The Storm

It was a dark and stormy night on Lake Superior. The Lake is famous for its late year storms. The most famous of course, the night the Edmund Fitzgerald broke up and sank in November of 1975.

We thought it might be another night just like that of the Fitzgerald sinking. There was wind, lots of wind blowing out of the east. It had been blowing like that all day. The waves were breaking in quick succession . The noise from one hadn't quieted before the next then another roared in its place. The Lake was angry, but no more so than the sky. The rain had started, but we were ready. We thought we were ready, but, we wonder if we'd thought of everything. Or maybe, the storm would be more than we could have imagined, more than we'd prepared for.

When we heard the forecast, we considered our options, just keep moving on, or camp through it. Our trip objective was to get a real northern Lake Superior experience, and that wouldn't have been complete without experiencing a Fall storm. Maybe even an Edmund Fitzgerald storm.

We positioned Penny to break the worst of the wind, and protect the door from being ripped from her hinges. For added protection, we had Jeep and a thin row of Jack Pines between us and the breaking surf. As night fell, we were hunkered down to ride out the worst, or maybe the best, Lake Superior had to offer.

It reminded us of the night we arrived at the Magdalen Islands. The storm was fierce, we were perched on a bluff overlooking the St. Lawrence, the rain was in sheets, the wind howled, and Penny shook with every gust. But, we survived it, and wondered how this storm would compare.

Overnight, the rain was hard, the winds loud, as the Lake waves crashed on for hours in the dark. But we were warm and dry, huddled inside wakened only during the more ferocious moments and then finally by the morning light. As the rain left, the winds shifted to the southwest. But rather than decreasing, they  blew harder.

During the afternoon, the wind direction shifted again, and rather than the surf decreasing, it continued to build. Looking out on the Lake, we could see storm cells passing around us.

It was a second wave, the forecast wasn't for much rain, but the winds were forecast to stay strong over night. So as evening passed, we prepared for another stormy night. We repositioned the Jeep, and added a tie-down on the window awning.

By dark, the surf had built so there was less than a foot or 30 cm of sand berm remaining between us and the breaking waves. If they broke over the berm, it was downhill into our campsite. Penny and Jeep had another 20 cms of clearance though before everything would be awash. Maybe we should have moved out, but it was dark, so we stayed put and hoped for the best.

It blew hard all night, but with only periods of hard rain. By dawn, it was apparent the berm had held. The weather forecast was for more of the same, so we moved on to find some sunshine and blue sky.

We had survived the storm. It hadn't been a Fitzgerald storm or even a Magdalen storm, but it was a memorable one that added to our Lake Superior experience.

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http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2016/09/kudos-and-other-things-superior.html