When Winter meets Spring in the UP

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to make a journey North to spend the weekend in Munising with our friend Vanessa.  It was a trip that we had originally had scheduled for February, but due to some really terrible weather in the forecast, we decided to cancel that trip and find another time to make the journey.  With lots going on in our busy schedules, our Munising Winter adventure was finally moved to the first weekend of Spring.  Lucky for us Winter always seems to hang on a little longer in the U.P.  

With much excitement, we loaded up the Jeep on Friday afternoon and started our journey North.  The girls were excited to be on a road trip and to have another person to give them love.  I think we were all pretty excited for our trip.  After a few hours on the road, we made a quick stop in Mackinaw City to stretch our legs and let the girls out for a potty break and then we were quickly back in the Jeep and on our way across the Bridge.  The Lake was frozen for as far as we could see.  

After another quick stop for some dinner in Naubinway, we continued our journey on toward Munising.  We arrived in town, checked into our room at the Holiday Inn Express, and settled in for the night.   The girls were happy to take advantage of the comfy hotel beds to rest up for our big adventures planned for Saturday.  

After a good night's sleep, we were up early Saturday and out for a potty break before the sunrise.  It was a beautiful morning on the lake.  

We had lots of plans for our Saturday, so we were up and out of our room early to get started.  I was excited because we had plans to visit the Eben Ice Caves.  I have wanted to visit them for years, but have never gotten the chance.  The caves are about 20 miles outside of Munising in a remote area.  In order to get to them, you must cross through private property and then hike through the Rock River Canyon.  I had heard there were steep hills and slippery conditions, but I didn't really know what to expect.  While in the dead of Winter the trail is firm and icy and ice cleats are the preferred method of travel, with the weather beginning to warm up, I was concerned about the condition of the snow.  I had heard that there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground, and if it was too soft, there would be a risk of sinking in with each step.  After a little research, I decided it would make sense to have snowshoes for our hike.  Better safe than sorry. 

I had forgotten to pack my snowshoes and Vanessa didn't have a pair so our first stop of the day was Valley Spur to rent some snowshoes.  For only $2 per pair, the rental there is a bargain, and we had use of them all day long.  With a quick stop to get the snowshoes, we were off for our adventure.  

The snow was still pretty firm and the sun was shining, so it promised to be a good day.  We got our shoes on, bundled up, and headed out with two excited pups.  As we walked across the field and into the woods, I felt like the snowshoes weren't actually helping...as people with ice cleats hiked right on by us, and I felt like I was slipping and sliding around constantly.  But I was determined to make the mile hike out there, no matter what.  

The trail had some narrow and steep areas which nearly stopped us from continuing on, but Vanessa fought through her fear of heights and I used Peaches to pull me down the hills on my butt.  Just as we got to a spot where we weren't sure we could make it any farther, a nice group stopped to tell us that we were almost there...and that we shouldn't give up.  They did suggest that we take off our snowshoes for the remaining hike, and we took their advice.  Much to my surprise, the hike was much easier without the snowshoes and we didn't really even nice ice cleats.  We rounded a curve and started up a hill...and there they were, right in front of us. 

The ice formations are pretty impressive and very pretty and, while I didn't go inside the caves since I didn't have ice cleats, it was a great experience to see them in person.

Just after we reached the caves, I realized that somewhere along the trail I had lost my phone, but thankfully I had my camera with me.  I was pretty sure that I would easily find my phone too, since I knew I couldn't have lost it very far back along the trail and I didn't have to worry about it sinking in the snow since it was so firmly packed.

After a short time exploring the area, we headed back to the car.  We hiked the entire way back without the snowshoes and the hike went much better and a lot more quickly.  I still can't believe how much more difficult it had been with snowshoes! When we didn't find my phone on the way out and no one had left it at the trail head, we decided to put the girls in the Jeep and retrace our steps to see if we'd have any luck finding the phone.  After hiking out and back again, and having no luck finding my phone(but I did meet a GSP owner who happily shared pictures of her dogs with me), I was convinced that someone must have picked it up and that I may or may not get my phone back, but I couldn't spend all day worrying about it.  So we went on with our journey. 

I had hoped to take Vanessa behind Scott's Falls, but we determined that it was too difficult to get to the falls and settled for some pictures from the side of the road.  I promised her that we're going to get behind those falls when we return in the Spring.  Everyone should climb behind some waterfalls at least once in their life! 

By this time we had had a busy day and had worked up an appetite, so we headed into town to grab some lunch at Eh! Burger.  My burger was tasty and while we sat there eating, Vanessa was working hard to try to track down my phone with a couple of texts, some calls, and a Facebook post on the Eben Ice Caves page.  If I was going to find my phone, I wasn't going to be able to do it without her help!

After we finished lunch, we headed out to Munising Falls.  It is a quick walk to the falls and they are impressive to see any time of the year.  Due to warmer temperatures, the Falls weren't completely frozen, but they still looked pretty amazing partially frozen. 

