The least visited National Park in the continental US resides northwest of Michigan’s upper peninsula via either a 3 hour ferry (of which there are only 4 authorized carriers) or seaplane ride. It takes some serious planning & dedication to experience this wonder.
Of course I had a long standing plan & finally made it happen over the long holiday weekend at Memorial Day, which also happens to be opening weekend.
I wasn’t thrilled to be camping for 3 nights being that temperatures dipped into the 30s, so I was extremely giddy that a housekeeping/rustic cabin became available & I settled into my home away from home for the long holiday weekend. The staff was still ramping up for busy season, as my heater breaker switch wasn’t even turned on yet.
After a quick nap, I hit the trails for some hiker therapy & thoroughly enjoyed scrambling over the rocky coastline to Scoville Pt. Time escaped me & ended up running back to my cabin’s dock to barely catch the end of sunset at 9:30pm!
All food had to be packed in, so I indulged in freeze dried meals just needing boiling water to keep things easy (granola with blueberries, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, pad Thai chicken, chicken pesto & my fav beef stroganoff). Lunches I had packed tortillas with peanut butter, Nutella & honey which were more than filling.
Day 2 was a doozy stretching over 11 miles via the Rock Harbor trail to Suzy’s Cave through Three Mile campground then uphill to Mt. Franklin. I enjoyed lunch at this spectacular viewpoint before heading back to the harbor via the Tobin Harbor trail. Sunset was superb once again!
Day 3….. I did nothing, literally. I found a spot on the rocky ledge near the lodge & read the day away while enjoying the beautiful, tanning weather. Another stunning sunset greeted me & I didn’t want the day to end.
My final day I slept in & putzed around the harbor on another unusually warm day. Wildlife was abundant in the glasslike bay & I had to pinch myself that this was my reality. What a great adventure & journey into a priceless paradise!!
