Friday, June 9, 2023
Today was all about a hike in the Pictured Rocks National Seashore. There's a trail west of Grand Marais that had a little of everything. And it definitely lived up it.
Forty-five degrees at the trailhead. Perfect.
The hike begins at the Lower Hurricane Campground. From the parking lot, it's 1.7 miles to a lighthouse. The hiking guidebook suggested walking along the coastline. It also says, "if you're uncomfortable wading around obstacles..." The Park Service trail follows the access road to the lighthouse. I chose to follow the road.
As I walked, three Park Service trucks passed me by. One had a trailer and one was pulling a wood chipper. In preparation for the season, they were clearing up some down trees. Tours of the lighthouse are still a few weeks away.
The Au Sable Light Station was built here in 1874 to protect ships from the sandstone reef just offshore.
Past the lighthouse, the trail gets a little more interesting. It's two miles through the woods along the Lake Superior Coast. Since I was looking into the morning sun, shots from overlooks are all from the walk back.
At the two mile point, you reach a place called the Log Slide. The name comes from a chute the loggers built. It was an easy, efficient way to get logs down the steep sand embankment to the lake for shipping.
These days, some people like to slide down and try and hike back up. As the warning sign says...
None of the people atop the slide had any intentions of trying to climb back up. But we all agreed, we would have loved to see someone try.
From the hike back...
When I arrived back at the lighthouse, my phone chirped. My friend Madeline sent me a picture from her morning in a butterfly house. I sent her a photo of this bush in bloom.
Only then did I note the butterflies flitting about. So, I sent this one, too.
From the campground and beach near the trailhead...
After dinner, I took a walk out to the lakefront, hoping for a sunset...
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