Peaches got to practice her stay while we were there with another dog just a few feet away.  I was pretty impressed at how well she did.  And of course I had to get the obligatory picture of the girls together at the Falls, but not looking at me.

Our next stop was Sand Point. In the Spring and Summer, this is one of our favorite beaches to visit when we're in Munising.  It is not usually very busy and the driftwood is pretty amazing there.  In the Winter, it gives you a great view of a frozen Lake Superior and the Grand Island Ice Caves.  In years when the lake freezes solid throughout the bay, Sand Point is the starting spot to walk across the Lake to Grand Island.  The Lake didn't freeze well enough this year to walk all the way to the island, but it was still worth a visit.

While it wasn't safe to cross the Lake, it was safe to walk out on the ice closer to the shore so we had to take a walk out on Superior.  The top of the ice was a little slushy and I know it won't be long before there is open water there again.

As we walked back to the Jeep, I thought it was worth a stop to take a couple of pictures to show just how deep the snow is currently.  Yes, that is the top of a trash can sticking out of the snow.

Next we were off to my favorite waterfall in the Munising area, Wagner Falls.  While I have never seen these falls freeze, they are always very beautiful when framed in snow.  It is a short walk out to them and I can't drive by without stopping there.  This is my first time back to these falls since October when Imke and I walked out to them before we left Munising.  I'll probably think of her and that last trip there every time I visit them.  It is a special place for me and I have a lot of great memories there over the years. 

Peaches really wanted to climb over the viewing area and splash around in the water.

Maddie begrudgingly let me take her picture.  By this time of the day, she was pooped and just ready to go back to the Jeep!

Our adventures for the day were coming to an end, but we still had one more stop to make.  We piled back into the Jeep and headed the short way down the road back to Valley Spur for a little snowshoeing on the North Country Trail.  I couldn't miss the opportunity to add to our Hike 100 miles while we were in the area.  We headed out on the trail and after about a mile, we turned around to head back to the Jeep.  It had been a busy day and we were all tired and ready to head back to the hotel for the night.

On the way to the hotel, Vanessa noticed these awesome snow features off the side of the road. 

We finally made it back to our hotel in time to kick back, eat some leftovers, and watch some basketball  It had been a fun and eventful day and we were ready to kick our feet up and relax for the night.  The girls made themselves cozy for the evening.

And in case you are wondering about my phone...in a strange turn of events, someone contacted Vanessa from her Facebook post about the lost phone.  They had found my phone on the trail and had kept it safe. We were excited to hear that my phone was safe, and we were even more excited when we found out that the person who had found it was staying at the same hotel we were.  So with a meeting at the front desk, I got my phone back, fully charged and unharmed! 

We awoke on Sunday ready for more UP adventures.  We had made the most of our Saturday in Munising, but we still had things to see on our way home.  We left the hotel heading East on M-28 with plans for a new experience... to see Snowy Owls.  I had some good intel on where we should go to see them and I was hoping that we'd have a sighting.  We arrived in Rudyard and decided rather than drive around looking, we'd park and take the girls for a walk and stretch our legs.  I kept scanning the distance on rooftops, fences, telephone poles, and on the ground.  And then, there it was a beautiful Snowy Owl, mid-flight, being chased by a crow.  While I was unable to get a picture, the experience was so cool.  We walked a bit farther and then turned around to head back to the Jeep.  On the way back we were lucky enough to see another Owl in flight as well.  I was so excited that we were able to see them and I can't wait until next Winter when I can hopefully see even more!

After a stop in Pickford for lunch, we continued our journey East with plans to drive to Detour and then travel the Lake Huron coast back to St. Ignace.  We drove along the shore and saw lots of open lake along the way.  We made a quick stop in Hessel for a view of the Les Cheneaux Islands and got the girls out for another quick walk.  I found the two payphones right next to each other very interesting.  After our walk, we continued on our way to St. Ignace.

We planned to get another couple miles on the North Country Trail before heading over the Bridge toward home.  The boardwalk was covered in snow and basically unwalkable, so we took a detour along the sidewalk through town and saw some things I had never noticed before.  About 3/4 of a mile into our walk, Maddie started to slow down, so we turned around to head back to the Jeep.

It was a great stop and it was nice to get out to stretch our legs one last time before we continued our journey South.  It was a pretty day on Lake Huron and by the time we got back to the Jeep, the girls were ready to settle in for the rest of our journey home.  We made a stop for gas and snacks at the Holiday in St. Ignace before crossing the Bridge and leaving our UP adventure behind us. 

What an amazing weekend it had been. I love sharing the places I love with others.  I'm so glad that Vanessa is willing to put up with our craziness and is up for whatever adventures I throw at her.  I can't wait until we head back for our next UP adventure in May when I get to share the Keweenaw.