Day 5: Sault Ste Marie
Wednesday, October 5
Morning fog then sunny and mild. 21C
Originally we thought Sault Ste Marie would be a good mid-point destination for our trip and we were curious to see what the cycling would be like, both in the city and along the Trans-Canada highway. We have been piecing together our cross Canada trip for years and still have to ride from Winnipeg back to Ontario. The highway through this part of the country is definitely rideable, but it is also potentially dangerous and there are some very long distances between towns with accommodations. Both of those factors have kept us from prioritizing this leg of our trip. The narrow and nonexistent paved shoulders we saw today along the highway only reinforced our concerns. The highway conditions in Michigan – and the vast trail network – make riding across the continent not only feasible, but also desirable.
By the time we arrived in Sault Ste Marie we had basically discounted doing any cycling at all. We did take a driving tour of the city butcwe were really excited to do some hiking. We read about a hike at Robertson Cliffs and decided to give it a try. It was a 30 minute drive north to the trailhead and there were multiple routes to choose from ranging from 2 to 12 km. We settled somewhere in the middle.
The first part of the hike was pretty steep initially but leveled out after the first ascent. From there we walked a big circular loop past a couple of waterfalls before rounding the backside of the cliffs. The overstory of the tree canopy was already turning brilliant orange, but the understory was still vibrant and green. The sun finally burned off the morning mist, casting the forest floor in a colourful light.
As we climbed again and worked our way out to the southern face if the ridge, we got our first glimpse of the vista below.
Lake Superior can be seen in the distance to the south. After breathing in the view we stopped for a light lunch on a coffee table sized rock.
The rest of the hike was spent slowly working our way from one lookout to the next. Each viewpoint was worth the time to simply enjoy.
Finally the trail started to descend and we poked our way down as both of us had walking sticks by this point. There was a steady stream of people working their way up to the cliffs on this section of the trail. The route we took was round the back which was longer, less direct and not as busy. We did strike up a good conversation with a local couple who were on there way farther afield to King Mountain.
Our legs felt good at the end of the hike, but it was nice to sink down into the car seats and put our feet on the pedals for a change. We drove back to the city and back across the border into Michigan.
eimajeyn 