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.

Okay, disaster might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it would have been bad. A few hours into our second day I was handing Emily the roll of toilet paper. Well, she thought I was holding it out for her to tear off a piece. We both let go of the treasured object at the same time and watched in horror as it bounced down the hill toward the edge of the cliff. As our only roll of t.p. neared the edge of the cliff, it bounced in such a way that it started to unroll just as I caught up to it. About 3 feet from the edge, I managed to step on the end of the ribbon of tissue as the rest unrolled itself over the cliff, effectively tp-ing Pictured Rocks. For those of you who don’t believe in miracles, listen to this… There happened to be a patch of moss on the edge of the cliff right where the roll went over, which allowed me to slowly pull up the entire moss-speckled roll, 2 feet at a time. Whew, crisis averted.

Obviously, nothing could top a good t.p. story, but the rest of the trip was fun too. We caught crawfish (which we ate) and froglets (which we did not eat) in Trappers Lake and got some beautiful pictures. We looped back to the lake and hiked along 12-mile beach where we saw the only people we’d see for two days; they were kayakers who were stranded on the beach by the high waves. After backtracking and spending a night by chapel beach we headed west and ate breakfast on the top of Grand Portal (a giant stone arch) on our last morning. As we were eating breakfast and watching the sun rise, a few deer came out on the slab of rock about 100 yards away. They proceeded to chase and play with one another in a way best described as ‘romping’. We watched them for the next 15 minutes as they jumped and pounced like puppies before they and we decided to move on.

We had some wet weather but the trip was pretty much ideal. We had plenty of time to relax, got in a swim in Superior, and took a lot of pictures. We always recommend this place to beginner or experienced backpackers alike.