Every year (for the past…like…5 years?), we do a longer, slightly more intense backpacking trip in the UP, at Pictured Rocks. What we do is drive over the night before, grab some good beer and pizza, and start our hike early the next day. We usually do 2 nights before heading back. This time around, we decided to be cool and do 1 extra night…which adds plenty of complexity both logistically and mentally. We did a total of about 33-34 miles (check out the Strava below).
The Hike
Most of the hike in general was pretty flat; however, the weather went from being cold in the morning, to humid, to sunny, back to cold. Mosquitos were a constant bother (especially on the first day), and hiking in the sand was also a bit difficult. The second day in particular felt a bit tough knowing that we were going to be there an extra night (the mental part of the challenge).
To combat this, we stopped plenty along the way for snacks and simply to take in the views.
Camp
We stayed at 3 different campsites all of which were beautiful! There was a site where water was not easily accessible (Cliffs), so we had to make sure we had enough water before getting there for our meals, drinking, etc. There was another campsite where there were no fires permitted…so we had to figure out what to do for fun (though the mosquitos drove some of us to bed early).
Each one of us brought a small game just in case.
Food & Water
Having and food and snacks was definitely a concern for the amount of time we were there. Even dehydrated meals took up plenty of space, not to mention any snacks! All of us brought enough for ourselves and enough to share though.
Besides the one campground, it was easy enough to grab some water to filter all throughout the trail. Some of those spots were pretty close to our dinner meals, which was pretty great.
Video
Enjoy this small video of our adventures! Thanks for watching!