.....Saturday we headed up into the Upper Peninsula to the town of Munising, where they have a Ice Climbing Show every winter. Chili and I have explored the UP many times in the summer, but we have been wanting to get up there in the dead of winter and see some of Mother Natures wonders covered in Ice. I have seen pictures of some really cool ice formations and entire waterfalls that were frozen, but I wanted to see it in person and get some pics for my collection.
Last weekend I saw an article in the Sunday paper, where they were having this Ice Climbing Expedition the following weekend, so Chili and I decided to grab our cameras and go exploring.
We hoped to get off to an early start, but as usual, we took our time and had a good breakfast, and finally left the house at...High Noon. Now its a good three hour ride North from our place to Munising, but we didnt care, cabin fever has been building, and this would be a good excuse to get out of the house for a while.
This is a shot I took of a freighter, while we were going over the Mighty Mac Bridge. Those are the Straits of Mackinac below, covered in ice.
...Slowly he makes his way off into the distance.
Leaving the bridge and into the UP
...Yep, that is some cold water there, and the shores of the Wild.. Upper Peninsula.
...Heading up Rt 2 along the Coast of Lake Michigan, some of you that are comming to Inzane this July will pass this way....hopefully it will be a little warmer for you.
...Chili and I have been up this way many times, I was trying to get some shots of the lake and shore frozen from inside the truck, but I finally told her to stop and ventured out on to the frozen shore.
...Looking down the frozen beach...
....it was very cool out there...and very desolate...the Ice would freeze and then be pushed up by the tides, thats Lake Michigan...frozen....I was going to venture out onto it to get a better shot....but didnt really wanna make the 6 0 Clock News..
. ....excellent day to enjoy one of my favorite hobbies
....driving on, around every curve was another familiar site we had seen many times...only this time it was covered in snow and Ice...
...deeper and deeper we drove into the mysterious Upper Peninsula, after a while its almost hypnotyzing just riding though the deep woods for hours. No traffic really comming the other way....that is until a State Trooper topped the hill....hmmmm....speed limit is 55...and were going....ut oh....75 mph....yup...that little bubble gum light on top just lit up....think we,ll pull over here....well..one thing about Michigan police and Sheriffs....most of them are laid back and easy going...so after giving Chili a little lecture about how her insurance company would not be happy...and giving me one about...why I should be wearing my seatbelt...he asked her to slow down and let us go on our way.....whew ! ...that Chili Gurl...what a lead foot she is !
...well...we finally got to Munising and after a few stops talking to locals...we figured where the meeting was. We parked and were told there was a free taxi out to where the climbing was going on...cool....so we waited and piled in when the van showed up.
...it was a short drive out to where the climbing was going on and the guy taking us there was a local and very friendly. He gave us some valuble information on the way....the most important was that the last taxi was leaving back for town at 5 pm....Dont Miss It !
...Hmmm....yep...this must be it...
....like I said...we got off to a late start...and got there around 3:30 in the afternoon...that meant we had an hour and a half to do our thing....most folks had been there all day and were packing there gear to head home....saw this guy with his bad azz all terrain mountain bike....How,s them tires for going to...The Dark Side ?
....so...we start heading up the trail into the woods which I find out is the beginning to a ...VERY steep hill....and whats this ?....hmmmm....nice little spot of blood...well...sign did say...First Aid This Way.....when we got to the top we were told that a few...novice..did do some face surfing on the ice...hence the blood...Ouch !
...so up we climbed....did I mention it was REALLY slippery ? .....Yeah...most of these guys and gals had them nice little Ice cleats strapped to their feet...me and Chili...we were just slippin and sliding and....learning another lesson....bring ice cleats next time..
...like I said..it was late in the day and most of these folks had been here all day...so while we were slowly making our way up the trail...lost of folks were slowly making their way down...cept this ingenious dude..who sat on his ass and ....Weeeeeeeeee...shot down the path...looked like fun...that is until he hit that big ol tree at the bottom...
.....but we did finally make our way to the top...and to my delight there were still plenty of folks milling around and packing up their gear...and they were only to happy to tell us what was going on and how the day went...
....and yeh....that little mountain climbing chick in front of me was as cute as she looks..
....few ropes were still up and a story was being told about the...blood doaner...who had marked the trail for the rest of us to get in and out easier..
.....oh yeah...this was exactly what we had been looking for....very cool..
...so we relaxed for a bit and caught our breath...and took some shots..
.....very cool indeed....this is what I love about Northern Michigan...especially the UP....wild..untamed beauty...
...it appeared to be the side of the hill was just one big ol frozen water fall...awesome..you could actually see the texture in the ice of the flowing water before it froze...
....nother cool shot
...now if you know Chili...that girl is adventurous...she has turned me onto so many cool things up here...and it looked like she was in one of those moods...because when I turned around...she was scurrying up the this steep trail....higher..she stopped and turned around and said...c mon honey...they said theres another really cool waterfall up here !
...See that trail shes on ?..Slide off the edge and you,re going for a very fast ride down to the bottom !
...I tried to follow her as best as I could...I had my "Sobe" trekking boots on...they are awesome for a lot of snow and ice...keep my feet warm and dry...trouble is they dont have any traction...and I left my gloves back at the truck in the parking lot...I had already fallen 3 or 4 times and broke my fall with my hands...which were now very cold and raw...and hurting slightly....I got this shot of Chili by a small frozen water fall.....
...but then she turned and started climbing this VERY steep part of the trail...she told me to come on...but I wasnt digging it....and decided that I had gone high enough....so we agreed that we would meet at the bottom....
...and I turned and took some more piczzzz...most everyone had gone down to the bottom which was cool by me...now I could get some good close ups with out people in them...
...so I took my time and got some great shots
...its a great feeling...being so deep in the wilderness...no one around....you can really enjoy nature...one on one...
...Mother Nature at her finest..
....well...after taking the shots, I slowly made my way back down the trail to the street...I decided to walk and not slide down on my azz like that climber...after I got there I tried to call Chili on my cell to make sure she was okay...but like in most of the UP...there was no service...after a few minutes though I spotted her walking down the road towards me waving.....
....we caught the last taxi back to town and had dinner right there....comming out I spotted this sign and told Chili....I gotta get a shot for Charlyne....it will go good with the weather they are having in Texas right now !
...well...it had been a most excellent day...inspite of the late start we got...but it always seems to work out that way with us...especially when its just the two of us and we dont feel like we have to hurry up for others....on the ride back to town the guy driving the taxi told us that the next day they were all going over to this Island out in the lake...told us ...thats where some REALLY awesome ice formations are...those were probably the ones I saw pictures of on the Net...so we decided that next time we,d try to make it out there....
....took us over three hours to get home...and we rolled in just around 10:30 pm...soundly worn out from climbing all day in the cold...but we had a blast !
