New backpacker!

   For a guy that doesn't like camping, my grandson Joshua Chekal has taken to to backpacking like Justin Verlander does to throwing a baseball.
   He's been home about a week after spending four days in the backcountry of Porcupine Mountains. Along with his mom and a friend, the three packed everything in, averaging about 5 miles each day.
   Josh says it was fun. "Really cool," he said. "A lot of hiking up with just a little going down." Besides seeing deer and squirrels, the trio was ever on the lookout for bears.
   "We were told that there were lots of bears around this time of the year," Josh said. "But we didn't see any."
   What he did see was spectacular scenery that included the famous Lake of the Clouds. They were able to camp on a high hill (mountain top?) one night that overlooked the lake.
   The last night was spent along with Lake Superior where they had a campfire and looked at the beautiful night sky that somehow seems to be blacker in this part of the world.
   For an 8th grader at Mason School in Waterford, Josh had some other nice words to describe his outing besides "cool, sweet, and awesome."
   And he's come to enjoy something he probably never thought that much about. Yes, there are other things to do besides play baseball, run cross country, wrestle and play basketball.
   We just have to give them a chance.