Mike Breiding's Epic Road Trips ~2016~

Part IX: Saturday July 23rd to August 2nd - 2016
Marquette to White Earth Lake and Back Again.

When last we talked I had dropped Betsy at Sawyer International Airport just south of Marquette.
Her short flight to Ft Wayne did not go as planned. She arrived an hour early only to be informed there would be a two hour delayed departure for her flight to Chicago. Great. Fortunately she arrived in time to make her connection but had to run the whole way to the terminal. Then the plane to Ft Wayne sat on the tarmac for about a half an hour. Isn't flying fun?!

My plan was to continue on to far western Minnesota to visit our AZ hiking buddy Roger at White Earth Lake, MN.
The drive could have been made in one day but I opted for two so I could make a stop or two and drive at a more leisurely pace.

Here is my route to Roger's summer place.

Here is the first stop on my way to Roger's. It is about 100 miles to the west of Marquette.
O Kun de Kun Falls is located on the Baltimore River in Ontonagon County about 8 miles north of Bruce Crossing.
Supposedly O-Kun-De-Kun means "to keep the net up". O-Kun-De-Kun Falls is named for Chief Kun-de-kun of the Ontonagon Band of the Ojibwe Indians.

As you can see it is a short walk to the falls. Some of the trail is on boardwalk. The sections which are not tend to be a bit on the muddy side.

There were 3 other people at the falls when I arrived. They seemed to be looking very closely at different parts of the falls and talking and pointing here and there.

I overheard a bit of the discussion they were having and then realized they were scouting out the falls for an upcoming kayak trip.

When I got back to the van I decided to head south for a trip down memory lane. I went by Robbins Pond where Betsy and I had camped in 2010.
When we camped there in 2010 it was to escape the noise and crowds of the Porcupine Wilderness SP campground. Robbins Pond Campground was just the place for us. It was quiet, remote and had only three sites. On this trip I found it to be a different story.
The site Betsy and I had camped in was empty, the one to the right had one small tent pitched. The site on the left? There were 6 vehicles, several large tents and a huge canopy and it was Party Time!! There was a radio blasting and lots of 20 somethings drinking, yakking, laughing and moving to the music. So much for peace and quiet. This is the main reason why Betsy and I have all but given up on camping. There are noisy ass holes everywhere and they seem not to care if anyone likes it or not.

When I departed Robbins Pond Campground I took USFS Rt #5210/Robbins Pond Road east to US Rt 45 to the town of Watersmeet where I picked up US Rt 2. After about an hours drive I was in Ironwood which is the last town in Michigan before you cross over into Wisconsin.

The town of Ironwood was settled in the spring of 1885. The town was incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city on April 8, 1889. The township area north of the city was incorporated as Ironwood Township on April 8, 1889. In 1890 the population of Ironwood passed 7500 and in 1900 it reached 10000. (5387 in 2010)

Iron ore was found in the area in the 1870s but it wasn't until the mid-1880s when the arrival of the railroad to the area opened it for more extensive exploration of the vast iron ore deposits. Soon several mines were discovered and opened such as the Norrie mine, Aurora mine, Ashland mine, Newport mine, and Pabst mine. The opening of the mines and the lumber works in the area led to a rapid influx of immigrants both from other parts of the USA and directly from Europe (mainly Sweden, Germany, England, Italy, Poland, Finland).

Source: WikiPedia

Earlier we talked about iron ore mining in the Marquette MI area. Now we see its presence here in the Ironwood area as well as just across the border in Hurley, WI where a massive iron ore mine was planned but is now on hold.

The area labelled "Gogebic Iron Ore Range" is where Ironwood, MI and Hurley, WI are located.

This graphic provided by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey shows Wisconsin's Iron Ore Districts.

Iron ore mines are very controversial in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Take a look at this open pit mine in Hibbing, MN.

The Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine in Hibbing, MN is one of the largest open pit iron mines in the world, with a 1.5 by 3.5 mile footprint and depths up to 600 feet.
There will be more about iron ore mining in Minnesota later on.

I crossed over into Wisconsin and continued west on US Rt 2. Soon I was driving through Ashland which sits at the bottom of Chequamegon Bay on the south shore of Lake Superior.
Just to the north of Ashland is the town of Washburn. Betsy and I stayed in Washburn in 2012 while on our "3 Weeks in Minnesota Road Trip". Originally we had planned to stay to the north of Washburn in the town of Bayfield. But when we rolled through Bayfield we found the streets, sidewalks and trendy little shops clotted with big bellied and nicely dressed retirees sipping on their lattes. Not what we had hoped for. A quick check of motel prices there convinced us we should move on down the road where we luckily found a town more to our liking.
But I digress - back the present!

