Saturday August 26, 2017

Ready to Hike

We have a nice continental breakfast of homemade muffins and coffee. Sunday is supposed to be a rainy day so we have changed up our hiking plans a bit and do a few things today that we had planned for tomorrow. This means a 45 minute drive to our first stop which is to hike the Chapel Trail. It is supposed to be one of the nicer trails in the park. We arrive at the trail head a little before 1000. It is not too crowded but the lot is big so it must be a popular place.

Nosy Tree

We head out and enter a beautiful forest. It is so green here and ferns carpet the forest floor. We hear a noise that sounds like a bird of some sort and try to locate where the sound is coming from. We stop and I focus in on it and then see the source. It is a funny looking bird as it is doing a great job of mimicking a chipmunk. Its cheek is full of whatever it is eating and it is very vocal about us being here. I just never heard a chipmunk make the sound that this one is making. After a while we pass a tree that doesn’t want to mind its own business, it is really quite nosy. The path is quite nice to walk on and pretty wide as we continue under the green canopy.

Carol at Chapel Falls

At about the mile and a half mark we reach Chapel Falls. They are very nice as they cascade down in front of us. We then cross a bridge and get to see the falls from above and also the other side of the ravine. Then we have to figure out where the trail goes as there are several worn paths here and no signage. We pick the one that looks most promising and after a while are sure we are on the right path. A young couple follows us and we start to talk to them. They are from the Detroit area and with their company the next mile and a half goes by very fast.

CNC Chapel Rock

This brings us to Chapel Rock. It is a sea stack on Lake Superior but what makes it unique is the tree that is growing on it. With not enough water and nutrients on the stack to support it, the tree sent its roots across the abyss to the mainland. It is really quite astonishing and makes you wonder how the roots were able to get across and take hold. We also get a great view of cliffs across the beach below.

Chapel Beach

From here, we head down to Chapel Beach which is a nice sandy beach. Carol sits while I go and walk in the water up to my knees. It does not feel that cold to me and I debate on whether to go in. I decide against it as we have a 3 plus mile hike back and I do not have a suit and don’t want to get my Ex Officio’s wet. We hang out enjoying the sun and sand while watching kayakers and other people enjoy it also. It is soon time to start back as there are a few other things we want to see. We are doing a loop and this side of the loop is quite different than the other. For one thing the trail is much wetter on this side. The forest is also a lot thicker and yet we walk along at a good clip. When we reach the parking lot, it is full and overflowing. There are cars parked along the road into the lot for almost a mile as we leave. We are glad that we got an early start to our day.

CNC Miners Castle

We now drive a little further up the road to our next stop which is Miners Rock. This is a favorite picturesque point along the shore and just a short walk to the overlook. It is as advertised with the water of the lake a beautiful blue green. We are now on a roll and head to our last stop for the day which is a short hike to Munising Falls. We do a quick to and from as we are now pretty tired from our day. Then we drive an hour back to our cabin and have a nice pasta meal. We finish our day by relaxing outside on the patio watching the sun set. Picture Rocks has been a great stop and tomorrow we will see more of Michigan.