Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore hike on the North Country Trail

[us56456712]

If you walk 100 miles on the North Country Trail in 2016 you can get a 100 mile patch, in honor of the 100 anniversary of the USA National Park system. My wife has 76 miles and I have 17, I take too many bike rides and it interferes. We went to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore today to hike an out 2.5 miles and back the same 2.5 miles so we added 5 more miles to out tally.

The start area. This is as far as the road goes. Bathing beauties, soaking up sun but not getting into Lake Superior.


The Trail starts out walking close to Lake Superior. It starts before the cliffs. Grand Island is in the background.


66 Stars and a lot of uphill climbing before you get up on top of the Pictured Rocks.

A vista from up on the cliffs. This is Sand Point where we started the hike. Grand Island, a National Recreation Area is in the background.

Waterfalls are quite frequent. This doesn't look like much but it must be 75 feet straight down.

Another falls

A telephoto view of the rocks on the bottom of the Lake taken from the cliff tops. Looks like some kind of modern painting.

Another 75-100 foot falls along the trail. You have to watch your step when taking pictures. It's narrow and goes straight down.

Another falls up on the cliff. The Lake used to be this high in some past eon and the cave behind me was made by Lake waves that are now 100 feet below. Iron disolved in water causes the black stain on the right side of the rocks. These Iron "picture" stains are what causes the patterns down further along the Lake on the rocks. You have to have a boat to see them.
The pictured rocks formation

 

[whitecoyote]

Very nice. I love the U.P.

 

[MazdaFlyer]

We did a boat tour out of Munising a couple of years ago. It went out along the shore and gave good views of the Pictured Rocks formations. The lake was pretty rough that day. I liked battleship row. I'd like to spend some more time up there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Swampthing]

I spent a few years hiking and snorkeling and diving in Pictured Rocks and Isle Royale doing aquatic surveys back before I became an Everglades swamp creature.
The UP and all the way around the Big Lake are some beautiful county that I will return to some day.
my grandmother’s younger brother was a painter on the Macinac Bridge, he worked his across and back, back in the days when the bridge was new.