I crossed the rest of Wisconsin in about an hour and after bridging the St Louis River I was in Duluth, MN.
For better or for worse Duluth's economy has been closely tied to iron ore mining since it started in the late 1800s. The "worse" happened in 2011 when the price of iron ore crashed from $190 down to $60 a ton in 2015. Musta been from Obama's War on Iron Ore.

As you can see, iron ore prices have not quite yet returned to their 2011 high. This same scenario has played out time and time again. It has happened with copper and coal as well. That is why it is called a boom and bust economy.

I'll bet the price spike for coal around 2008 had the fat cats at the Arch and Peabody Coal companies thinking god was on their side. Now both companies have filed for bankruptcy.

Like many communities where coal mining has posed numerous environmental risks, the folks in the iron ore range have had their own problems.
Since 1955 the Reserve Mining Company had dumped iron ore wastes into the waters of Lake Superior and the plant at Silver Bay dumped 47 tons of waste rock into Lake Superior every minute.

The communities of Duluth and Two Harbors are both downstream from Silver Bay. Both towns drew their drinking water from Lake Superior. There was very little filtration done to the water supply because the lake water was very low in suspended solids.
But now something else was showing up in the drinking water.

After nearly 20 years of dumping its wastes into Lake Superior, The Environmental Protection Agency asked a federal court to force Reserve to stop.
The reason? The waste material which was initially considered no more harmful than sand was found to be contaminating the lake water with microscopic fibers very similar to asbestos.
After much time in court Reserve was ordered to stop dumping waste into the lake. Instead they now dump waste in an inland pond. This dumping continues with the companies that mine taconite today.

The settlement also required Reserve to pay $1.84 million to filter water drawn from Lake Superior by Duluth and three smaller communities, Silver Bay, Two Harbors and Beaver Bay.
What will happen next - groundwater contamination? Only time will tell.

Here are some sources which will fill in many of the blanks:
The legacy of the Reserve Mining case
United States v. Reserve Mining Company
Settlement Ends Mine Dumping Suit

After passing through the Duluth area I continued west on US Rt 2. Now came the Hotel Hunt and I was beginning to regret the decision to split the drive into two days. I had been certain I would find a place to stay just to the west of Duluth but I found nothing for miles and miles. I finally ended up in Grand Rapids for the night. Grand Rapids was the childhood home of Judy Garland. It is also the county seat of Itasca County, a county that contains over 1000 lakes.

After an uneventful over night in Grand Rapids, MN I arrived at Roger's Place on Sunday the 24th in the afternoon.
In August of 2012 Betsy and I had a fun visit with Roger at White Earth Lake. That is chronicled here: Visiting Roger in the Lake Country.

Monday - July 25th

Roger has a really nice pontoon boat and he, his brother Doyle and I went out for a cruise in the late afternoon of the 25th.

Captain Mike.

Tuesday - July 26th

On Tuesday morning I said my good-byes to Roger and White Earth Lake and drove east retracing my route. About 45 miles east of White Earth Lake I stopped for breakfast at the Lake George Cafe Lake George.
While waiting for my breakfast I went out to the adjacent seating area where I had noticed some newspapers and a cardboard box which contained old paperback books. One of them caught my eye so I grabbed it.

I don't seem to read much anymore but I did scarf this one down.
Interesting. Original. A thrilling Odyssey.

SF has seen literally hundreds of authors fall by the wayside, many of whom, admittedly, produced crap. But there have been others who produced a solid body of work that just failed to find the large audience needed to sustain a really successful career. Bayley belongs to the latter camp. Born in 1937 (and still with us as of this writing), with his most prolific period spanning the 60's and 70's, Bayley hasn't had an original novel published since 1985, the year that saw this final effort for DAW.
(Two recent books remain unpublished, and Bayley did write a potboiler for the game-based Warhammer series in 1999.) The Forest of Peldain is an often gripping action-adventure Odyssey that amply showcases his straightforward prose style and nimble imagination.

The novel, erroneously marketed by DAW as a "heroic fantasy" complete with an atrocious faux-Conan cover, is a SF story set on a world whose only inhabitable land-masses are an archipelago called the Hundred Islands. These islands are all part of the Empire of Arelia, ruled by the beneficent King Krassos. Nearby lies the continent of Peldain, which is covered by a vast forest full of scarifying man-eating plants of all shapes and sizes.

Source: www.sfreviews.net

If this is up your alley you can git yer self a penny copy here.

I also grabbed a copy of the Dorset Daily Bugle — “published once a year, whether there's news or not.” The rag had an interesting article on the Zika mosquitoes in Minnesota.
As some of you may know, the State Bird of Minnesota is the Mosquito. These are not your typical Mosquitoes. They are Norse Warriors and are always ready to do battle.

So, beware all those who would enter the domain of these Viking raiders.

Dorset is about 20 miles south of Lake George and was once the self proclaimed restaurant capital of the world until a fire destroyed two of the restaurants.

