TREASURE HUNTING ON THE ISLANDS

One of the things Dave and I love about boating off the coast of Washington Island in Lake Michigan , is the lack of boat traffic on the Lake. We often only pass 5 or 6 boats all day if out on the lake on a beautiful sunny weekend day. It puts a whole new spin on going boating if you are used to the crowded inland lakes of Wisconsin. One of the things we really enjoy is exploring the outer islands in the lake that often have abandoned lighthouses and beautiful coastlines to walk. Some of the islands are owned by the state of Wisconsin or Michigan or some even are privately owned but all are available for a little exploring.

Although, it is true that you have to choose your day to boat on Lake Michigan wisely. We always listen to the weather report given just for boating on the lake that tells you of wave depths. Waves that are o-2 ft are usually manageable abut anything bigger...well you are asking for trouble. Weather can change so quickly on the lake so you really have to know the whole daily forecast. We have had dark purple clouds chase us in just before a sudden thunderstorm that came up on the lake while salmon fishing at sunset and huge waves to return on a trip from a nearby( 20-30 minutes away) other island hike that had no waves when we left, so we have had our scares as well. We have a deep respect for the Great Lakes in both kayaking and boating and so we seldom have problems, only if we second guess actual lake weather forecasts.

Dave rigged up a technique of using a four man rubber raft we tie to the back of the boat and lower into the water once we have anchored off the island we want to explore that day. Then we use a tiny little battery powered motor to get us in to a landing point on the island( due to rocky and shallow coastlines where the boat cannot take us). And we bring a backpack of walking shoes with a long sleeve shirt tied around our waist for sun or wind relief. Sometimes we think we are landing on a sandy beach but they are actually piles and piles of zebra mussel shells- a recent blight on the Great Lakes brought in by the many passing freighters that go lake to lake. The zebra mussels cause real problems as they eat up the plankton in the lake that the fish usually eat thus lessening the population of sport fishing fish in the Lake. They also clog up water intake valves in the lake for communities using Lake water as their main water usage. The shells of the zebra muscles are as sharp as glass when you step on them so you have to be sure to wear shoes on many beaches and coastlines when hiking. Dave has a foot long scar on his lower arm from diving in to retrieve a lost fishing lure near a pier on the island as he bumped against the submerged dock that was covered with zebra mussels clinging onto it when coming back up with the lure that had broken off one of our poles when docking. It was a painful reminder of the hazards these creatures are causing those who live near the lakes.

Walking the coastlines of the islands is so much fun. Our friend Mike is often with us and the three of us feel like explorers all alone on these beaches. We feel like treasure hunters as we never know what we will find on our beach hikes. We often find pieces of fishing nets, bobbers, rope and odds and ends that probably fell off boats in the areas months earlier reminding us of the sport or commercial fishing that goes on in the Lake. They aren't really valuables I would call them instead "memorables"- pieces of someone's day on the lake. We often find neat stones or pieces of driftwood and even once we found abandoned WW2 items- like pieces of an old radio and old cans that were clearly military and from many many years ago. Sometimes we find pieces of sunken ships- boards with nails or big spikes that held the wooden boats together. There are soooooooooooooooo many sunken ships on the Great Lakes because of the violent November storms when seasons change and/ or when boats would hit the many shallow sandy and rocky shoals just under the surface of the water often just off island coastlines . Even now when we boat we often find the lake depth maps are not always accurate as shoals can drift and change with water depths over the years( and maps do not change that often). We have had a few "fender benders" out in the Lake with these shoals that decided to make our motor propeller fin a new shape( an expensive and necessary repair for steering the boat). We would not be as ambitious about our exploring without the depth finder instrument we have on our boat that shows the ACTUAL water depths for safe boating. and that is so necessary to Great Lakes boating.

One year we had a beautiful warm spring and we went boating and island exploring in the first week of May. It was very early for boating in this area as usually still quite cool so we didn't see many other boats that day. As we walked the beach we found a wet, abandoned, large red tote bag of fishing lures! Dave and Mike said they must have fell off a boat at the end of fishing season in Fall and floated in on the ice of winter that just melted in spring , landing it on this beach coastline. Many of the lures were still in their plastic boxes so we figured this must have been tackle from a fishing "charter boat" that people hire to take them fishing on the Great Lakes for Salmon or Lake Trout. We weren't fishermen then so we gave many of lures away to island friends who fished but years later the fishing bug bit us and now we love Salmon fishing every summer( more about that in another blog).That bag of lures was our biggest man made treasure but on the porch of our island house are many of the natural treasures we have found - like the antique commercial fishing net bobbers, shipwreck boards and spikes, and beautiful pieces of driftwood and lake stones.

It is always an adventure and it is not really what we find that is the treasure as much as it is the lovely peaceful moments of walking the beautiful coastlines of the Lake, looking out at the sun shining on the water and sparkling as if a light show just for us. Sometimes i just stop and stare off into the water to enjoy the unobstructed view of beauty with no commercial development or distraction in sight. I am never more peaceful than when i walk the coastlines of Lake Michigan ,all the times are imprinted on my heart as some of the more valuable hours of a summer afternoon spent up on "the island". They are a true gift of natural beauty and human relief from the busyness of the usual fast paced and often hectic city life we live. Hopefully this is one of the legacies we leave our daughters and friends who we have taken with us on these "treaure hunts" and lovely peaceful coastline hikes that gives us so much love and respect for the Great Lakes.