Porcupine Mountains and Lake Superior

Because we lost the photos and videos. Because I’m not sure if I’ll ever visit that place again. Because sometimes the smallest of things or especially the small things deserve a mention. I had some free time and I wanted to travel again before winter really set in. We were talking over lunch one day and Northern Lights popped up and it was in my bucket list, though I didn’t realize we can see it from here. So, I searched and the chances were slim but Marquette, MI had some possibility. After some more research I decided we should have other things to do and just consider ourselves lucky if we could spot the Aurora. But, this did give me yet another excuse to travel.

I wanted to take all of them Arijit, Abhijeet, Madhav and Jim Kim. And the initial plan was to travel to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Park. Madhav said he’d definitely come if we can postpone it by a week and so I did that. We had set the weekend of October 17-18, it was already late fall and the weather looked edgy to me. For me and Abhijeet it would be our second camping trip but it was a first for Madhav and Jim and I didn’t want to take them into rain and snow which was what the forecast looked like. So, after some more research I decided that we should go to the Porcupine Mountains National Park. It was still in the UP Michigan, and the weather looked a little better than the other place.

Arijit had a lot up his sleeve so it was finally the four of us who started Friday evening after work. We had to pick Jim from office and traffic detours forced us to a late start. But, we were on our way around 6 ish I’d say. We split the drive first me, then Abhijeet and then Madhav. There were songs and I remember distinctly the feeling when something played and all four of us would chime in, why or how it was important to me I can’t explain. The highlights of this stretch of drive was when it was too dark to see anything on the road and Madhav was behind wheels at that time and we would close the lights for just a second to see how it felt like. I can’t speak for him how much he enjoyed driving that stretch, but it was something to cherish for all of us. It was creepy and frightening and consequently very interesting. Abhijeet would hit 100 mph in this drive and we would all come to this and make fun of it when he wouldn't get his driving license at first try : reason speeding. We also came across packs of deer on the side of road. I’ll also remember that small bar we stopped for a restroom break, the red and blue sign, autumn wreaths and decorations outside. Nothing eventful, just that we passed by that place and my memory retains it.

It was late, very late by the time we reached our campsite at Union Bay Campground. I had reserved site 6 by the lake. And the minute we got out of the car we realized that it was freezing. And on that cold, wintry night with wind blowing at us from all ends we started pitching our tent by the shores of Lake Superior. This was a 6 person tent that I had rented earlier from the Urban Ecology Centre and it took some time and all the effort we had, to stop it from blowing away while simultaneously trying to tie it to the supports. It was makeshift or at least the air flap was badly placed as we would find it the next morning. When we all got inside the tent, there was that feeling of a small achievement that we did manage not to freeze ourselves to death or sleep inside the car. So, we got the air mattress and sleeping bags out and went to sleep.

Madhav woke us up the next morning by taking the air out of our air mattress when we wouldn’t get up. And, the sight that we woke up to was really beautiful. The sound of waves crashing in the early morning sun. If it wasn’t the cold I’d have said it was all too perfect. But there was the cold wind to deal with. We went for a walk and decided that we should move our campsite up one level where the wind was a little easier on us. So, after paying the parking fees and registering our new campsite we carried our tent (without unfolding it) to our new site. It was funny, carrying that tent and I really wish that we had those pics. But we have memories, and I hope these lines will trigger them back whenever I want to reminisce. We picked up dead wood and we made fire (with Vaseline and cotton), and it’s another of those little somethings that we accomplished. Jim helped keep the fire going while Madhav grilled us marinated cottage cheese in pudgy pie holders. And, trust me they were really good even though they weren’t cooked to perfection. Also scrambled eggs which we ate with bread and there was badly brewed tea. All in all I would say definitely a great breakfast.

We were running low on gas so after dealing with that, we started for the Presque Isle waterfalls. The road was flanked by trees in their peak of fall foliage - red and yellow and hues of orange, with now and then an evergreen pine. We played songs and we took videos of that drive. Madhav was driving, Abhijeet was clicking pictures, Jim and I were in the back seat enjoying and taking it all. I was sitting in the middle with my chin resting on my arms between the two front seats and I remember the song Bailamos playing and the mood was in sync with that music. The rhythm, and the drive was taking us over. You really have to go to UP Michigan for this, and I don’t know if it can be replicated. The Falls weren’t that good or at least not compared to the ones I have seen but we walked around, and since the company was good I had fun. There were wooden bridges to walk on. Madhav and Jim were giving poses with Banik clicking away. We met other people on our way, a bunch of Chinese, an older American couple. We climbed up on trees, got inside dead hollow tree trunks and clicked away memories to store. I dropped my blue and violet hairband - tiny essentials to serve as memory cues. We walked on a bridge to get yet another beautiful view of Lake Superior. After this, we headed back and went to Summit peak. There was a short hike to the observation tower from where we got amazing views of more fall colors. The scope assisted viewing was interesting, I was able to see the gradation of colors sort of. And again more pics, more poses. And then happily we trotted or tumbled down, walking and hopping in those bed of yellow leaves. I guess I was still carefree and I was enjoying it.