The Sept. 4, 2014, fire was a huge loss for Dorset, a tiny town just east of Park Rapids, Minn.
Aside from electing a 3-year-old mayor last year, Dorset's claim to fame was a group of four well-known restaurants. The community of 22 billed itself as the "Restaurant Capital of the World," and pulled in a busy, seasonal tourist trade.

Source: Minnesota Public Radio © 2016.

The saga continues.

Good news for the tiny town of Dorset, Minnesota that is known as the “Restaurant Capitol of the World.” Many were concerned about the future of the town of 22 people after a fire destroyed 2 of their 4 restaurants. Owners of Dorset House and Companeros Mexican, Laura and Rick Kempnich said they would not rebuild.

However, owners tell Valley News Live a couple who used to work at Companeros have decided to start new restaurants using the same names in the same area.

Source: WikiPedia

And so it goes in small town Minnesota where, like elsewhere there are many sparsely populated nearly defunct towns trying to reinvent themselves and continue to survive. Such is the legacy of the boom and bust cycle of resource extraction and manufacturing.

I continued east on SR 200 and enjoyed the scenery and lack of traffic and noise.

Minnesota: "Land of 10,000 Lakes". That means you really can't drive for long without seeing one, or two, or three...

The state's nickname, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", is apt, as there are 11,842 Minnesota lakes over 10 acres (4 ha) in size. The Minnesota portion of Lake Superior is the largest at 962,700 acres (389,600 ha; 3,896 km) and deepest (at 1,290 ft (390 m)) body of water in the state. Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for 69,000 miles (111,000 km). The Mississippi River begins its journey from its headwaters at Lake Itasca and crosses the Iowa border 680 miles (1,090 km) downstream. It is joined by the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling, by the St. Croix River near Hastings, by the Chippewa River at Wabasha, and by many smaller streams. The Red River, in the bed of glacial Lake Agassiz, drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada's Hudson Bay. Approximately 10.6 million acres (4,300,000 ha; 43,000 km) of wetlands are contained within Minnesota's borders, the most of any state except Alaska.

Source: WikiPedia

Is that a Trumpeter Swan in the middle of the photo. You decide.

On the way to Roger's place at White Earth Lake I passed through the tiny town of Laporte, MN. WikiPedia reports a population of 145 in 2000 and 111 in 2010.

The city of Laporte was founded in 1901 and incorporated as a city in 1908. The city had a period of prosperity where it had a train depot, a hotel (which was torn down to make a gas station), a bank (which was subject to an explosion in the 1930s), and a pickle factory (which burned down in the first half of the 20th century).
Also during this period, the city of Laporte had a jail, of which it only had one inmate, who subsequently escaped via breaking a hole through the roof of the jail; after this incident all further inmates were sent to Bemidji, MN.

Source: WikiPedia

As I passed through Laporte on my way to Roger's I crossed what was obviously a paved bike trail. I turned around and parked in the trailhead parking lot. In spite of myself I had found the Paul Bunyan Trail which I had been wanting to explore for quite a few years.

The Paul Bunyan Trail is the longest MN Bike trail at 120-miles and it connects the Heartland Trail, the Blue Ox Trail and the Cuyuna State Trail.

The terrain of the Paul Bunyan Trail ranges from flat and open to hilly and scenic for any level of bike rider. See for yourself with our detailed bike trail maps! Along the 120 miles of the trail there are many places to stop and rest and enjoy the beauty of nature in Northern Minnesota.

Source: © Midwest Captions

My, oh, my - 120 miles of paved bike trail!

My route for today's ride.

The "RP" on this mile marker stands for "Recreation Path" indicating it is a multi-use trail.

Hiking  Biking  In-line skating  Mountain biking  Snowmobiling  
Accessible Outdoors (electric wheelchairs allowed)

While we were in Michigan there were some big storms which moved through the western UP, northern Wisconsin and north eastern Minnesota. While listening to NPR I heard an interview with the mayor of Duluth, MN about the storm damage. She remarked on the number of people without power and was sadly bemoaning the loss of many of Duluth's trees.
As you can see, the Paul Bunyan Trail had some damage as well. I saw few leaners like this one. Most had been cleared and pushed to the side of the trail.

The trail crosses US Route 2 a few miles south of Bemidji. Route 2 is a major east-west road which starts in Maine and ends in Washington. It spans 2500 miles including segments in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. There is mile after mile of great scenery on this road.

I spotted these purty flowers on an urban section of the trail near Lake Bemidji. Here shown are one native and two invasives. In the background is Common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). This invasive is widespread and I saw miles and miles of it along some of the roadways. It was introduced to the United States from Europe for medicinal and horticultural purposes. It is now found in all US states except 5 and all Canadian provinces.
In front of the Tansy is Eastern Bee balm (Monarda bradburiana). This is a great butterfly plant and a good one for the garden. A more common species is Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) which is found in every state with the exception of California.
The small yellow flower to the left is Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus). Native to temperate Eurasia and North Africa it can now be found all but five states. It was originally introduced as livestock forage.
The grasses here may be invasive as well. But agrostology is not something I have much interest in.

