Superior Lakes & Pictured Rocks

          Excited to get to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for Andy’s first time, we drove straight to the edge of the Pictured Rocks wilderness on the edge of Lake Superior, arriving fairly late in the evening.  We spent the night in the truck on a two-track forest road, got up early the next morning and went into Munising for a wilderness pass. We parked the truck at Beaver Creek, and hiked East till we hit Lake Superior for our first camp. 

         Unfortunately, as we got into camp, I developed a migraine, and had to make camp quickly; the constant bombardment of mosquitos certainly didn’t help. Sleeping under a tarp, I have never been so thankful for the rectangular mosquito net we picked up at the last minute.  The Upper Peninsula’s famous mosquitos are no joke, although I still think Minnesota is worse ;) As I laid down, Andy set to sewing birch bark he had collected along the way, making little bark boxes. Camping next to us, a boy and his father made for very entertaining company. The little boy told us all about his wilderness skills, camping experience etc. consistently reiterating that he wasn’t even a boy scout.  Later that night, the boy came across a little tree frog that he thought would make for an excellent pet. Needing a container for his new friend, Andy gave him the bark box that he had just finished.

The next day, bright and early, we hiked West toward the Coves camp, a short 3 or 4 miles down the trail. As we began to set up our camp and prepare for our day hike to chapel rock, we were surprised to find the boy and his father coming around the corner. The little boy had insisted on saying goodbye before they hiked out, and knowing our itinerary, knew where they could find us. He thanked us again for the bark box, saying it would be the center piece of their fireplace mantel. After saying our goodbyes, they departed for the trailhead while we made our way further down the trail. Another 4 miles or so and we reached our prized destination –chapel rock. Carved out by Lake Superior, this rock out cropping had been disconnected from the mainland, with a large hole carved through the center. Atop of the rock, grew a large white pine, with roots extending through the air back to mainland. One of nature’s finer master pieces, we sat and watched as waves crashed through the rock.

               We hiked back to camp, along the waterfalls and cliff sides, slept like rocks. In the morning we hiked inland to Beaver Creek eventually making it back to the truck. We made our final goodbyes, then headed on toward Marquette and the Western Upper Peninsula.