Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail Day 3 - May 27, 2012

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We ended the day sitting on the rocky beach at Mosquito Beach watching a very nice sunset. A few high fluffy clouds added quality to the sunset - after all clouds make a sunset a bit better. Given how dreary the day started out having the sunset under crisp clear skies was a treat. When we finally began dragging ourselves out of bed this morning things were different.

During the night it rained a bit, nothing heavy, but enough to dampen our shelters. Once in a while the wind seemed to shift just right and some of us caught whiffs of smoke which we assume is from the forest fire by Seeney. A nocturnal vistior, could have been a bear or a raccoon or something completely inocuous kept others up for a couple of hours too. In short a lively night.

We began pulling ourselves together somehwat later than the day before. I think the grey damp weather probably had something to do with that. But we got on to the trail just before 09:00. The hike at first is not terribly interesting even with the scattered views of Big Beaver Lake. We stopped at one of these for a bite to eat and were able to watch a boat putter on by below - probably someone out fishing.

Until we neared Chapel Beach the sun really did not banish the clouds. At The Coves, wonderful sandstgone coves, we hung out for a bit enjoying the scenery. We strolled along the high cliffs getting closer to Spray Falls which this time I did not see. I walked right by the best viewing spot for the falls which is a shame. I understand they were spurting pretty well. I suppose I could have backtracked after passing the so seemingly small stream that creates the brilliant spray of Spray Falls.



Photo: We came upon Grand Portal Point with the dun high in the sky ruining colors. I don't recall that massive boulder blocking the arch last year.




Photo: a tour boat out of Munising I think. Now and then they rumble by with their public address systems barring unintelligibly. You go to views the shoreline from the water and I am sure it is stunning.

By the time we arrived at Chapel Beach, early afternoon now around 14:00, the sun had long since burned the clouds off and the day had warmed to about 76. It was hot by our standards. We were not in a hurry to leave and so hung out on a bluff overlooking the seemingly rockus beach activity of what I suppose were mostly day hikers . Now and then a tour boat rumbled on by but none of this really bothered us. It was a great place to take a siesta and ours lasted the better part of two hours.



Photo: we had a great gime watching the sunset on the sandstone point at Mosquito Beach.

One thing about this poriton of the hike is it is full of views of Lake Superior. In the morning she was grey and a bit agitated but by the time we were strutting down the trail edging along the clifftops west of Chapel Beach she was a wonderful turquoise shading to rich blue farther out. Spectacular. We walked into Mosquito Beach campground a bit before 19:00 and got ourselves set up. To avoid the bugs and be closer to the sunset we elected to have dinner near the beach. What a great choice that was. The bugs danced on our legs but that was a small price to pay. It has been a very good day.

Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail Day 2 - May 26, 2012

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Photo: Au Sable lighthouse.
It took a bit longer to drift off to sleep last night than I would have liked. In fact I don't think I got the best night of sleep I have had which is a bit disherartening. Maybe the moon was shining on in or, more likely, the chill breeze disturbed me. Hopefully tonight will be better. The camp really got itself moving around 07:00 and just after 08:00 under clear sunny skies we were heading out towards breakfast at the Au Sable Lighthouse. Last year the lighthouse was shrouded under rainy skies. Today there was not a hint of rain and the white and red lighthouse stood out wonderfully along with its many out-buildings. You actually felt like you were baking on the porch as you ate breakfast. Wonderful.
We headed down to the beach which was a real treat for everyone this year. The lake was a deep blue and little whitecaps broke against the rocks and shipwrecks alike. The scene was gorgeous. I had missed the shipwrecks last year so was really happy to see what was left of these once proud boats. We ambled along the beach skirting the surf line and enjoying the morning air. No one was in a hurry.


Photos: The shipwrecks between the lighthouse and Hurricane River. Not much left after 125 years and more. Between the cross bracing you get little pools that wax and wane with the waves.

