Water & Color: Pictured Rocks Kayak Tour
August 9th, 2021
An ocean lies before me, but no salt touches my tongue. The air smells of water: sweet, clean, and cold. Lake Superior’s icy fingertips sprinkle my wetsuit as I bob within a long and slender lime green kayak, propelled by my love in tandem behind me. United, we glide toward tan-colored cliffs.
But they are not tan. Up close, they are orange. They are purple. They are teal. They are red, gray, brown, and black. They are all of these and more, sediment layered by the mighty brush that painted them across the earthen edge. In places, these horizontal lines are flipped: rainbow lichen dribbles down in vertical stripes to meet their reflected image upon the crystal clear lake, which shines as vibrant as polished turquoise or aquamarine. The watery window creates the illusion that the tiny pebble paths and slabs of stone in the depths are mere inches away, not hundreds of feet.
I trail my hand along the precipice beside us, tipping in the kayak a little as I lean. The stone’s rough surface scrapes my fingerprints, which catch in tiny cavities scattered throughout. Is someone watching me through the peepholes? I gaze heavenward to see the cliff’s warped shape, different around every turn we take. Some of the sandstone formations are towering archways like lofty cathedral voussoirs. Others feature keyhole caves that stand precariously on spindly hourglass buttresses. Still others stand immovably firm: life-size statues of battleship hulls. All are topped with trees, many of which have claimed residence on the fringes of peril.
We pass a series of giant pockets hewn from the side of the cliffs by ages of water erosion, creating the appearance of Swiss cheese. Water gurgles, erupts, sloshes, and spurts as waves push white bubbles in and out of the holes. The slapping surf echoes in a sound like animal-skin drums as the wave’s wax turns to wane.
One of the caves stands king over its surrounding smaller counterparts. Its massive mouth bids us come be swallowed. We oblige. Sticking to the edges, our party of kayaks circles around the cavern, leaving the outside world—a blinding circle of light—behind us. Our voices, the waves, and splashing paddles echo deeply off the walls. Unscathed, we traverse onward, winding through a labyrinth of narrow currents and low-ceilinged tunnels, one of which is low enough to touch.
Exposed to the open gray sky once more, we continue to follow the ridge, out of which juts out overhanging ledges, dripping with purified water we are told is safe to drink. I stick out my tongue like a child catching snowflakes, and let the mineral-flavored droplets coat my tastebuds. Tiny raindrops join the rock’s tears, adding to the array of ripples that break the surface of the teal, glassy water.
We are joined by a monarch butterfly, its fiery wings brazen against the overcast sky. It flies with gray and white gulls and bat-like cormorants, which cry in siren songs as they glide toward a ruin of collapsed boulders. The birds perch upon the dam, which blocks all but a crescent-shaped space that used to be a massive archway over flowing water. This aviary is not the only wildlife refuge we see. After many more twists and turns through Pictured Rocks, we come to a beach, where tourists abound. Nearby, a cruising yacht five times the size of the vessel that brought our kayaks here squeezes into a crevasse we exited just moments before.
On land, we see Chapel Rock, a pillar of stone set apart from the rest of the wall, shaped like the opening of ancient temple ruins, on which grows a 250 year old tree. Having no soil to take hold of, the tree’s roots stretch across the open space like a tightrope bridge to the cliff beside it. As Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park once said, “Life finds a way.” Our tour concluded, we find our way back to the boat that takes us home.
Visited During
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
From Pictured Rocks Kayaking:
Your kayak tour begins on a 56 foot passenger vessel heading out of the East Channel of Munising Bay to Lake Superior where you will launch your kayak. The boat will stay within a reasonable distance in case of emergency or to assist paddlers who are ill, cold, tired, or need a restroom visit. Once finished with the paddle portion of the kayak trip, board the boat for a ride back to shore. Trips are approximately 4-5 hours long, plan to kayak around 2 hours (approximately 5 miles).
Miners Castle
Painted Coves
Cave of All Colors
Lover’s Leap
Rainbow Cave
Indian Head
Gull Rockery
Grand Portal
Battleship Rocks
Flower Vase
Indian Drum
Chapel Cove
Chapel Rock
