Postscript

But this trip wasn’t quite over. After returning to Copper Harbor, we had planned to drive to McClain State Park near Hancock for an overnight, then head to the Porkies the next day for some day hiking and an overnight stay at the Presque Isle River unit.

Well…..neither of us was really very anxious to sleep on the ground that night, so we opted for a hotel room in Houghton, and met several other IR hikers we’d buddied up with for pizza at the Ambassador.

The next morning, we headed out in rain and wind for the Porkies. The forecast was for scattered showers all day and into the next.

Our first stop was the Lake Of The Clouds overlook near the Escarpment Trail. Been almost 30 years since my last visit there. The view was clear to LOC, but the peaks of the surrounding hills were covered in clouds and mist. Moody and dark, but just beautiful.

After stopping at White Pine for some sandwiches, we headed for the Presque Isle River for a day hike. More rain, more wind. The river was amazing and we did a couple of miles before the skies really opened up in a steady downpour.

We did a hard assessment of the situation. The campground was thoroughly soaked, with standing water in spots. The forecast looked terrible. We decided that a night in the rain didn’t appeal to either of us and we just called it a trip that afternoon. We decided to shave a few hours off the trip home and drove to Munising for another overnight hotel stay.

The trip back to GR was a mix of sun and rain, but otherwise uneventful. Stopped at Mackinaw for some fudge to treat our house-bound family members.

And there was a big pot of my wife’s spectacular homemade spaghetti in the crockpot when we walked in the door.