Estivant Pines

It's funny that despite that fact that I grew up in the U.P., there are still many U.P. sights I have yet to see.

I can scratch the Estivant Pines off of that list, though. Going in the winter was nice, because we were the only people there at the time and had the whole place to ourselves. At first I was expecting dramatically big trees everywhere, which turns out to not be the case. There are big trees, but they are spaced out throughout the sancuary.

Still, it was an enjoyable place to snowshoe. We hiked both loops, which was a total of about 3 miles. The trail was fairly well marked, and the only sign of civiliazation was the occasional far-off rumble of a snowmobile. It was nice and quiet and picturesque, with the snow blanketing the landscape and hanging in the trees.

The only downside were the frozen provisions. Still, it's kind of fun having to suck on a licorice stick for a while just to soften it up so you can finally eat it. I guess that's roughing it.