Nahma, King of Fishes

(Hiawatha Series #4)

By the shores of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest,
Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,
Rose the firs with cones upon them;
Bright before it beat the water.
Beat the clear and sunny water,
Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.
There the wrinkled old Nokomis
Nursed the little Hiawatha.

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Song of Hiawatha, Hiawatha’s Childhood

This is an ongoing series of letterboxes themed around Longfellow’s poem, The Song of Hiawatha. The boxes will be placed at various locations in or near the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Named after Longfellow’s poem, The Song of Hiawatha, the Hiawatha National Forest is located in the central and eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The forest encompasses approximately 880,000 acres, and receives over 1.5 million recreational visits per year. The forest affords visitors access to white sand, scenic beaches and relatively undeveloped shorelines along three of America’s inland seas — Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron. From scenic and historic lighthouses to Great Lakes islands, from spectacular shorelines to the Midwest’s finest winter playland, the Hiawatha National Forest brings to life a myriad of fascinating and exciting natural, historical, and unique recreational opportunities.

Letterboxes in this Series…

• Song of Hiawatha
• Gitche Gumee
• Daughter of the Moon
• Nahma, King of Fishes

Naomikong Point…

The rocky points and bays of the Lake Superior shoreline west of Point Iroquois provide ideal fishing spots for fishermen today as they have for centuries. If you follow Lakeshore Drive west from Bay Mills to M-123, you will catch glimpses of this secluded shore of Lake Superior, but the way to really explore it is to hike. Several hiking trails can be found in the area, but our favorite is by far the hike out to Naomikong Point.

Full of history, this beautiful area gets its name Naomikong from an Ojibwa Indian word meaning “where the breakers strike the shore.” It was an important fishing ground and location of a mission outpost during the 1800’s and, at one time, an Indian Village was located on the shore here.

Naomikong Point itself appears rather nondescript, just a point of rocky land that juts out into Lake Superior, backed by a line of trees. But sitting here on this tip of land, nearly surrounded by the lake, the wind whispering in the trees, waves playfully lapping at the rocky shoreline, puffy white clouds floating carelessly in a azure sky, it is not hard to feel the words of Longfellow’s poem, Song of Hiawatha. It is not hard to forget the bustle of the world around you and truly believe that time has stopped.

Getting There…

You will need to consult a trail guide for hiking directions to Naomikong Point.

Clues…

After a short jaunt through the woods from the parking lot, the trail opens up to Lake Superior at Naomikong Creek. The rest of the trek follows the shoreline around a couple of smaller points and bays. When we were there, we walked a sandbar that ran out in the lake across one bay and had to jump rocks across another. We also were treated to the sight of a Bald Eagle nesting in the tall trees on Menekaunee point.

At the tip of Naomikong Point, a small peninsula stretches to the NW. Just east of this narrow finger of land, several large boulders provide an ideal place to sit and enjoy this treasure of a location. Among the boulders, find the split black one and site 170 degrees to a large black rock, frosted in light green moss. From here, 110 degrees to a white birch that leans to the SW. At the base, find your treasure.