I believe Andy considers the trail from Hurricane River to 12 Mile campground his favorite stretch. While I will grant the forest is nice I don't think it is my favorite potion. Perhaps if I could see the variety of flowers and trees better I'd have a different opinion. Like yesterday the trail had several blowdowns to contend with though I do think they were less numerous.
The excitement of the day would come when we arrived at 7 Mile after our rather languid lunch at 12 Mile. When I arrived, several minutes after the lead group, I had missed the excitement. There is a fire ban in effect. It has been in effect since at least the 25th. It is very dry out here and there have been many fires. Andy and others found a group who had a roaring fire going in a fire ring. No one seemed to want to douse the fire (and they had been told by others it was wrong). Luckily for them no ranger had come by yet to see this illegal fire. Andy couldn't find anyone in charge so he doused the fire himself. That caused a bit of rancor with the guy that might be that group's leader and I suppose he felt Andy was being presumptuous but really a fire ban is not imposed because people don't like fires but because a fire can so easily get out of control and cause massive damage. I hope those folks understand what the real issue was but I admit I'll never know (and doubt they do).
After taking a pleasant break on the 7 Mile beach

Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail Day 2 - May 26, 2012: I eish i had a series of photos tracking how this aging wreck of a Plymouth has changed over the years. I'm sure the graffiti is far you ger than the car.
We pushed on the last 4 miles (12.1 mile day) to Trappers Lake. Again the trail had some blowdowns to deal with but it also passed through some lovely hemlock forest and through other pleasing areas. By 18:15 everyone had arrived at the camppground as clouds completed taking over the sky. Now a little before 21:00 it is overcast with clouds that look marginally threatening. It feels more humid than last night and the temerpature now is about 63. I think it will be cooler tonight and I expect it will rain. That'll help keep unwanted fires out (someone was here last night and they had a fire that we found the remains of this afternoon and the ashes were still warm).

Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail Day 1 - May 25, 2012

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Everyone else is likely asleep by now . I've just gotten everything sorted under my Trailstar into a semblance of reasonable order and so now with darkness pretty much wholly upon us I can begin to discuss today's procedings. Perhaps some of you who have read my trail journals before will be wondering what I could possibly have to say about a trail I have hiked twice before (I'm a newbie compared to some people on this trip who have trekked along the Lakeshore Trail at least 10 times. I am only on my third traverse). While it may be true I have less to say about some things it is certainly not the case that I have nothing to say. After all, this year is different from last year which was different from the time several years before when I hiked the trail the first time.
We stayed at the campground in Bay Furnance National Forest. This is a forest just by Christmas, MI and we elected to stay there because a forest fire was burning not far from Seney where we normally would stay. This campground is closer to Munising than the one at Seney but that meant we had a longer driving day Thursday. The flipside is you get to sleep in an hour so I suppose is is something of a six-of-one; half-dozen of the other deal. We set our shelters up under spitting skies and very warm air temperature. It was warmer last night at 01:30 (OK, this morning) than it is now (60F at 22:30). The rains had subsided by the time And and Elwira arrived around 02:00 and everyone slept as well as might be expected until about 07:00 when we all seriously began getting our stuff together for the drive into Munising for breakfast at Sydneys. We found Joni already there waiting for us having spent another superb time at the Sunset lodge (Inn?). We linked up with Gail and her sister Julie and Gail's friend Sue at the park visitor center around 09:00 and once we got the paperwork squared away we went to pick up the All Tran (Altran?) shuttle at Sand Point. The morning was bright and quite clear. In direct sunshine it could prove to be pretty warm but under the shade of the forest we did not expect it to be unpleasant at all. When the shuttle dropped us off at the Sable Falls trailhead around 11:00 we shouldered our burdens and sallied forth.

Photo: walk fown the steps too get a nice view of this waterfall.
Last year, around this time, the trail was bursting with wildflowers, especially trillum. This year it seems that the wildflower season came earlier and the bulk of it has now passed into history. Some trillum and star flowers can be found here and there, and ladyslippers pop up now and then along with little flurries of violets. But it is nothing compared to last year. Compared to last year the number of blow downs, large and small, is also quite imcomparable. I did not count how many we climbed over and detoured around but it was well into double digits through the entire 9 mile section. Even at popular places like the paved access path that leads to the Logslide a large blowdown that will require a chain saw gang to clear impedes traffic. I don't think these all came down just recently but it is clear the park service must be struggling to get certain tasks done. The blowdowns did slow us down a bit and certainly made the trail much more of a nature trail than it otherwise might be tought of. However, we made reasonable time nonethless.