The Paul Bunyan Trail runs along the south shore of Lake Bemidji. There is a convention center and some shops as well as rest areas and interpretive signs.

The trail's namesake and how Minnesota got its lakes. Mr Bunyan liked to clear cut vast swaths of forest with his mighty axe and haul them off with the assistance of his powerful helper, Babe the Blue Ox.
I first met Paul Bunyan in the mid 50s. Walt Disney Studios produced an animated musical short film about Paul and Babe.

As the legend goes, it took five huge storks to deliver the infant (already gigantic) Paul Bunyan to his parents in Bangor, Maine. When he grew older, one drag of the mighty lumberjack’s massive ax created the Grand Canyon, while the giant footprints of his trusty companion, Babe the Blue Ox, filled with water and became Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes.

Source: history.com

An overview of the ride area.

The wind did more than damage trees. This faux stucco did not hold up too well.

I had some snacks and water and then began the ride back to Laporte. About half way there the skies darkened and there was the rumble of thunder and soon I was riding in a nice cooling shower. The day had become toasty and the rain felt mighty good.

Look what I found on the ride back.

Does a bear shit in the woods? Sure looks that way to me. I thought it was interesting Bruno took a dump right on the trail. Maybe this is territorial marking. Not sure.

That's quite a load!

If you recognize any of these seeds, let me know.

 

When I got back to the trail head I chatted with a guy from Oregon who was doing some motorcycle touring. We talked about our trips for a bit and then went our separate ways. My next stop would be Ashland, WI, about a 200 mile drive east from Laporte.

Ashland is on US Route 2 at the south end of the 12 mile deep Chequamegon Bay. It is in that little bitty part of Wisconsin that is sandwiched between Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

I arrived in Ashland around 4:00 and got settled into the Crest Motel. When I got to my room the view to the lake (and power plant) was entirely blocked by a huge tour bus. I immediately went back to the office and told them I wanted the bus moved or I wanted another room. The hotel manager called the driver and the bus was moved. It was amusing watching him try to back it into a parking space which was more then spacious enough for him to back in with no trouble. But trouble he had and he eventually gave up and left the bus parked at a cock-eyed angle.

Since it was now Happy Hour I decided to head down to the city beach and chill.
The water was a bit debris laden and not that inviting and the breeze was more cooling than I wanted. I did not stay in long. While I was having my second beer, the old gal I had seen at the hotel showed up. She was in a room two doors down from me. We both recognized each other and exchanged pleasantries - and more. It was not long before I heard more about her life than I was really interested in. She was traveling alone and obviously needed an ear to bend. So I let her bend it for about 45 minutes then I went back to the room to look over some info on tomorrow's ride and hit the hay.

Wednesday - July 27th

My view from the Crest Motel at Sunrise. The stacks are part of the Bay Front Generating Station.

Bay Front Generating Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Xcel Energy in Ashland, Wisconsin.

In October 2008, Xcel Energy announced plans to spend over $55 million to convert the last remaining coal-fired unit at the Bay Front plant to biomass. The conversion will enable the facility to use 100 percent biomass in all three boilers. Xcel submitted an application to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in February 2009. If approved, construction could begin in 2010 and operation in late 2012.

The facility primarily burns waste wood from area forest harvesting operations. The existing biomass incinerators burn about 200,000 tons of waste wood each year. When the project is completed, the plant will use another 185,000 to 250,000 tons per year and will be capable of generating enough electricity for 40,000 homes. According to Xcel, the project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by approximately 50 percent, sulfur dioxides by over 85 percent, and particulate matter by 90 percent.

Source: WikiPedia

Another lovely view of the Bay Front Generating Station.
But the site has a dark side...

The Ashland/Northern States Power Lakefront Super fund site is a contaminated region of the Wisconsin shoreline of Lake Superior that is being studied for remediation by Northern States Power Wisconsin (NSPW), as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).^[1] This site has held a *manufactured gas plant from 1845 to 1947, as well as lumber manufacturing and treatment mills for four decades at the start of the 20th century, railcar loading facilities, and a municipal landfill. Additionally, a wastewater treatment plant is located on the premises, but is not in operation.
Contamination of the site is currently believed to have been caused by all the parties mentioned above, or former owners of the property whose companies are no longer in business. The area is listed as a Superfund site by the EPA under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Releases of hazardous substances occurred onshore and migrated into sediment in Chequamagon Bay on Lake Superior.

