People in Northern Michigan seem to be happier, and with the abundance of rugged wilderness, there is no wonder why. Yesterday we spent 11.5 miles on the trails. I became grounded by the steady earth beneath my feet. Soaked in the energy of the rushing water in the river. Let the warmth of the sun fill my heart. Felt the pulse of Lake Superior in my blood. Ahhhhhh...good ol' Nature Therapy.
Everyone says you have to get on the water to truly appreciate Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, so on Friday morning we left for a five hour kayak trip with Pictured Rocks Kayaking. We took a thirty minute boat ride from Munising, then launched the kayaks from the boat at Painted Cove. In tandem kayaks, we paddled 5 miles along the beautiful coastline, pulling into caves, listening to the waves thunder, zig-zagging through fallen rocks, and admiring the gorgeous mineral streaks of green, blue, purple, orange, and black that Pictured Rocks is known for. Powering through the waves of Lake Superior (even though they were calm that day) called for a bit more arm strength than the flat waters of Chesapeake Bay tributaries, but we rocked it with only a few complaints from the kids. That evening we explored Munising Falls, then Miners Falls, Miners Castle, and Miners Beach. We had promised the kids they could get wet--apparently being in the water all day long `without being able to swim was absolute torture! They had dreamed of being able to play in or near a waterfall, but that was not a possibility at these heavily traveled tourist stops. Thankfully, Miners Beach did the trick and they enjoyed playing in the waves. Something happened in the UP that I have never experienced in the United States before. It seemed as if everyone we came in contact with had hiked the 10 mile Chapel Rock/Chapel Basin Loop. (Guys-everyone here was doing a ten mile hike!) We hadn't planned on doing a 10 miler at this stop, but it had such rave reviews that we couldn't pass it up. All Trails said you could finish the loop in 3 hours and 41 minutes. My advice is that if you're finishing the loop in that amount of time, you're doing it wrong! All in all, we clocked 11.5 miles and 7 hours. Here's how it all unfolded: We told the kids they could sleep in, so it wasn't until 11:00 Saturday morning that we hit the trail. It was recommended that we start early, but I think the late start helped us miss the morning rush of people, and likely helped with the mosquitoes too. We started clockwise with Mosquito Falls, then followed the trail to Mosquito Beach, which was our favorite part of the trail. The Mosquito River empties out to the beach on a cascade of moss-covered sandstone tables. We stopped here and ate lunch on the riverbank and waded in the water, no more than ankle deep. This location will undoubtedly be added to my short list of "happy places" where my mind wanders when it needs to relax. Just so peaceful. From there we hiked 4 more miles to Chapel Beach, stopping at various lookout points along the way to admire the rock formations we had paddled along the day before from a different view. The kids had carried towels, swimsuits, and floaties to play at Chapel Beach, so Banana powered through these four miles, outpacing us all and keeping us on track. Dusty and I hadn't planned to swim (because we remembered how cold the water was the day before), but after 7.5 miles of balmy high 80's temps, mama didn't even care anymore! I figured my undies were as good as any bathing suit and plunged into the water in a t-shirt. It. was. so. cold! But, God, did it feel good! The Chapel River runs into this beach, so the kids tried tubing down the falls (though these rocks were too jagged). We enjoyed the water until the flies started eating us and a storm rolled in. Fortunately the rain stayed north of us, but the cold front cooled us on the final miles of our trek. The last 4 miles made us realize that the National Parks Service may need to get back out on the trail and do some surveying because 10.2 miles is a definite miscalculation. Aside from a large population of chipmunks that loved greeting us as we walked down the trail, the rest of the hike was uneventful. We--well, mostly I--maybe only I--thanked the trees for their shade and fresh air. Thanked God for this opportunity. Loved my kids and husband. Mostly just felt happy. While the mileage may have been physically tiring, mentally, the day was the most rejuvenating I've spent in a very long time. Because that's what Nature Therapy does for you.
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