Belated update from a couple months:
Thursday night I text Lindsey Vaillancourt. I was bored and looking to get into trouble. She via text she asked if I'd like to go camping in the UP the next morning. HELL YA! Next morning I squeeze in a four door with four Jenison kids and a small mountain range of camping gear. The drive up north was uneventful but beautiful. It was Skippy's first time crossing the Bridge. And then we went on a wild goose chase seeking the great and world famous Mystery Spot in St. Ignace. Don't worry--I'm not spilling any secrets. Then Lindsey wanted to see the albino deer at the Deer Ranch; it being her birthday, we all sat in the car while she paid 4.75 to go out back and feed a sleeve of Saltines to the "wild" beasts.
Back on the road again we are stuck behind a slow vehicle on the highway. We move start to pass them only to realize there is an oncoming car much closer then we realized. From Casey in the driver's seat we hear: "Don't worry guys, I got this!" Famous last words. It was a cop.
After almost colliding with the only cop in the UP. Getting pulled over by the only cop in the UP. Getting lectured by the only cop in the UP. And getting a ticket from the only cop in the UP. We continued our journey, slightly somber and at a decidedly slower speed.
It was dark by the time we got to our "camp area". The boys set up the tent while the girls and I scrounged for tinder, kindling, and firewood. We had to settle for sticks and dry leaves. Although, Lindsey did wrestle some stumps out of the ground like a bad ass.
Bad Ass is a good way to describe the entire weekend.
Aside from a few drunken rescues and scuffles, the night passed smoothly. The morning brought a glorious view of Lake Superior, crashing on a limestone shelf mere yards from our tent. That day we drove from our site in the small town of Christmas, with its 'Vixen's Inn' and 'Big Ass' Santa (Wooden Santa approx. 50 tall) through Munising with a quick stop into the Visitors Center to check the weather report. snow expected later.
In the end, we didn't get to the trail head until 1:30 pm. The
Chapel Loop is 9.8 miles long, we started out Laughing. That's not the way the hike ended. Chapel Falls looked like a long water slide sliding down at an angle, looking like a child's dream in the middle of the forest.It was at least 3 miles of wooded trail before we finally reached the coast of lake Superior. 2 words:
1. Gore
2. Juss.
I think I am in love with Earth. By the time we got to the second major shoreline landmark of the
Chapel Loop Hike, Portal Point we realized it had taken us almost 5 hours to get less then half way, and it was already 5pm. Translation: Approx 3 hrs daylight left. Light that would go fast on the Eastern side of the hills and cliffs we were hiking.
From there on out, it was a mad dash to the trailend and our waiting car. I choose not to remember those next hours and when we got lost just as darkness fell only .5mi from the parking lot and how miserable that become.
I choose only to dwell on the magic and how boss I was for 3/4 of the hike, leading the way with my walking stick like Moses leading the Children of Isreal through the wilderness. That was until my feet started hurting, after that I was a pussy and held everyone else up.
To sum it up: Boss Planet.
Boss Friends. 
Boss Weekend.
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