Source: WikiPedia

* Manufactured Gas Plant
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the most common form of energy and lighting used in homes, industry, and public was flammable gas that was burned for whatever effect was desired (heat, light, etc.). This gas was made at a Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP). At the Ashland site, the MGP was located on the bluffs behind and slightly raised above the shoreline, and was in operation from 1845 until 1947. Here, coal, peat, and other materials were heated, creating a gas that could be stored and pumped out to consumers.
However, this created tar and tar-tainted water as by-products that had to be disposed of. Some of the tar may have been used to treat lumber at the nearby lumber manufacturers. The rest had to be disposed of, a portion of which was dumped or released. A result was that many of the by-products ended up in local terrestrial and aquatic environments. This was the source of the MGP's main contribution to the contamination to the site.Although NSPW did not own or operate the MGP itself, it eventually acquired the liabilities as a successor to the former MGP operator.

Source: WikiPedia

Damn that EPA! - making those poor companies clean up their messes. That just ain't right!!!

Case Summary: Settlement Reached at the Ashland/NSP Lakefront Superfund Site in Wisconsin
On October 19, 2012, the settlement agreement between the federal government, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Northern States Power Wisconsin (NSPW, d/b/a Xcel Energy) was approved by the U.S. District Court of Wisconsin. Under the settlement, NSPW will perform soil and groundwater cleanup at the former NSPW gas plant and Kreher Park for an estimated cost of $40 million.

Source: epa.gov

This was my view a few hours later. So much for the bike ride. It rained on and off all day. And the wind picked up. And it rained some more. And so on and so on all day long. Now I get to lounge around in bed and watch TV!

By late afternoon the rain had subsided somewhat so I decided to head down to Maslowski Beach Park where I had been the previous day. As you can see the water was a bit churned up from the stormy and windy weather.

As I sat there in the van watching the waves batter this old willow, the rain and wind started up again and shortly thereafter it was back to my room at the Crest Motel.

Thursday, July 28th

Thursday morning broke clear and calm and it was not long before the drear of yesterday was replaced with blue skies and sparkling waters.

Quite a change from the previous day. I said good-by to Asland, checked the map and two hours later I was in Ontonagon, MI.

My next stop would be "The Porkies" aka Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. I was first here in the late 1970s with Herb and Florence Wagner and Joe Beitel. We were doing a fern survey of the area on our return to Ann Arbor from Lake Itaska Biological Station.
Betsy and I have visited the Porkies on several occasions and we love to hike the Escarpment Trail there. We have previously approached the Porkies from the east. Not so this time. And this would give me the chance to check out the Presque Isle River camping area. Unlike the busy, busy, busy Union Bay campground, the Presque Isle is more remote with promises of being quieter as well.

I took a drive through the campground and liked what I saw. There was a double loop on the west side which did not allow generators and a loop on the east for those who insist on being able to watch TV while camping.
Hopefully the next time Betsy and I are up this way we will be camping at Presque Isle.

A little bit about The Porkies.

The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is located on the southern shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A short 20-minute drive west from Ontonagon will bring you to “the Porkies.” Twenty-six miles long and 10 miles wide, it offers 60,000 acres of natural beauty with varied accessibility, ranging from a stunning handicapped accessible vista to 90 miles of rugged backcountry trails.
There are 25 miles of wave-washed Lake Superior shores, four inland lakes, entire river systems, countless waterfalls, enchanting wooded peaks, and an escarpment, which rises slowly from the edge of Lake Superior until it plummets abruptly into the Carp River Valley. Still, the most impressive feature of the Park and the reason for its creation is the virgin forest of eastern hemlock and northern hardwoods. This unique resource, sometimes called a “forest museum,” supports a wide variety of captivating flora and fauna.

Source: Copyright © 2006-2016 Friends of the Porkies.

Accessible from the Presque Isle campground is a loop trail which follows the banks of the Presque Isle River.

Gorgeous river. I look forward to spending more time here during the summer of 2017.
Now, on to the Escarpment Trail!

The escarpment and Lake of the Clouds can easily be seen here in the National Geographic base map.

Just a few minutes walk from the trailhead these poles were stock piled for a foot bridge replacement. I found myself wondering how they managed to get these poles up the very steep and rocky section of trail which is accessed from SR 107, the main roadway on the north side of the park.

Seeing this view from the escarpment is always like the first time, every time. Here the meandering Big Carp River cuts through the scenic heart of the Porkies. In the distance can be seen the Trap Hills area of the Ottawa National Forest where I will be hiking tomorrow.
Here also lies the Gogebic Range which is an elongated area of iron ore deposits in northern Michigan and Wisconsin. Hopefully there will never be any iron ore mining in this area.

This view is looking south east. When you turn the opposite direction one gets the first glimpse of the Lake of the Clouds.

This pristine 133 acre lake is one of the least accessible of Michigan's many lakes.

