About the Issue

“Since 2007, I have had the good fortune to travel around Lake Superior ten times. Most of my journeys have been in May and nearly all of them have been with students enrolled in Northland College’s Superior Connections program.

Traveling around Lake Superior as part of an intimate group has been incredible, and inevitably each of us has brought unique life experiences and varied interests to the journey. Some have embraced the adventure of hiking shoreline trails; climbing lake-side cliffs; or paddling on water that is expansive, frigid, and always unpredictable. Some have immersed themselves in the natural history, tracing folds, uplifts, and intrusions in the rock; listening attentively to bird calls; identifying arctic disjuncts and delicate wildflowers. And some have devoted themselves to capturing and preserving our experiences, in words carefully penned across a page, in the rising and falling notes of an original song, in brushstrokes with colored water, in digital images deftly aligned to tell a story.

But always, we have shared the beauty of the sun and moon rising and setting over the Lake; of water rushing, roaring, and cascading through deep gorges; of smooth, multi-colored stones washed by clear, clear water. And together we have been transformed by the Lake’s deep rhythms and long horizons, slowing our breath to align with the gentle ebb and flow of water on a pebbly beach; wiggling our toes into soft sand; stretching out, bare skin to warm rock; gazing, reflecting, meditating.

In this issue of Intangible, our contributors share with you their experiences with and feelings about this special, superior lake. If you know Lake Superior, I hope the words and images will resonate with you, evoking memories. If you don’t know Lake Superior, I hope you will be inspired to immerse yourself in its wonders.”

—Alan Brew, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute Executive Director