Michigan, Day 10...On the Edge

 Saturday, June 10, 2023

     When I went to bed the night before, the weather guessers had rain most of the morning and a storm rolling through in the afternoon.  I woke up expecting the patter of rain.  Now it was supposed to clear by 9A with no more rain.  The day's high temperature was only supposed to be 53 degrees.  Perfect.  

     The trail on tap started at about the midway point between Grand Marais and Munising.  On the drive west, the sky darkened and a light rain began to fall. 

     Seen along the road...

 It had stopped by the time I hit the turnoff.  From there it was five miles of dirt and gravel to the mostly empty parking lot.  One positive of the rain, it did make the potholes more visible.  

                     

     The sky was starting to lighten and blue patches began to appear.  I was feeling pretty good about the day.  The trail I had chosen was the Chapel Falls Loop with a little extra for Mosquito Falls.  All told, it would be a ten mile day.

    It all begins with a nice wide trail through the woods...

     Chapel Falls...

     There's a footbridge across the river above the falls.  On the other side, the trail could go either right or left.  Head off to the right and the trail fades into the forest.  To the left, a wooden overlook of Chapel Falls, from the other side.  

     That's when I met a group of young backpackers heading to the parking lot.  They thought they had gotten lost.  I know that feeling.  I told them the bridge was two minutes up the hill.  Cross it and go right.  It's a gentle slope all the way out.  

     You know you're getting close to the lakefront when you can hear the tour boats.  The trail brings you right out right by Chapel Rock.

     From there's it's three and a half mile along the North Country Trail, most of which was right along the cliffs overlooking the Pictured Rocks.  

      There was just something about that water.  

      At one point, I noticed a kayaking tour down below and waved.  They waved back.  That's what was on tap for the next day.   I was amazed I could actually see the rocks below the kayakers.  Pretty cool.

        I stood by the edge of a cliff to get this shot.

      That's when I noticed the birds.  It's really easy to get in the zone and forget your footing.  This isn't exactly a good thing standing on a cliff.  I learned a trick many years ago.  There was a large rock next to me.  I pressed the outside of my left foot against that rock and made sure I always felt it.  This way I knew I had a good two feet between me and the edge.    Yeah, I was having fun with it.

     This is where I was standing while shooting the birds.      

     

      The crazy thing is, while I was walking along, I could see a fog rolling it.  Within ten minutes, you could barely see a thing from the overlooks.  I spoke with a kayaker the next day and the tour company cut theirs short right away.  He was impressed the boat made it back since he couldn't see anything.

       Eventually, I did make it to the Mosquito Falls Trail that would take me back to the car.   

      Mosquito Falls

      It was a little after 4P when I arrived back at the parking lot.  By now it was full, with cars parking on the side of the entrance road as well.

     The fog was flowing across the road as I drove west to Munising(pr; MEW-nising) I was staying at an independent place called Superior Motel.  

     After the day's hike I figured I had earned a beer or two.  Munising has two breweries.  I randomly picked East Channel Brewing.  Good call.  It's a smaller place with only five beers on tap at the moment.  Their stout, delicious.

     That's where I met some of the locals.  Kyle also retired a few months ago.  We had a nice chat about that and it turned out our situations are similar.  Chelsea was tending bar.  She's getting married in two weeks.  Her fiancée wandered in a little later and seems like a good guy.