I left my campsite at Castle Rock campground around 8 am on Friday. Another sunny and hot day was forecasted. In 10 miles of pedalling north along the smooth pavement of the Mackinac Trail I only saw one vehicle. When I reached highway M-134 I headed east along the northern shore and bays of Lake Huron. When I reached Hessel, I found a place to grab a bite at the Hessel Marina. I enjoyed a breakfast burrito and cup of coffee at a picnic table by the water and watched the people and boats pass by. I was joined for a little while by an interesting fellow who seemed to know a lot about bicycles and has done some epic canoe trips in Canada.
Passing by Castle Rock in the morning
Fuelled by the late breakfast I was able to pedal hard on the ride to De Tour Village at the far eastern edge of the Upper Peninsula. When I arrived in De Tour I found out that there wasn’t anywhere to camp in town so I went in to a diner for a tuna salad sandwich before cycling 6 or 7 miles back along the highway to De Tour State Forest Campground. It was a small and rustic campground with vault toilets and a hand pump for water. The long sand beach was wonderful and after setting up my tent, I enjoyed a nice swim in Lake Huron and some relaxing on the beach. 62 miles of riding for the day.