For this hike I travel over 300 miles north into the upper peninsula of Michigan to explore the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. It’s a trip I’ve been planning since January and that in part inspired this year’s Twelve Hikes. 

 

The park is 26 miles long and 10 miles wide with over 60,000 acres on the southern shores of Lake Superior. It has 90 miles of backcountry hiking trails, inland lakes, waterfalls, streams and virgin forest of eastern hemlock and northern hardwoods. You can spend your days backpacking deep in the woods or park in an RV on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior.  I recommend the deep in the woods option!

 

 

I spent 3 days exploring the park and kept a daily diary. For this post I thought I’d give you a glimpse into what was going through my mind while I was there.

 

September 21

 

OMG! I just woke up in the Porcupine Mountains!  I slept great which really surprised me since I never sleep well my first night in a new bed. I did wake at one point during the night thinking about my mom and thinking that there was something healing about this wilderness. It was very comforting.

 

I got here about 6:00 last night after a long day of driving and got my camp set up. It is so beautiful here! I’m on the east end of the park at the Union Bay Campground right on Lake Superior. I can hear the waves as I’m sitting here and I can almost see the lake. Most of the campsites are wide open, I think I was lucky to get one of the only ones with a small amount of seclusion. I would of loved to camp right on the lake but it’s a tradeoff for some privacy. I am one of the only campers in a tent and one of the few who do not have a full head of gray hair.

 

It’s cloudy and cold with temps in the 50’s. 

 

After breakfast I headed up to Lake of the Clouds. All I can say is WOW. It exceeded my expectations. I wish I could come up with words to explain how truly beautiful and breathtaking it is but I feel like it’s a place that needs to be felt verses talked about. I can’t imagine anyone coming here and not being moved by its natural wonder. I was lucky in that there was not many people here today so I got sit on top of the Mountain alone and spend some time taking it all in and contemplating life.

 

After exploring and enjoying for a few hours I headed back to camp for lunch, and that’s when the rain started. And did I mention its only 55 degrees, looks like a cold wet afternoon. I quickly got bored sitting in the tent so I got in the car and drove over to a little picnic area right on the shore of the big lake and there I sat watching the waves in the rain. I felt stuck. I want to go exploring! Time passes very slowly.

 

Late in the afternoon the rain slows to a gentle mist so I head back out to Lake of the Clouds. On my walk up to the lookout I ran into 2 older couples walking back to their cars. As I passed the men the one says loudly to the other “did they ever find that women who was attacked by the bear in the park?”  I didn’t pay him much mind and continued walking, although it did seem odd to me because I know black bears don’t normally attack people. Then along comes the women and one comes up to me and says “don’t believe him, he’s just making it up” and I laugh and continue on. But then it starts to bother me, I’m sure he thought it would be funny to try to scare me because I was a women walking alone in the woods but really, WTF is that all about??

 

All in all it was a cold and rainy day but I did get to spend some time at Lake of the Clouds so not all was lost.  While lying in bed listen to the rain I remember the 3 guys I ran into on top of the escarpment today. They had just finish a long, hard hike in the cold rain and were feeling exhilarated that they made it back to the top of the mountain. I know that feeling, the feeling of aliveness that you get when you accomplish something that takes so much mental and physical endurance. You feel like you can conquer the world, that anything is possible. They asked me to take their picture and I remember feeling jealous, jealous that I was not doing a long hike in the cold rain with friends. 

 

 

September 22

 

Woke up to more rain. UGH!  Today I was headed to the west end of the park to explore. The park road is closed for repairs so I have to take the detour, which adds a ½ hour to the drive but it’s well worth it, this end of the park is my favorite! This end is on the shore line also but is has very different feel. It feels very remote (no RVs here) and its deep in the woods. Here the Presque Isle River cuts its way through bedrock creating narrow channels and a series of waterfalls as it spills into Lake Superior. There is rich green color and moss everywhere. The air is most and fresh, you can hear the sound of water flowing all around. I follow the river trail that leads towards the lake and at first I feel a little uncomfortable, this is definitely deep in the forest, backwoods remote and I’m not seeing any other people. But the more I hike the more comfortable I feel. I get lost in the beauty and magic of the land. I spend the day leisurely exploring along the river wanting to go further but reluctant because I’m a klutz and the trail is lined with exposed roots inviting me to trip and take a swim in the river. I feel content and at peace in these places and want to go deeper into the wilderness but am still not confident in my own skills and respectful of the risks.  I find myself wishing I was not alone.

 

 

September 23

 

I’m leaving a day early, mainly because I seem to have the stomach flu (or it might have been my cooking) and its cold and still rainy and I want to be home in my own bed.

 

As I sit by the lakeshore one last time I wonder why I felt this desperate need to visit this park and why I felt I needed to do it alone?  I’m still not totally clear on that, maybe that answer will come later. I came here in part to honor my mom’s spirit but also to honor my own and I think I accomplished that. I confirmed that I am a strong and independent women that is capable of hiking and camping alone.  (I felt this before but never really tested the theory.) I leave today feeling grateful, grateful that I made the time to visit this special park, grateful that my mom and the women before her passed on to me their love of nature and adventure and grateful that I can step out of my day to day life and really appreciate all the wonder and beauty there is in this world.