Pictured Rocks

Listen to this reflection by playing the video below or continue down the page to read the full text version.

This week I completed a thru hike at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior. It was my intent to make this my first multi-night hike and test my endurance carrying the full weight of a 40 lbs. backpack.

For me, it is much more enjoyable to hike with someone. The pool of available friends and relatives to take a 42-mile multi-day hike through the wilderness is small. Fortunately, my cousin Paul was available and up to the challenge. He accepted my invitation to accompany me on this journey.

Although not a hiker himself, Paul has completed multiple marathons so we were confident he would be able to complete the four-day, three-night hike. The first challenge was procuring light weight hiking gear. He needed a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and backpack. I was able to borrow most of these items from generous neighbors (thank you Dana and Thomas). I found a tent in the return bin at REI at a small fraction of its cost new.

A couple of nights before our trip I set out all the items we needed to take on the trip on my basement floor and double checked our gear. I charged my Garmin InReach Mini, a satellite GPS communicator, and attached it to my bag. When everything was packed, my backpack weighed in at exactly 40 lbs. while Paul’s weighed in at 35 lbs.

The plan was for us to embark from Munising Falls on the North Country Trail heading east toward Grand Marias. We would cover approximately 12 miles each of the first three days and 6 miles on the final day. Total mileage was 42 miles.

The weather was perfect with just the haze from the Canadian wildfires keeping it from being a perfect start. We were on the trail by 9:15 with a goal of making our first campsite at Mosquito River by 3:00. It seems like any hike I take; the first mile is always uphill. This was no different. We anticipated the first few miles would be through the deep woods with little to see so we set a brisk pace to eat up some of the miles. Day 1 was uneventful with little to note. I would have preferred the trail to be better marked with blazes, but I am not sure if the National Park Service allowed them. It created confusion from time to time as trails intersected with no clear markings.

We made Mosquito River with relative ease a little after 3:00 in the afternoon. We set up camp after spending about 15 minutes searching for the correct site. For some reason site 4 was the only site not listed on the map. We finally came across a site with the number 4 scratched onto the marker by previous campers.

Mosquito River was busy. Day hikers could get to it with a relatively short two-mile hike and the kayak companies dropped off their clients in the vicinity making for a very busy area. After a leisurely dinner and dip in the lake, we sat up talking. We were relieved that Mosquito River did not live up to its name as there were relatively few bugs at all. We hit the sack by 9:00 PM with another big day ahead of us.

The forecast for Day 2 was for showers later in the afternoon. With that in mind, we broke camp early hoping to reach our next campsite at Pine Bluff before the rain. After an hour on the trail, we realized that the showers would arrive much earlier as we saw some ominous clouds to our west. We donned our rain gear as the showers caught up to us, but it only rained for about an hour as the trail wound its way through the canopy.

Our pace was slowed as we circumvented numerous areas of mud. All morning we made a steady climb through the woods and were finally rewarded as the trail leveled off at the top of Pictured Rocks majestic cliffs. The trail followed the edge of the cliff for the remainder of the morning with several spots where the trail edge literally dropped 200 feet to Lake Superior. The views were breathtaking.

At one point we came across a young buck with velvet on his antlers. He was making a meal of a root just off the edge of the trail. The trail went directly between the buck and a 200 foot drop off. We were a little shy of trying to pass him that close to the edge of the cliff, but he refused to yield. As I slowly passed him, I could have reached out and petted his nose. The root must have been a delicacy because our passing did not dissuade him from continuing his meal!

Late that morning we reached Grand Portal Point. I can best describe this spot as a quarter mile long sandy ledge. It was beach-like, but with a 200 foot drop to Lake Superior. The rain broke and it started to clear, so we pulled out our chairs and lingered for over an hour. Only one other hiker came through during that time, so we had the view all to ourselves.

Later in the afternoon, we took a break on a similar shelf near Spray Falls and met two families and their grandfather who were making a shorter trek. It was nice to share the view and stories of our journey to date. The towering cliffs morphed to elevated sand dunes as we made our next campsite, Pine Bluff, by 3:30 in the afternoon. Paul and I were both a bit gassed and the sandy beach near our campsite was a welcome respite to wash some of the days grime away. At this point the beach stretched for miles.

That night we met two families from the Cincinnati area and a couple from just East of St. Louis around the communal fire ring. We enjoyed their company. By 9:00 PM (Hiker’s midnight) we all headed off to our tents for the night to recharge for the following day.

Day 3 dawned with a promise of perfect weather. We had a leisurely breakfast before we hit the trail. Since the trail hugged the shoreline of Lake Superior, Paul and I decided to walk the beach for as long as we could before rejoining the trail. We managed to hike two miles on the water’s edge with just the sound of the lapping waves to keep us company before we had to rejoin the trail.

We once again decided to take extended breaks every three or four miles to rest up and hydrate. Twelve Mile Beach and Hurricane River were nice stops as the accumulated mileage began to cause fatigue. Reaching our campsite around 4:00 PM at Au Sable East was welcome as we reached total mileage of 36 miles.

That night, we met four couples from Toronto around the communal campfire and shared our stories. Ironically, they were doing the exact same hike at the same campsites, but in the opposite direction. We turned in early around 8:30 with plans to get an early start in the morning.

We broke camp around 6:45 AM and hit the trail. We managed to take in the early morning sun over Lake Superior as we headed East toward the dunes. Our final destination turned out to be 7.2 miles instead of six that morning. After hiking 36 miles, that extra 1.2 miles seemed somewhat unfair. The first mile was a grind as we had to climb from lake level to the top of the dunes, a 350 foot climb. We rested at the Log Chute to catch our breath for the final push. We resisted the temptation to descend the Log Chute as a sign warned us that although the trip down was quick, it could take up to an hour to climb back up the dune.

With the end in sight, we hit the trail again. The trail was kind and gave us a relatively flat, wide trail for several miles. We covered 5 miles without a break before we had to stop to hydrate one last time before tackling the last mile. We caught our second wind as we neared Grand Sable Visitor Center and the completion of our 42-mile trek.

As the parking lot came into sight, I was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought about how proud Amy would be of us completing this goal. A year ago, I would never have imagined being able to spend four days and three nights in the wilderness let alone walking 42 miles. I can honestly say, I enjoyed this trip more than The Porkies thanks to the company of my cousin Paul and the people we met along the way.

The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument awaits me at the end of September. I feel prepared for the trip, but I worry about the void that will be waiting for me upon my return. I have been razor focused on training and preparing for this one event. How will I deal with the emptiness afterward?

I am going to need a break both physically and mentally after this trip. My feet certainly need to recover after walking more than 1,200 miles since Amy passed.

I am not sure what lies ahead for me in this new life I have been forced to architect. I imagine I am going to need to continue to rely on my friends and family as I walk this journey. But I know Amy would want me to embrace the joy of this challenge and soak in the beauty of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

Miss you every day, Love.