The Lake of the Clouds,whose length is about 1.5 miles long and .33 miles wide, sits at just about 1000 feet above sea level.

You couldn't ask for a better spot to rest and take in the view.

On the upper left are two hikers heading east on the Escarpment trail.

My turn around point was the main overlook area which is accessible by car. This means most of the time this is a very busy place. Today was no exception. I did manage to find an out of the way place which was relatively quiet to sit and have my lunch.

Being someone who is interested in map usability I thought this "You Are Here" marker was worth taking a shot or two.

Closer inspection showed this to be a copper pop rivet.

The pop rivet's twin was placed on the appropriate spot on the map. Usually the individual maps are marked up by felt tip marker or an adhesive backed arrow marker. Neither of these methods will stand the test of time. The ink mark will fade and the adhesive will fail on the marker. This pop rivet method insures flexibility of placement and permanence.

On my return trip I took one last shot of the Lake of the Clouds. Until next summer...

I rolled into Ontonagon around 4:00, checked into the motel, unpacked and before you know it it was time for Happy Hour.

Like many formerly prosperous small towns across the US Ontonagon has fallen on hard times. The area has been logged out and the copper industry is in decline. Fortunately tourism still pumps some money into the local economy. But the number of closed hotels in the Upper Peninsula would seem to indicate tourism is struggling as well.
There is a brief history of Ontonagon here.

Ontonagon County’s rich copper history dates back to 1765 when English fur trader Alexander Henry came to the area and discovered copper in great quantity. He visited again the following year and was shown by the native people a mass of native copper. In 1771 Henry returned to search for copper himself and he established the first mining operation in the county. Although Henry’s mining venture failed, the copper boom in Ontonagon County was just getting started.

Old Victoria was one of the earliest copper mines and a village quickly formed around the mine. It was here, in the Ontonagon River, that the “Ontonagon Boulder” was discovered. This 3,708 pound copper boulder was removed from the site in 1843 and it now resides at the National Museum of Natural Science at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. A similar boulder is housed at the chamber of commerce office in Ontonagon.

Source: Copyright © 2005-2016 Ontonagon County Chamber of Commerce

The above snippet from November 15th 1985 appeared in the Ludington Daily News. White Pine is in Ontonagon County and is about 20 miles southwest of the village of Ontonagon.

In 2010 the White Pine copper refinery closed and in 2012 the mine closed. There are ongoing efforts to start production again.
With the loss of copper jobs and the mill closing noted below I think it is safe to say the UP still has a "slumbering economy".

Ontonagon community reeling over loss of Smurfit-Stone Container Company
December 22, 2009
Ontonagon - Just a week after the announcement that Smurfit-Stone Container Company, a paper mill in Ontonagon, will close its doors permanently, residents in the village are looking at different options for the future.

The mill, which was once the largest employer in Ontonagon County, was the topic of discussion all over Ontonagon, especially at the village council meeting last week, Village President Scott Frazer said.

Source: © 2016 Mining Journal

Jan 14, 2010
The 182 jobs lost when Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. shuttered its corrugated paper-making plant in Ontonagon, Mich., barely rate a blip on the dismal unemployment screen in that state, which has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs over the past decade.

Source: Copyright ©2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

And there you have the sad tale of woe as it relates to the economic conditions in Ontonagon. Like elsewhere, hope springs eternal the mill will reopen and mining will start up once again. But right now things look pretty bleak in the area. If it were not for tourism the area would be even worse off.
For better or for worse snow mobile tourism pumps some money into the economy and nearby Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Porkies) is a very popular destination. Indeed, that is what had brought me to Ontonagon.

When deciding on a place to stay I chose the Inn Towne for its easy access to food and supplies as well as the Porkies. I was hoping to find a low cost mom and pop motel in Ontonagon. But the Inn Towne was the only choice. And it was not what I would call low cost - $65 for a single with no microwave, fridge or coffee pot.

Friday - July 29th

Earlier I mentioned being able to see the Trap Hills from the Escarpment Trail in the Porkies. That was where I was headed today to hike the Norwich Bluff Trail.

The "Scenic Overlooks" is where I will be hiking to. This trail was fun! Lots of up and down with some nice steep sections and an occasional pop out to the bluff for a fabulous view of miles and miles of trees and gently rolling hills.

As can be seen from the stilt roots, here is a tree that outlasted its nurse stump.

The first of several panoramic views of the Great North Woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The rock face seen to the left of the photo was an area Betsy and I hiked on June 26th of 2010. That account can be read here.

I would sure love to know the story behind the structure seen here. Is it a house? Who owns it? How do you get to it?

The views seemed endless...

Here is one of those signs with a "You are here" marker which not only obscures part of the map but is already peeling off. Nice map though.

Norwich is long gone like so many other boom and bust communities which tied their hopes and dreams to a limited resource.