We wanted to be back in our campsite to catch the sunset by Lake Superior, and the lady at the Visitor centre said we can see it from our campsite. But the sun was in the opposite direction and everyone said we wouldn’t be able to see it. I still hoped that maybe there would be some way or some inclination of our campground and we would be able to watch it. We all started preparing for dinner because we were hungry and we wanted to start before it got dark. Madhav was leading, he was grilling more cottage cheese, bell peppers, baby corn and the best of it all – pineapples. Jim was helping with the fire, Abhijeet was making us drinks. There was still light and we were grilling by the lakeside, there was this pink and orange hue on the horizon so I went with Abhijeet and we clicked pictures. And they had come out really nice, as in the frame was too good. There were these white logs and he didn’t mind taking pics and he took some really good ones. He tripped on a short pool while returning, and the water was freezing so the first thing we did was we ran to get a change of socks. It was after some 10 – 20 minutes that we realized that my phone was missing and we found it lying in that pool of water. It was still on, and I switched and packed it off. I was going to put it in a bag of rice after going home. More on this later. So, we had some food and then went back to our campsite. I was adamant about sleeping in a hammock that night so I was making arrangements. Jim again helped and kept the fire going, a proper and bigger one this time. We started drinking, roasted corns and marshmallow smores. Roasted the rest of pineapples and they were yummy. I was offended earlier because Abhijeet had made me a lighter drink, so while he wasn’t watching I was pouring a little bit from his cup into mine. I also think I drank a little more on empty stomach, so I didn’t actually realize when it was that I got drunk. I remember that we went on a walk, I remember that there was the moon and there were stars but I have faint memories. I don’t remember a lot of things till the time I threw up. Yes, and I’m not proud of it. These people helped me into the tent, I was totally shitfaced.

I woke up with one of the worst hangovers and add to it the embarrassment of not being able to hold my liquor. We had plans of watching sunrise at Lake of the Clouds and so we drove there. Now I was silent and moody, partly owing to the after effects of being drunk the previous night. We were on time to see the sun rise and it was worth getting us early and going there. I really wished I could garner up the effort to be cheerful again but I was mad at myself. And I guess we were all tired by then, so after returning from Lake of the Clouds and a short breakfast we packed our stuff and we headed out. I was recovering a bit but I was still reeling in that aftermath. Initially, when the three of them started telling me about my last night’s rambling I just thought they were all pulling my leg. Jim was leading it, so was Abhijeet and Madhav was just confirming it. And then slowly I realized that I actually didn’t retain at least some part of last night. And, I hated myself even though I knew I couldn’t have done anything by then. I was silent for most part, and I was wondering about all the worse things I could have said and done for that half an hour or an hour that I have no memory of. The worst part is these guys didn’t tell me what exactly it was that I said. They just said that I said and did things that they can’t repeat, and they built on it. So, it was this sullen and brooding me till lunch time. We stopped for pizza on our way for lunch. I was still sulking but I was getting a bit of my old self back. So, on this return trip they talked. They narrated weird incidents – Jim and Madhav and Abhijeet – they all talked with me chiming in now and then. It was interesting for me because I was getting a guy’s perspective on things.  I was wondering that just as women are complicated and it’s difficult for them to interpret our thoughts and emotions, it’s the same with them. Sometimes I wonder that I learnt a lot more on that return drive, I learnt how people are objective and rational. I knew it in theory from books and movies but that day listening to Madhav narrate, I actually understood and accepted it. We talked the usual trash and clichéd topics, girls and guys, and marriage, and parents, incidents from college days. It was all three of them actually, like I got to know each one of them and their views and ideas a little better. This is how we became friends. I would get to know Abhijeet and Madhav a lot more in coming days but the beginnings were there. And I grew up with brothers and sisters and cousins and I had skipped a phase where you made friends. Dipti and Suchi were the only ones I stayed in touch with all these years and they were my school friends. And after that I never had or needed friends, so this was new for me and hence deserves a mention.

I was sleepy and tired by the time I reached home, took a shower and then tried switching on the phone. It came up, everything was fine. I spent two hours checking the photos and videos. I wanted to share it via Whatsapp or post it on Facebook that night but then I postponed it till the next morning. And since everything was working I didn’t think it was necessary to put it in a bag of rice. So, the next morning when it was showing low battery without a second thought I plugged in the charger. It was after I had fully charged it, the phone started restarting every 10 seconds. To cut a long story short, we tried everything from putting it in a bag of rice (the damage was already done when I plugged in the charger I guess) to taking it to various customer care centres. It was a Samsung S6 and there wasn’t a separate memory card and I hadn’t backed my device to cloud or google drive. And the phone wouldn’t stay on long enough for us to take backup into the pc. So, the pics were there in the drive just that there was no way to restore them anymore. After 3-4 days we gave up hope and I rued it the most. Like I said I was the only person who had seen those the previous night, those videos and some excellent shots. And they were gone. We had two cameras, so we do have some pics. Just we lost the majority of them.

So, this post is to retrieve and store some of those lost memories into words. This was different from my other trips because this was again one of those beginnings that would actually blossom. I never really expected this out of travelling, I meet people and we stay in touch but travel is what connects me with all of them. Not with this group, we found other things together. We became friends – and I know I’m reiterating it – but you have to be in my shoes to understand it. Friends. Period.