5 ms·

Stannard Rock Light

50 points by weare138 7y ago

saalweachter 7y ago
The hermit in me wants to scoff and say "I'd love to be so isolated for weeks at a time", but (aside from the fact that its the "isolated together" problem) the sheer inhospitable nature of that environment as well as the somewhat involuntary nature of the isolation (you may sign up to go, but you can't choose when to leave) is sufficiently daunting for me that I'll stick to more Walden-esque hermitages.
- gumby 7y ago
  Much easier at Walden where your mum can come and do your laundry. Being stuck in confined space with six others, hearing (and telling) the same jokes over and over... shudder
  - slx26 7y ago
    but what if they were 6 mathematicians from the same disciplines, or 6 musicians, or 6 politicians (or 6 sociologists if you prefer that)? might be fun to see what people that share a common background can come up with when they have that much time to "waste". the idea of being left alone with a few clever humans and nothing else to do or to go is actually quite interesting. not the next big brother, but hey...
    - gumby 7y ago
      Having done some multi-week blue water sailing and multi-week backcountry trips, I can tell you that silence is golden. I prefer to go with my dog who is delighted when I have something to say and perfectly satisfied when I want to be quiet. * yes I know that “Lassie” is not a documentary and if I got in to trouble the dog could not rescue me.
  - saalweachter 7y ago
    Yeah, there's a reason I said "Walden" and not "200 miles into the Alaskan wilderness". My ideal hermitage is a small patch of land large enough that I can pretend to be isolated without actually putting me in danger of succumbing to the elements.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
rhn_mk1 7y ago
Is this kind of isolation different than the one astronauts experience? The record space stay is over 437 days, way over the 99 of the lighthouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov
- saalweachter 7y ago
  I think the two most important difference would be that the astronauts are basically in constant communication and are also extremely busy. It might also be slightly different in that I'm pretty sure that astronauts could leave whenever they want (in that I'm pretty sure the ISS always has a capsule ready in case of an emergency). Granted, it would be bad if an astronaut just whimsically decided to land, and you do need to be "rescued" once you land, whether on land or sea, but that's more than the lighthouse keepers had. Just knowing you can or can't leave, if you really, really want to, makes the psychological difference between "a remote place you are choosing to stay" and "a prison".
Jaruzel 7y ago
More detailed article with photos of the interior of the lighthouse: https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/333-stannard-rock-lighthouse-the-loneliest-place-on-the-continent/ https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/333-stannard-...
- Stratoscope 7y ago
  Another interesting article from the same site, about one of the men who survived the 1961 explosion and returned with his family in 2015: https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/54-years-after-tragic-explosion-coast-guardsman-returns-to-stannard-rock/ https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/54-years-afte...
- mronge 7y ago
  I also found a video slideshow that shows a lot more of the interior https://youtu.be/ZFst3PVWErw https://youtu.be/ZFst3PVWErw
alhirzel 7y ago
I live near this and have visited several remote lighthouses; they're spooky places. I have been involved in some restorative work to this one: https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=731 https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=731 - there are crazy entries in the logbook of the Manitou island and Gull Rock lights.
solotronics 7y ago
I think we can draw some interesting parallels with the first colonists on Mars and what they may experience.
webbdev 7y ago
I hope to make it out to this lighthouse someday to get photographs. I’m trying to get as many photos of Michigan lighthouses for an app I’m building. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/explore-michigan/id1024621444 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/explore-michigan/id1024621444
mamurphy 7y ago
This seems like a similar setting to the lighthouse in the 2019 documentary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lighthouse_(2019_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lighthouse_(2019_film)
- trimbo 7y ago
  It does seem similar, but it's an original film, not a documentary.

50 points by weare138 7y ago

The hermit in me wants to scoff and say "I'd love to be so isolated for weeks at a time", but (aside from the fact that its the "isolated together" problem) the sheer inhospitable nature of that environment as well as the somewhat involuntary nature of the isolation (you may sign up to go, but you can't choose when to leave) is sufficiently daunting for me that I'll stick to more Walden-esque hermitages.

gumby 7y ago
Much easier at Walden where your mum can come and do your laundry. Being stuck in confined space with six others, hearing (and telling) the same jokes over and over... shudder
- slx26 7y ago
  but what if they were 6 mathematicians from the same disciplines, or 6 musicians, or 6 politicians (or 6 sociologists if you prefer that)? might be fun to see what people that share a common background can come up with when they have that much time to "waste". the idea of being left alone with a few clever humans and nothing else to do or to go is actually quite interesting. not the next big brother, but hey...
  - gumby 7y ago
    Having done some multi-week blue water sailing and multi-week backcountry trips, I can tell you that silence is golden. I prefer to go with my dog who is delighted when I have something to say and perfectly satisfied when I want to be quiet. * yes I know that “Lassie” is not a documentary and if I got in to trouble the dog could not rescue me.
- saalweachter 7y ago
  Yeah, there's a reason I said "Walden" and not "200 miles into the Alaskan wilderness". My ideal hermitage is a small patch of land large enough that I can pretend to be isolated without actually putting me in danger of succumbing to the elements.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

rhn_mk1 7y ago

Is this kind of isolation different than the one astronauts experience? The record space stay is over 437 days, way over the 99 of the lighthouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov

saalweachter 7y ago
I think the two most important difference would be that the astronauts are basically in constant communication and are also extremely busy. It might also be slightly different in that I'm pretty sure that astronauts could leave whenever they want (in that I'm pretty sure the ISS always has a capsule ready in case of an emergency). Granted, it would be bad if an astronaut just whimsically decided to land, and you do need to be "rescued" once you land, whether on land or sea, but that's more than the lighthouse keepers had. Just knowing you can or can't leave, if you really, really want to, makes the psychological difference between "a remote place you are choosing to stay" and "a prison".

Jaruzel 7y ago

More detailed article with photos of the interior of the lighthouse: https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/333-stannard-rock-lighthouse-the-loneliest-place-on-the-continent/ https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/333-stannard-...

Stratoscope 7y ago
Another interesting article from the same site, about one of the men who survived the 1961 explosion and returned with his family in 2015: https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/54-years-after-tragic-explosion-coast-guardsman-returns-to-stannard-rock/ https://www.lakesuperior.com/the-lake/maritime/54-years-afte...
mronge 7y ago
I also found a video slideshow that shows a lot more of the interior https://youtu.be/ZFst3PVWErw https://youtu.be/ZFst3PVWErw

alhirzel 7y ago

I live near this and have visited several remote lighthouses; they're spooky places. I have been involved in some restorative work to this one: https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=731 https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=731 - there are crazy entries in the logbook of the Manitou island and Gull Rock lights.

solotronics 7y ago

I think we can draw some interesting parallels with the first colonists on Mars and what they may experience.

webbdev 7y ago

I hope to make it out to this lighthouse someday to get photographs. I’m trying to get as many photos of Michigan lighthouses for an app I’m building. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/explore-michigan/id1024621444 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/explore-michigan/id1024621444

mamurphy 7y ago

This seems like a similar setting to the lighthouse in the 2019 documentary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lighthouse_(2019_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lighthouse_(2019_film)

trimbo 7y ago
It does seem similar, but it's an original film, not a documentary.