing Lake Superior Provincial Park and the Agawa Pictographs
On our last day of our camping trip at Lake Superior and Pancake Bay Provincial Park we decided to try a bit of fishing at Kenny Lake. Kenny Lake is a small lake with easy access right off highway 17 in Lake Superior Provincial Park just south of the visitors centre. The lake is a typical trout lake, spring fed with cold, very clear water; water so clear we could see some fish near the shoreline hiding under an old tree that the beavers had fell into the lake. Although, because the water was so clear the fish spooked easily, we ended up not catching any. Then afterwards we regretted spending most of the morning trying to catch fish, and wished we had left earlier so we could have gotten more exploring in.
At twelve-forty we were getting hungry and left to go have lunch at Sinclair Cove. There is a nice beach and boat launch here. We BBQed a hot dog and took some pictures but didn’t take any time to explore as time was marching on and we were excited to get to the pictographs at Agawa Rock, (although the age of these Indian rock paintings is unknown, it is estimated that they are between 150 to 400 years old).
Pictograph at Agawa Rock
The trail leading to the pictographs is rugged, rough and rocky. The path takes you through some amazing geological rock formations, large broken boulders, sheer cliffs…Rod and I looked in awe as we hiked along the trail. I said to Rod, “It looks like a set out of a movie”. I felt as if we were on a search for a long lost artifact, and at any moment Harrison Ford would come running around the corner!! (Rod thought more like Angelina Jolie, as in the Tomb Raider.) The trail is very rough as you climb over some large boulders, down a very rocky and slippery slope hopping from rock to rock.
Stone Steps On Trail To Agawa Rock Pictographs
Rocky Trail To Agawa Rock Pictographs
We made it down to Superiors shoreline where the ledge leading to the pictographs starts and were met by a park ranger who suggested that it was best to take your socks and shoes off because your bare feet would give you a better grip on the wet rocks. Rod asked him if he was there to jump in and rescue us if the waves washed us in, he just smiled and said, “Nope, I’ll throw you a life preserver and call search and rescue though.” As we started out on the five foot granite ledge, I realized this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. The rock ledge itself was very smooth and slippery under my feet; I literally clung to the rock wall which towered above us 98 feet. My heart started beating, I felt like I was going to be thrust into the waves crashing along the shoreline. The rock ledge tapers in before you get to the end, it is also quite sloped towards the water…when we got to this point I could not make myself carry on. I really thought I was braver than this.
Sign Says It All
Rod continued on ahead of me, I would have to be satisfied with the pictures he took. I will let Rod account for his own experience….
The ledge out to the pictographs is quite sloped (towards the cold and deep Lake Superior) and very slippery as the waves crash against the rocks and send cold water up onto the narrow, rocky path. Great care must be taken here for as the sign on the way down said; ‘Caution, Death and injury has occurred on Lake Superior’s rugged coast.’ Lucky for us today the lake was fairly calm and no large waves to wash us into the lake. The pictographs are a surreal adventure, to look upon the pictures painted some hundreds of years ago by the natives of our land is something not a lot of people get to do. Standing on the rock ledge looking up at the pictographs drawn on the almost 100 foot high sheer cliff, the majestic and beautiful Lake Superior behind you is something you will not soon forget…. Rod
Agawa Rock
At two-thirty we headed back towards Pancake Bay Provincial Park on Highway 17. We stopped along the way at a look-out and snapped a few pictures. By this point the battery on our camera had died, so we had to head back to the campsite and the Park office, so we could have our camera re-charged again.
We picked up more beer and ice, and went back to camp to have one. Then it was off to have a shower (I like to try to get to the showers when it’s not busy, that way we don’t have to wait in line-ups). By the time we got back to our campsite it was time for some dinner. After dinner we left camp to get some final pictures of the Lake Superior shoreline.
