Pictured Rocks
Day 14,15
Friday and Saturday, May 24-25
Grand Portage to Munising
On the way back from Grand Portage I swung through Michigan's upper
peninsula to spend a couple of nights at Munising and to visit the pictured rocks. This use to be my favorite place in the UP prior to my
trip to Isle Royale. My Fiancée had never been there, and I met her in
Marquette on the way back. We headed out early as they were forecasting
rain. It had not rained during the prior two weeks and I knew several times
it was suppose to, so we weren't too worried. Our first stop was a short
side trip to Castle Rock,
just about the only part of the rocks
you can see without a long walk. From the parking lot, it is only a couple of hundred feet to the overlook.
From
there, we headed to the chapel beach parking lot to begin our hike. Our
plan was to hike the Chapel Loop, which is a triangle from
the parking lot to Chapel Beach to Mosquito Beach and back to the parking
lot, about 9 miles total. By now, it had gotten a lot cloudier. Fortunately,
we had some rain gear with us, but unfortunately she only had tennis shoes.
We started out heading to Chapel beach with a stop at
Chapel Falls. The total for this trip is about 3 miles and we did it in
about 1.5 hours. After two weeks on the island, I had forgotten just how
wide and packed down the trails here were.
By the time we reached the beach, it had been raining for some time. I
wasn't sure how the pictures would turn out because of the sky being overcast. We didn't stay long, as I knew we had several hours of
walking to go. The section between Chapel and Mosquito definitely had the best sections of rocks on the while trip.
Several people who have seen my pictures have commented on the color of
the water. All I can say it yes, the water really looks that green. Perfectly clear, but still tinted. You also don't get a good
perspective on just how height the rocks are from the pictures, nor can you capture the view and feeling you get when looking down at the water
from the trail, often a trail that is only a couple of feet from the edge of a sheer cliff.
The
whole hike took us about 6 hours. Once we left Mosquito, we were moving
quite fast as the rain had picket up and we had had just about
enough of being out in it. Fortunately, we carried a day pack. I thought
it would be mostly used for drinking water, but fortunately we had three
extra pair of socks stashed in there as well. My feet were fine as I had
on my gortex lined boots, but she used up all three pair of socks plus
put on another as soon as we
reached the car. I'm planning on going back for a solo hike in August,
where I plan on doing the whole trail along the lakeshore.
On the way back from Grand Portage I swung through Michigan's upper
peninsula to spend a couple of nights at Munising and to visit the pictured rocks. This use to be my favorite place in the UP prior to my
trip to Isle Royale. My Fiancée had never been there, and I met her in
Marquette on the way back. We headed out early as they were forecasting
rain. It had not rained during the prior two weeks and I knew several times
it was suppose to, so we weren't too worried. Our first stop was a short
side trip to Castle Rock,
just about the only part of the rocks
From
there, we headed to the chapel beach parking lot to begin our hike. Our
plan was to hike the Chapel Loop, which is a triangle from
the parking lot to Chapel Beach to Mosquito Beach and back to the parking
lot, about 9 miles total. By now, it had gotten a lot cloudier. Fortunately,
we had some rain gear with us, but unfortunately she only had tennis shoes.
We started out heading to Chapel beach with a stop at
Chapel Falls. The total for this trip is about 3 miles and we did it in
about 1.5 hours. After two weeks on the island, I had forgotten just how
wide and packed down the trails here were.
By the time we reached the beach, it had been raining for some time. I
wasn't sure how the pictures would turn out because of the sky being overcast. We didn't stay long, as I knew we had several hours of
walking to go. The section between Chapel and Mosquito definitely had the best sections of rocks on the while trip.
Several people who have seen my pictures have commented on the color of
the water. All I can say it yes, the water really looks that green. Perfectly clear, but still tinted. You also don't get a good
perspective on just how height the rocks are from the pictures, nor can you capture the view and feeling you get when looking down at the water
from the trail, often a trail that is only a couple of feet from the edge of a sheer cliff.
The
whole hike took us about 6 hours. Once we left Mosquito, we were moving
quite fast as the rain had picket up and we had had just about
enough of being out in it. Fortunately, we carried a day pack. I thought
it would be mostly used for drinking water, but fortunately we had three
extra pair of socks stashed in there as well. My feet were fine as I had
on my gortex lined boots, but she used up all three pair of socks plus
put on another as soon as we
reached the car. I'm planning on going back for a solo hike in August,
where I plan on doing the whole trail along the lakeshore.