We planned to hit the trailhead a bit before noon to give us the afternoon at the beach. I had warned Kimberly & Jordan that the trailhead parking would be insane, as this is the main hiking loop that people love to do. When we got there, I had woefully underestimated the shitshow that we ran into.
We cut our losses early and parked on a little spur 2 track. It was more than a half mile hike just to get to the trailhead, and the consideration people had for how/where they parked should have prepared us for what we would run into on the trail.
At the start, we decided we would go straight for Chapel Beach and skip the falls, since we had just done 7 waterfall hikes in the past few days. The trail reports had described a fair amount of mud recently, but today there were reroutes around nearly everything. There was a lot of jabbering on the way out, and lots of discussion about all of the things we were going to do. Wonder where she gets that from...
When we reached the beach we were immediately taunted by the sight of the Seaberg Pontoon boats cruising past on the smooth, 1' waves. That was not necessary, but a good reminder that planning for something that is completely weather dependent has a low probability for success.
The water was pretty icy, but very refreshing. We chilled on the beach for a while, ate lunch, skipped rocks, watched someone try very hard to destroy their prop while fumbling with their pontoon boat and anchoring it to the beach (say goodbye to that deposit).
After we had gotten our fill of sunshine & relaxing and before the stiffness fully set in, we decided to explore the cliffs/caves to the east for a bit before heading to Chapel Rock and returning via Chapel Falls.
The views are hard to capture and harder to explain. It's best to just soak them in.
Once we got to Chapel Rock, I could sense that Kimberly's frustration with inconsiderate hikers/tourists/people in general was rising. We reached the overlook and things went south. We watched a mom let her kids climb over the 'DANGER - UNSTABLE ROCKS, DO NOT LEAVE VIEWING PLATFORM' sign on the fence, while she herself did the same, then yell at her son when he wanted to climb the roots to the sacred 250 year old white pine. While she was yelling at him, she was also making her daughter take photos of her sitting on the ledge on the other said of said viewing platform fence. I heard Kimberly mutter "nice example you're setting" and I knew it was on.
We were waiting patiently for this family to scramble back up and over the fence so we could take a few pics, and a young couple cut in front of us. The girl (I will refrain from describing her choice of attire or fitness regimen for the purposes of this blog) immediately began re-enacting this photo shoot, striking all sorts of instagram worthy poses while literally lying down on the ledge 10 feet past the fence and warning signs.
Her boyfriend was coaching her on the different poses and making very uncomfortable gutteral noises while he snapped pics that I hope I never see, as these images have already damaged my retinas. After 20+ of these clearly rehearsed poses, and with the line behind us growing by the moment, I heard "OK enough with the photo shoot!" from over my shoulder. I knew that tone and I prayed that this kid was smart enough to heed this his first and final warning. They were oblivious at first, until making eye contact with the source of this warning, then they quickly dispersed, climbing back over the fence and off to the next casting couch.
Once the area was clear, we were able to capture a few quick shots and head back toward the trailhead.
This would be a theme for most of the rest of the hike, as we would encounter groups with bluetooth speakers blaring music, zero trail etiquette, and a general lack of awareness that there was anyone out there but themselves. I realize I am giving off strong "Get off my lawn!" energy, but the contrast between groups of hikers was striking. I feel like I am aging exponentially.
Once we reached the falls, we knew we were on the home stretch.
Not sure if you can see it in this photo, but this was a first for us. Never have I encountered a football jersey commemorating a constitutional amendment (I suppose it is possible that his last name is acually 'Amendment' and he wears number 2, but this guy did not look like Charles Woodson). I admire this guy for his commitment and follow through, though it did make me wonder. Where did he get it, and were there other options? Are there soccer jerseys commemorating the assignment of electoral votes to the District of Columbia? Hockey jerseys celebrating the repeal of Prohibition? I feel like this is an untapped market and I credit this dude for his pioneering work in this area.
As we reached the trailhead, Jordan was running on fumes for the last 1/2 mile, but was hanging in like a trooper. Here is her triumphant finish.
It took me another 1/2 mile plus to hike to the Jeep, and the parking situation had become even more comical. I watched a motorhome roughly our size try to park in a space laughably too small, then watch the realization hit him that he was trapped Austin Powers style and blocking roughly 25 cars from the sole exit.
We finally made it out and headed back toward town, trying to get enough cell signal to find a place to eat. We settled on the Brownstone Inn and it was glorious. Order the Jamaican whitefish, you will not be disappointed.
Back at the campsite, Jordan started talk of swimming, but the water was freezing. She was undeterred, and we were all pretty beat from the hike, so we settled in and watched another unreal sunset on our final night in Munising.
Tomorrow - some morning exploration (thanks Gibbs for the recommendation) followed by the drive up to Copper Harbor for a few days. Munising has been even better than we remembered, can't wait to see how the rest of this trip goes.
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