By 1843 exploration for copper was in full swing in the Norwich area. At first, access was via the original Ojibwe trail, and then by the "Miner's Road" which closely followed the trail route. While called a "road" it was still a long and arduous journey from the mouth of the Ontonagon River to Norwich Bluff, first by small boat and then overland.

Once copper was found in promising quantities, a flood of mining companies came to the area, and opened over a dozen underground copper mines, many of which were associated with other nearby mines. Most successful was the Norwich Mine, which operated steadily from 1850 to 1860, under the ownership of several mining companies, and intermittently by others until 1916. However almost all copper removed (~500 tons) was taken out by 1860.

A town, Norwich, developed at the base of the bluff to support the mine. Today that town site has little remaining, though the area may be explored by parking at the Forest Service parking lot accessed by a short gravel road that goes NNE from Norwich Road a short distance north of the bridge over the West Branch.

Source: Peter Wolfe Chapter of the North Country Trail Association

"Old Victoria" refers to a restored copper mining community which is well known in the area and a tourist attraction - albeit a remote one.

A relic of the copper-mining days is the town of Victoria, built near the original site of the site of the famous Ontonagon Boulder. Like so many communities, Victoria lost its spark of life when the copper industry abandoned the area. But unlike other small, almost forgotten mining towns, Victoria is being brought back to life by a large restoration project aimed at recreating the mid-1800’s community as it was in its peak.

Miners came to the hills of Victoria in 1849 seeking copper and sliver. Mining camps such as Victoria sprung up overnight, usually near ancient miners pits, then vanished just as quickly. Although Victoria was a low-grade operation, it continued to produce sufficient copper to making mining in those hills, profitable.

One of the reasons for the success at Victoria was the use of the mighty Ontonagon River. It produced power to operate the mine’s operation through the famous Taylor Air Compressor, the most powerful device of its type ever built.

Source: Copyright © Lake Gogebic Area Chamber of Commerce

The "Taylor Air Compressor" referred to above is a device called a "tromp".

A trompe is a water-powered gas compressor, commonly used before the advent of the electric-powered compressor. A trompe is somewhat like an airlift pump working in reverse.
Trompes were used to provide compressed air for bloomery furnaces in Catalonia and the USA. The presence of a trompe is a signature attribute of a Catalan forge, a type of bloomery furnace.
In Paris they were used for a time to compress air to drive the city's first electricity generation scheme, and in the Alps they were used in France and Switzerland to provide compressed air for early alpine tunnels.
Trompes can be enormous. At Canadian Hydro Developers' Ragged Chute facility in New Liskeard, Ontario, water falls down a shaft 351 feet (107 m) deep and 9 ft (2.7 m) across to generate compressed air for mining equipment and ventilation.

Source: WikiPedia

Now I have arrived at the last of the scenic overlooks on this hike. I have now had a delightful three and a half mile walk in the woods and it is time to do an about face and return to the starting point. But just one more shot before I go.

I found it impossible to capture the feeling of vastness with my tiny little digi-snapper.

It took about 45 minutes to get back to Ontonagon and wouldn't you know it I got there just in time for Happy Hour!

Saturday - July 30th

On Saturday morning I said my good-byes to Ontonagon and headed east on SR 38 to Baraga where I will pick up US 41.
Today I am on my way to the small town of Chatham which is about 150 miles east and slightly south of Ontonagon. During the last census conducted in 2010, Chatham's population was 220 and continues to decline. Once the virgin timber was clear cut in the early 1900s, the jobs disappeared along with the trees.
From Chatham I will continue on to Munising. But first I will make a side trip from Chatham in search of the Rock River Canyon Wilderness and the secluded Rock River Falls.

Following the directions in Eric Hansen's "Hiking Michigan's Upper Peninsula" I drove north on Rock River Road to Forest Road 2276 and then on to FR 2293.
These two Forest Service roads are narrow one lane unpaved roads with grass growing in the middle in some places and they have sections so tight the vegetation was scraping both sides of the van. As I was driving I was hoping the entire time I would not meet anyone coming the opposite direction as it would have required someone backing up for quite a ways to one of few spots wide enough to pull off the roadway.
Luckily I met no one and the first line of this hike description in Hansen's book turned out to be right on: "Having a waterfall to yourself if a mighty fine thing."

The scenery along the road to Rock River Falls was gorgeous. I think this is the finest stand of Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) I have ever seen.

One of the few other sunny spots along the roadway had lots of Black-eyed-Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) in bloom.

When I arrived at the trailhead I found a pullout adequate for 3 vehicles. The roadway continues on to who knows where.
The short 2 mile out and back hike route to the falls follows one of the many old logging roads in this area. Once a bleak, eroded landscape there is now a thick forest of mostly Maple and Birch. Quite beautiful.

I have seen the Wood horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) many times on this trip to the UP and it is always a treat.

