Isle Royale Forums

During my recent trip to the island, the long miles and cold nights caused my brain to wander. Here are some questions that I came up with, some serious and some not so much. I'm sure you all can collectively answer them!

1. Why do some boardwalk supports have triangular notches in them? Some boardwalks are supported by a hefty chunk of tree trunk, placed perpendicular to the boards. Many of these supports have two triangular notches near their ends, always pointing in opposite directions. They don't hold anything. Why are they there? (Yes, my shoes are red -- it makes them go faster.)
2. What is the long berm that the Feldtmann trail follows? For about a mile near Feldtmann Lake campground, before climbing the ridge, the trail follows a long, straight berm that rises 4 or 5 feet above the surrounding swamp. This ends within half a mile of the campground. It's remarkably uniform -- enough that it seems artificial. But it also has things that make it seem natural, like large rocks sticking out of it where no human would bother to lift them, a generally rounded top, and some stream crossings or washed out areas. It's similar to a railroad grade, but too narrow, and the top is rounded, plus I have no clue who would need a railroad in that area.

Here's the best photo I could get of it:
3. Why have I never heard anyone mention the beautiful waterfall along the Feldtmann trail? There's a gorgeous spot where a beaver pond drains out over a wall of sandstone, making a lovely (and not tiny) waterfall. I swear I've never heard anyone mention it before! Maybe I'm just oblivious?
4. Do ducks like to hang around near moose? At Feldtmann Lake, there were two or three young moose who spent a lot of time wading out into the lake to eat. I noticed that a lot of ducks (Mergansers and Goldeneyes especially) seemed to congregate near them. We conjectured that maybe moose stirred up tasty morsels as they moved around. Does anybody know if that's a real thing?

I eagerly await your thoughts.

Hello again, dcclark! In regard to question #1 and the triangular notches... I wondered the same thing, but I think I figured out the answer. The triangular notches provide a flat surface through which to drive spikes into the logs below it. A rounded surface (without the notch) may make it more difficult to start and drive a spike. Additionally, without that extra wood in the way, the spikes do not need to be longer than what they are when a notch is present. I wondered the same thing until I noticed the head of a nail / spike in some of the notches.

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In regard to question #2... my buddies and I both wondered the same thing. After several minutes of discussion and brainstorming, we came up with the idea that maybe it was built so railway tracks could be laid on top during the copper mining days. That would provide a stable and elevated route for the rail cars to move along. I don't know how correct we were in assumption, but it seemed plausible. And like you mentioned, it was way too straight and long to have been some natural occurrence.

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As for question #3, I never wondered why people don't talk about that nice waterfall, but now that you mention it, I do wonder why it is never talked about. We stopped there for several minutes to take pictures and videos as well.

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Backpacker534 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 1:56 pm Hello again, dcclark! In regard to question #1 and the triangular notches... I wondered the same thing, but I think I figured out the answer. The triangular notches provide a flat surface through which to drive spikes into the logs below it. A rounded surface (without the notch) may make it more difficult to start and drive a spike. Additionally, without that extra wood in the way, the spikes do not need to be longer than what they are when a notch is present. I wondered the same thing until I noticed the head of a nail / spike in some of the notches.

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Aha, that makes sense! You can even see one of the spikes in my photo. Now I'm more curious about the supports that didn't have these notches (including some logs that seemed of a similar size). Maybe it depends on what nails are available at the time.

Backpacker534 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 2:00 pm In regard to question #2... my buddies and I both wondered the same thing. After several minutes of discussion and brainstorming, we came up with the idea that maybe it was built so railway tracks could be laid on top during the copper mining days. That would provide a stable and elevated route for the rail cars to move along. I don't know how correct we were in assumption, but it seemed plausible. And like you mentioned, it was way too straight and long to have been some natural occurrence.

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I don't think there was any mining in the Feldtmann area, certainly none that would justify building that kind of road. But that made me think -- maybe it was a logging road, maybe for the kind of narrow-gauge railroad that was often used for those operations. I'm still a bit skeptical, especially since there were large rocks embedded in the top at some points.

#2. I concluded that it’s natural, for reasons you pointed out. I have heard references to an ancient shoreline along the Feldtmann trail, but not sure if they referred to this stretch or somewhere else.
#3. I thought the same. Beautiful little spot.
#4. Your speculation sounds good to me. Like seabirds following boats.

Ah, that sounds vaguely familiar about the Feldtmann trail shoreline.

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I'd thought about a shoreline option -- maybe even an ancient shoreline of Feldtmann lake itself. But I'm pretty sure that's not what this is.

First, I'm pretty sure the ancient shoreline is what you follow as you head north out of Feldtmann campground -- it's a sort of minor ledge that the trail follows. That's also why the trail seems to follow the existing shoreline, just a bit farther inland -- the earlier shoreline was formed around the same geological features, just higher up.

The thing about ancient shorelines is that they generally go only one way (down). The one I'm referring to is the other direction (towards Siskiwit) and rises unnaturally from the otherwise gently sloping forest on either side. It also runs against the topography, climbing slightly uphill.

Having said that, I guess this could be a glacial feature like an esker. But it still seems too perfect...

dcclark wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 1:26 pm
3. Why have I never heard anyone mention the beautiful waterfall along the Feldtmann trail?[/b] There's a gorgeous spot where a beaver pond drains out over a wall of sandstone, making a lovely (and not tiny) waterfall. I swear I've never heard anyone mention it before! Maybe I'm just oblivious?

So people can discover it on their own?

RE: the waterfall, is this between Feldtmann Lake and Windigo? Or in one of the ridge drop-offs between Feldtmann Lake and Siskiwit Bay? I recall a beautiful shady spot and a creek with a waterfall, in a ravine along the trail to Siskiwit Bay that noone seems to ever mention as a reliable water source along that long stretch (if treated of course).

Bobcat1 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 11:56 am RE: the waterfall, is this between Feldtmann Lake and Windigo? Or in one of the ridge drop-offs between Feldtmann Lake and Siskiwit Bay? I recall a beautiful shady spot and a creek with a waterfall, in a ravine along the trail to Siskiwit Bay that noone seems to ever mention as a reliable water source along that long stretch (if treated of course).

This is between Feldtmann and Siskiwit on one of the ridge drop-offs (photo's GPS data). Sounds like we may be thinking of the same place. It definitely drains a large beaver pond, but I could see the pond getting low enough that the waterfall would just be damp later in the summer.

dcclark wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 5:50 pm

Backpacker534 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 2:00 pm In regard to question #2... my buddies and I both wondered the same thing. After several minutes of discussion and brainstorming, we came up with the idea that maybe it was built so railway tracks could be laid on top during the copper mining days. That would provide a stable and elevated route for the rail cars to move along. I don't know how correct we were in assumption, but it seemed plausible. And like you mentioned, it was way too straight and long to have been some natural occurrence.

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I don't think there was any mining in the Feldtmann area, certainly none that would justify building that kind of road. But that made me think -- maybe it was a logging road, maybe for the kind of narrow-gauge railroad that was often used for those operations. I'm still a bit skeptical, especially since there were large rocks embedded in the top at some points.

It doesn't appear to be a natural formation. We wondered if it was some type of dam or levee.

dcclark wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 5:50 pm But that made me think -- maybe it was a logging road, maybe for the kind of narrow-gauge railroad that was often used for those operations. I'm still a bit skeptical, especially since there were large rocks embedded in the top at some points.

large embedded rocks could be the handiwork of a particularly dedicated and resourceful crew of monkeywrenching beavers . . . .

Cute yet diabolical.