We must have snagged one of the last parking spots at the Chapel Falls trail head, and it was only 8 am still. Our hope was that the mosquitos of Michigan too, had left for a long weekend vacay, but who is to say. So armed with mosquito nets and ready-to-eat packs of Indian food, we set out to explore the Pictured Rocks, along the shores of Lake Superior-the world's largest freshwater lake! A mile into the trail, we halted to verify our All Trails map against the information board, which confirmed that we were hiking the Chapel loop trail. The 11-mile long hike, traverses a few wooded sections and several miles atop cliffs. Shortly after the sign post, we stopped to admire the Chapel Falls. The water flow was deafening in the quiet of the woods, only slightly perturbed by the bollywood song being hummed by our group of famous five - "Yun hi kat jaayega safar, saath chalne se" (literally translating to "the journey will be effortless if we walk together"). From Chapel falls, it was another 2.5 miles to the lake shore. However, the comfort found in gurgling laughter following silly jokes, made the boring sections of the trail, go unnoticed. And voila, before we knew it, we had hit the "superior" portion of the trail. It was.... the Chapel Rock!!
After 3.5 miles of hiking, the Chapel beach falls was a great place to stretch our legs. The section of the trail between the falls and the Mosquito beach is a sight to behold! The lake seemed to be strewn with gleaming diamonds, in the afternoon sun. The lighting conditions were just right, and the scenery, astounding. Colorful kayaks dotted the crystal clear waters below - so clear that we could even glimpse the bed rock.
Clad in a color palette that we had never imagined, Lake Superior washed up by the shore, which was a free fall away from the sandstone cliffs. Stained by the mineral-rich waters, even the rocks took on a range of hues - rust, brown, crimson, and many more. Our experience of the Pictured Rocks from the trail felt much more serene than the crowded cruise boats that sailed by. But, the cruises do have their perks - at several spots along the trail, we encountered divers plunging into the waters from the cliffs, and being picked up by these boats.
The moniker - Pictured Rocks made perfect sense, as we walked further. The cliffs here have been sculpted into beautiful promontories by the sheer force of the lake's waves, over millions of years. We passed numerous formations like the "Grand Portal Point" and the "Indian Head rock" where they rise to a whopping 200ft from the lakeshore.
We plopped down for lunch at the Indian Head rock, followed by a meagre dessert of store-bought goodies, one of which was a fortune cookie that incidentally read - "Book the flight". This possible "future trip" could easily become a second visit to the incredible Upper Peninsula of Michigan, because weren't we smitten!? It was hard to beat the will to not leave our gorgeous lunch spot. And it was nearly mid-afternoon, by the time we got moving again.
The trail wound past many more jaw dropping sights like the "Lover's leap". At this point, even my husband who had grown a tad antsy from all the hiking, did not object to me breaking my promise of not stopping again to soak in the views. Before completing the trail, we decided to wet our feet in the rocky but blissfully cool Mosquito beach. And finally after another 1.9 miles, we made it back to the trailhead in one piece.
As if 8 hours of hiking the Pictured Rocks wasn't enough, we decided to join a few more friends for a Pictured Rocks cruise, in the evening. The cruise departed from the nearby town of Munising and offered a whole new perspective of the cliffs. We were on one of the many boats that we had spotted from the trail. Identifying the spots that we had hiked by, quickly became a fiercely competitive game. However, the highlight of the cruise was sighting a waterfall tumbling down the cliffs into the lake, just as the sun began retiring for the night. A "superior" experience as this, had never been had before! :)