Photos: Though you really cannot see it the Au Sable Lighthouse sits on the farther point perhaps 2 trail miles distant. The pink lady slippers were on the path to my camping spot.
We arrived at Au Sable East group site around 18:30 which was pretty much when we expected to arrive. We had taken nice breaks here and there and since sunset wasn't until after 21:00 and darkness probably doesn't really close in until close on 22:00 we were in no hurry to get to the campsite. Once there we got chores done but as soon as most of us could get back down to Lake Superior we did. Our excuse was that we had to collect water for cooking and such. But really given the quality of the Lake wouldn't you rather spend time on a beach chatting with friends instead of sitting on a hard rough log around a fire ring you cannot use due to a fire ban? Most of us would choose the former: and did.


Photos: Julie (top) and Gail (below) on the beach at our campsite at Au Sable East.
I'm going to sign off now and get some well deserved rest. I also hope to find that the rest will do my leg some good. I slammed the crap out of it on a rock on the beach just after sunset and though I don't think I did serious damage it does hurt some now and I hope that will pass by tomorrow morning.

Pictured Rocks, Lakeshore Trail, May 2012

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We have finished our Memorial Day weekend annual hike along the Lakeshore Trail in Picgtured Rocks National Lakeshore. Everyone is heading home now we're perhaps an hour below the Bridge back in the LP). It was a very good trip and I'll have a lot more to share once I get everything sorted and (with luck) get additional photos from others.

We had very good weather throughout the trip. It drizzled a little bit one morning and sprinkled two evenings. The last day, especially in the afternoon, was wickedly hot. Lake Superior was surprisingly warm, which isn't to say it was actually warm, when I had to wade in to fetch water (a camp bucket proves its worth yet again).

While this year did not reveal the explosions of wildflowers that we saw last year many flowers were in abundance for those who could spot them: nodding triillium, star flower, Jack in the Pulpit, ladyslippers (pink and some yellow), and many others like violets and forget-me-nots. Unfortunately, unlike previous years, the trail is in dire need of some maintenance. On the first two days from Grand Marais (Sable Dunes) to Trapper Lake we encounters blowdowns in great number. Many were simple fairly easy step-over-the-log types but quite a few were massive blowdowns that you had to skirt or carefully climb: big chainsaw jobs. I don't think these are all particularly recent blowdowns so for wahtever reason trail maintenance seems to be lagging behind the need. But dealing with blowdowns can be thought of as part of the charm of doing a multi-day backpacking trip. You just deal with it.

Lake Superior showed herself in many moods and colors. We saw many shades of turquoise particularly when walking along the high cliffs between Coves and Grand Portal Point. We also were able to get good looks at a couple of the shipwrecks which is always a treat. As you can see the sandstone rocks showed their colors quite well at times too. The time we spent on the rocks at Mosquito Beach at sunset was time very well spent.

The waterfall is the one at the Grand Sable Dunes at the start of the trail. The sandstone rocks are at Mosquito Beach and the sunset shot was taken there too. The campsite photo that features my Trailstar among others was our spot at Trappers Lake.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Backpacking Trip - May 2011

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore sits on the southern shore of Lake Superior in Alger County, Michigan. For the last several years a trip loosely organized by the Western Michigan chapter of the North Country Trail Association has gone to hike the full length of the Lakeshore Trail over the Memorial Day Weekend. The Lakeshore Trail runs for 42 miles. It is an easy hiking trail as these things go with just a smattering of small ups and downs sprinkled about. The trail spends a great deal of time within easy sight of Lake Superior. This means walkers often have wonderful views of the lake in all its moods. When you don't have fine views of the lake you may have the pleasure of looking at huge stretches of wildflowers and richly endowed forests.

The Lakeshore Trail, Pictured Rocks - May 2011 from Ken Knight on Vimeo.

If you would rather listen to just the audio use the following player.

The trip journals can be found here:

• Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail - Day 1
• Pictured Rocks Lakeshore trail - Day 2
• Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail - Day 3
• Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail - Day 4

Fortune Bay Expedition Team on Garden Island July 2011

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During July 2011 the Fortune Bay Expedition Team made a weekend trip to this northern Lake Michigan island. During our time there we explored, slept, made fires, swam, and had an all-around good time. These photos and video gives you just a hint of what we did.

Costa Rica - Around Tortuguero

While I have already written about our couple days in this interesting northern Caribbean coastal village I hope this video will give you a bit more of an idea what the place was like. It takes quite a fair bit of effort and time to reach this village and though the ecosystem it presents is certainly interesting I would have preferred to spend more time elsewhere and gotten more actively involved in things. That is part of the "problem" with the time we did spend in Tortuguero: it was pretty passive. However, we did see things here, along the seashore tropics, that I suppose we would not have seen anywhere else.