Drowning doesn't look like drowning

I guess it does look like drowning...because it is. What I mean is that is doesn't look like you might expect it to look. Listen to this... "of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening" (article).

Here is a great article about what to actually look for and be aware of around the water: http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

Backpacking in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

[Chris] A backpacking trip Emily and I did in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in 2008. We think it is definitely a place you should check out.

In 2008 we packed in a number of trips and adventures. After a week at the Galvin family reunion (Em’s mom’s side), we stopped for a backpacking trip in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Superior side of the U.P. in Michigan. This was an easy-going, on-trail trip with spectacular scenery. We had a little more experience going into this trip than we did in the Grand Canyon. We also had some new gear, including a backing stove (MSR Simmerlite) that boiled water a little more efficiently than my home-made fuel-tablet stove.

We started this trip at the trailhead to chapel rock and would cover 30 miles over 4 days. We saw quite a few day hikers at the beach by chapel rock but would only see a few people over the middle two days. Chapel rock is one of the many amazing rock formations along the lakeshore. On the top of the formation is a tree with massive roots that span the gap between the neighboring cliff. From chapel rock we headed east along the tops of the cliffs toward 12-mile beach. It was on top of these cliffs that our trip almost ended in disaster.