PINCUSHION

We made one more stop on Monday evening. Pincushion Mountain was high on my to-do list, and we passed right by it on our way back to the campground. Pincushion Mountain has a developed network of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing just above the town of Grand Marias. Christy was eager to do some mountain biking, while I wanted to hike to the cliffs at the end of the escarpment.

This time we started from the same parking area. Jackson and I hiked a fairly easy trail through a beautiful forest. The trail ended at the base of a sloping rock face. I scrambled up to the top and followed the spine of rock to a series of great views of Lake Superior and miles of deep forest to the north.

After enjoying the view and taking some photos I hurried back. I met Christy at the car, and I suggested that we go out to eat rather than waiting until we got back to the campground to cook. Christy was all for that plan. We ended up at Voyageur Brewing Company, which had good food and beer. Afterwards we made the long drive back to the campground. We enjoyed another campfire that night, mainly to discourage the mosquitoes.

After a rough start to our trip, the camping improved tremendously. Setting up camp and repacking the car was still slow and challenging, but we gradually became more efficient. Luckily, Jackson adjusted to the camping experience and did well after those first two nights in Michigan. One thing that we learned on this trip is that it is a lot easier to spend several nights in one spot, rather than switching campgrounds frequently.

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