Hiking Muchigan's Upper Peninsula
This "tales from the road" is going to be different than the previous entries, as it describes hiking, one of my favorite activities.
We set out to hike the entire Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which follows Lake Superior's southern shoreline in Michigan's upper peninsula. Our guide was experienced to the area, and had the trip plotted out for 43 miles over 5 days. We set out on day one to rain, which continued the entire day and was a delige until two of us reached camp, as breakoffs from the main group, who had to slow up as one of the campers was dealing with illness. The rain broke, and we prepared to pitch our tents, and immediately the rain started up again. I broke a tent pole for my brand new tent straightaway, and set about repairing it with duct tape. The repair was successful and would hole for the duration.
The second day, we continued to the incredible scenery of the lakeshore, but to even more rain, which would continue on the rest of the day. We made camp early, and I found out I had chosen my equipment poorly, as my tent was only large enough to hold me lying down (I had chosen it for its 2.5 pound pack weight). The next morning was more of the same, the rain fell all day and we were beginning to feel the strain of the hike. Camp was atop a 200 foot cliff, and we were fortunate to have a canopy that shielded us further from the falling rain.
Day four, we awoke to even more rain, but were pleased to see it break about 2 hours before we made camp, just 50 feet away from a private beach, completely inaccessible by road. The icy Lake Superior water was balm to our aching feet, and we relaxed on the seashore to truly enjoy this little piece of paradise and disregard the 12 miles we had awaiting us on day 5. This was also our "food dump", and we pigged out on the food we had remaining that we wouldn't need for tomorrow's jaunt. We arose early on day 5, refreshed and ready for the hike ahead.
We left one of our hikers at a scenic overlook 5 miles into day 5, as he was worn out and we could reach him here by road. This also gave us the opportunity to ditch our packs, which we gladly relinquished for the remainder of the journey. Two miles into the final 7 mile stretch, I sprained my ankle. The return trip of two miles was impractical, as I would have to go it alone, so I trudged on with my comrades in complete and utter pain that intensified with every step. The final five miles were brutal, but we completed them and our hike, and loaded up for the return trip home.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
signing off,
Gideon MacLeish