A Fair Trade

I'm writing to you all live, here at the Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore in Munising, MI. This is Day 4 of my and my hubby's week-long Up North extravaganza. We spent Monday thru this morning in the Porcupine  Mountains, in a tiny little yurt out in the dense wilderness area of the park. When we arrived at the trail-head for the mile hike in to our yurt, we encountered a swamp as far as the eye could see. Mosquitoes were thick and very large, and we quickly became aware that tick season was in full swing.

It was impossible for either of us to fall asleep that first night. After bushwhacking our way through a 1/4 mile of mud, thick undergrowth, and standing water, we were relieved to see our little yurt standing stoically in a tiny clearing near a musical stream. All one might need for weeks in the wild was there: campfire ring, cooking utensils, picnic table, and inside there was a woodstove and neat bunkbeds with a sturdy table for meals and cards. But after I found several ticks in my clothing, and Jake had to actually remove one from his skin, we had a difficult time relaxing in our sleeping bags in the pitch black. Every noise jolted me awake, and my imagination went wild with ideas of bears attacking the yurt, crazy wilderness killers lying in wait in the brush, and supernatural poltergeists.

By the 2nd night in the yurt, we had both reasoned out that leaving behind our comforts of home was part of truly experiencing nature and wilderness. I realized that tolerating a little mud and a few insects was more than worth it to see my first Bald Eagle right up close, to have a chance to hike to the famous Lake of the Clouds, and to have the opportunity to find Coyote tracks right outside our campsite. On our hike out of the back country this morning, as we prepared to leave the Porkies behind us and move on to our next destination, we startled up some Ruffed Grouse on the trail. I was exhilarated at first by a glimpse at the native wildlife, then a little scared as one of the Grouse 'ruffed' up and hissed as it literally flew/chased after us for a few seconds. Jake and I laughed breathlessly as we reached our car, did a quick 'tick-check', then drove eastward with the climbing sun in our eyes and the great wilderness in our rear-view.