The higher than average snowfall around Lake Superior this year makes great a snowshoeing season. But instead of snowshoeing for fun, it was a major method of travel in the winter for Father Frederic Baraga, who spent nearly 40 years traveling throughout Wisconsin and Michigan beginning in 1830 and became known as the Snowshoe Priest. In summer, his travel was often by canoe and in 1846 after learning of an epidemic afflicting the Ojibwe village in Grand Portage, he set out from Madeline Island. An unexpected storm pushed his canoe more than 100 miles off course and landed at the mouth of what is now the Cross River, a name bestowed in honor of the small wooden cross Father Baraga and his guide erected shortly after their safe landing. This granite cross replaced the original tree branch cross.
The Snowshoe Priest
