Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Hiker's Challenge

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Hiker's Challenge

For those interested in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Hiker's Challenge hike, we have set the dates for the final 4 trips that will primarily be on the North Country National Scenic Trail.

Friday October 17 - Miners Castle to Beaver Creek for approximately 14.67 miles. Download the map.

Friday October 24 or 31 - Munising to Miners Castle plus Munising Falls, Sand Point Maritime Trail, Sand Point Marsh Trail, Miners Castle Day Hike, Miner Falls Trail, Miners River Trail and Miners Beach Trail for approximately 10.58 miles. Download the map.

Download a PDF file listing the trails and mileages as well as a map with trail numbers corresponding to the listing of trails and mileages.

Contact Don Miller, 458-8515 / Dwmjrm@aol.com or Lorana Jinkerson, 226-6210 / ljinkers@sbcglobal.net to join in the fun. See the trails, mileages and map below for details of each hike.

The challenge is open to anyone and there is no time limit on how long a participant has to hike, snowshoe, or ski all of the 95 miles of trails within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Participants finishing 50 miles will receive a free ice cream at the cafe and those completing all 95 miles will receive a certificate from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and a t-shirt from the Alger Parks and Recreation Department. Photos of those who hike all the trails will be posted at the cafe.



A good online guide to the areas we will be hiking can be found at http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_pictured_rocks_national_lakeshore.html

Report of our adventures so far

Friday, June 27. A total of 10 hikers hiked the Munising Ski Trails through wet, boggy trails and high dry ground on a beautiful summer day. Bugs were plentiful but we didn't let them stop us. We are off to a good start with this first segment of 11.7 miles under our belts.
Friday, July 11. A total of 9 hikers hiked the Beaver Basin area. Compared to our first trip, this hike was on wonderful highlands with nearly excellent trails. The trails were well marked except for the entrance road into the northern parking area. It should note on the map that it is H 702. Even after we decided that had to be the correct road, we kept questioning our decision. The only other problem we encountered was that the mileages given on the mileage chart by the Falling Rock Cafe are not accurate. We ended up with a total of 14.9 miles for the day versus 10.6 as expected. Needless to say, we were glad to get back to the car.

Friday, July 18. A total of 12 hikers hiked in the morning to the Mosquito Area. The trails were terrific, the views of the waterfalls and Lake Superior were fantastic. Two hikers completed the morning hike then returned to Marquette. The remaining 10 continued on the Chapel Area loop. We ate lunch at Chapel Beach where a lakeside wedding was to take place. Further north on the trail we spotted at least a dozen kayakers skimming the shore. It was another beautiful day, great weather, super hiking, and wonderful companionship.

Thursday, July 31. Seven hikers took advantage of a beautiful day to hike the Grand Marais Ski Trails, the Sable Falls Trail, Sable Dunes Trail, the Log Slide Trail, and the Hurricane Campground Trail. Two hikers drove up to Grand Marais on Wednesday, spent some time picking blueberries then spent the night. The remaing five left Marquette bright and early Thursday morning and traveled to Grand Marais. Upon meeting up with those already in Grand Marais we headed to the Ski Trails. A most interesting event took place when Cliff was leading the hikers. A Ruffed Grouse came scurring from about 5 feet left of the trail and proceeded to chase Cliff down the trail. It was a standoff for about a minute with Cliff using his hiking stick for protection. She was obviously quite irritated that we had disturbed her and her chicks. The hikers who were a few feet behind got to see the chicks as they scurried off in all directions. Overall, a great time was had by all - the weather was perfect, the scenery terrific and the company superb.




	North Country Trail Hikers		Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Hiker's Challenge For those interested in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Hiker's Challenge hike, we have set the dates for the final 4 trips that will primarily be on the North Country National Scenic Trail. Friday October 17 - Miners Castle to Beaver Creek for approximately 14.67 miles. Download the map. Friday October 24 or 31 - Munising to Miners Castle plus Munising Falls, Sand Point Maritime Trail, Sand Point Marsh Trail, Miners Castle Day Hike, Miner Falls Trail, Miners River Trail and Miners Beach Trail for approximately 10.58 miles. Download the map. Download a PDF file listing the trails and mileages as well as a map with trail numbers corresponding to the listing of trails and mileages. Contact Don Miller, 458-8515 / Dwmjrm@aol.com or Lorana Jinkerson, 226-6210 / ljinkers@sbcglobal.net to join in the fun. See the trails, mileages and map below for details of each hike. The challenge is open to anyone and there is no time limit on how long a participant has to hike, snowshoe, or ski all of the 95 miles of trails within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Participants finishing 50 miles will receive a free ice cream at the cafe and those completing all 95 miles will receive a certificate from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and a t-shirt from the Alger Parks and Recreation Department. Photos of those who hike all the trails will be posted at the cafe. A good online guide to the areas we will be hiking can be found at http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_pictured_rocks_national_lakeshore.html Report of our adventures so far Friday, June 27. A total of 10 hikers hiked the Munising Ski Trails through wet, boggy trails and high dry ground on a beautiful summer day. Bugs were plentiful but we didn't let them stop us. We are off to a good start with this first segment of 11.7 miles under our belts. Friday, July 11. A total of 9 hikers hiked the Beaver Basin area. Compared to our first trip, this hike was on wonderful highlands with nearly excellent trails. The trails were well marked except for the entrance road into the northern parking area. It should note on the map that it is H 702. Even after we decided that had to be the correct road, we kept questioning our decision. The only other problem we encountered was that the mileages given on the mileage chart by the Falling Rock Cafe are not accurate. We ended up with a total of 14.9 miles for the day versus 10.6 as expected. Needless to say, we were glad to get back to the car. Friday, July 18. A total of 12 hikers hiked in the morning to the Mosquito Area. The trails were terrific, the views of the waterfalls and Lake Superior were fantastic. Two hikers completed the morning hike then returned to Marquette. The remaining 10 continued on the Chapel Area loop. We ate lunch at Chapel Beach where a lakeside wedding was to take place. Further north on the trail we spotted at least a dozen kayakers skimming the shore. It was another beautiful day, great weather, super hiking, and wonderful companionship. Thursday, July 31. Seven hikers took advantage of a beautiful day to hike the Grand Marais Ski Trails, the Sable Falls Trail, Sable Dunes Trail, the Log Slide Trail, and the Hurricane Campground Trail. Two hikers drove up to Grand Marais on Wednesday, spent some time picking blueberries then spent the night. The remaing five left Marquette bright and early Thursday morning and traveled to Grand Marais. Upon meeting up with those already in Grand Marais we headed to the Ski Trails. A most interesting event took place when Cliff was leading the hikers. A Ruffed Grouse came scurring from about 5 feet left of the trail and proceeded to chase Cliff down the trail. It was a standoff for about a minute with Cliff using his hiking stick for protection. She was obviously quite irritated that we had disturbed her and her chicks. The hikers who were a few feet behind got to see the chicks as they scurried off in all directions. Overall, a great time was had by all - the weather was perfect, the scenery terrific and the company superb.

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