I have always found this delicate little plant difficult to get a decent photo of but I thought these turned out OK.

Here we have a Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) growing out of a nurse stump (aka nurse log). This is a youngster. I have seen Yellow Birch 36" DBH in the UP.

Yet another mushroom who shall rename nameless. I never took the time or made the effort to learn anymore than just a very few common species and genera.

My first look at the Falls of the Rock River.

All was quiet and I did indeed have the waterfall to myself.

It is now almost September and the flow is low.

There were numerous lush looking ferns growing on the ledges and amongst the breakdown boulders. A wonderful site and a visit in 2017 is definitely in order.

I retraced my steps to the trail head and I was soon heading east again on SR 94. Next stop - Munising and Scotty's Motel.

25 miles later I was checking into Scotty's. Betsy and I love this place. It is a true Mom and Pop motel and is run by a husband and wife team who are in their 60s. You cannot beat the rates! For a single with no fridge, micro or coffee pot I paid $33. Contrast that to the $65 I paid at the Inn Towne in Ontonagon. And from Scotty's you can walk to the public beach, numerous shops, taverns and restaurants. Munising is the western gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore which makes Scotty's an even better choice.

Sunday - July 31th

This morning I had breakfast at the Navigator and then headed out to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Today I would hike from the old Log Slide to the Au Sable Lighthouse Station which is a scenic and easy 4 mile round trip hike.

The beginning of the 4 mile out and back hike to the Au Sable Lighthouse Station.

I always like to see this sign at trail heads or anywhere else for that matter.

The view from the top of the log slide (aka Devil's slide) where many thousands of logs were slid down the 300' to Lake Superior to make their way to the mills. The logs were gathered into what were called "rafts" and floated to the site where they would be boomed out of the lake and sent to the mill.

Chutes for sending decked logs into the lake for rafting were fairly common. Besides the most famous at Devil’s Slide, east of Au Sable Point, there were slides at Miners Castle and one other location. The mammoth wood slide was built into the slope of the Grand Sable Dunes at a point approximately 300 feet above the lake surface. The angle of the slide would have been about 35 degrees.

Rafting presented special problems on the Great Lakes, especially when they had to be towed some 200 miles of treacherous and storm swept water. To solve the difficulty, an entirely new type of log boom was developed. It consisted of threading a series of large pine logs, three or four feet in diameter on a heavy logging chain passed through holes drilled in the logs.
The massive floating fence would surround a free mass of floating logs covering from ten to twenty acres and resembling a large balloon. In 1885, three million feet of logs were successfully towed to Bay City on Lake Huron from Lake Superior. In 1887, 30 million feet of logs were rafted down from Superior to Lake Michigan. Sullivan once rafted an eight million foot raft to Alpena, Michigan.

Source: National Park Service

The tiny white speck on the right of the photo is the Au Sable Light Station where I would be hiking to today.

A closer look at the light station. Imagine a different scene than this picture perfect summer day: think gale force winds, think white cap waves, and blinding snow. Annual storms on Lake Superior regularly have wave heights of over 20 feet. Waves well over 30 feet have been recorded.
Think Edmund Fitzgerald.

Down in the inlet to the left I would soon be having a refreshing post lunch skinny dip.

The impressive and beautiful 5 mile long Grand Sable Banks and Dunes.

Here we are at the light station after a pleasant hike along the wooded shores of Lake Superior. The building on the left houses the light keeper's boat and the high pressure tank which was used for the warning horns.

The Au Sable Light Station was built in 1874on Au Sable Point, a well known hazard on Lake Superior's "shipwreck coast". The Au Sable Point reef is a shallow ridge of sandstone that in places is only 6 feet (1.8 m) below the surface and extends nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) into Lake Superior. The Au Sable Point reef was one of the greatest dangers facing ships coasting along the south shore of Lake Superior during the early shipping days when keeping land in sight was the main navigational method. The Au Sable Point reef was known as a "ship trap" that ensnared many ships, including the passenger ship Lady Elgin which was stranded there in 1859.

Source: WikiPedia

The proverbial brick shithouse. Built to last!

When I went down to the shoreline I could see the limestone pavement shelf extending out into the water. This is what I love about the shoreline and beaches up here in the Great Lakes. They can be strewn with rocks and cobbles, or clean sandy beaches, or pavement.

I love all the interesting patterns the combination of water movement and sunshine make.

I would see this trio of kayakers a bit later in the day when I stopped for lunch.

This healthy clump of Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) was growing right at the shoreline's edge.

Drosera rotundifolia — the round-leaved sundew or common sundew — is a species of sundew, a carnivorous plant often found in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribution, being found in all of northern Europe, much of Siberia, large parts of northern North America, Korea and Japan but is also found as far south as California, Mississippi and Alabama in the United States of America and on New Guinea.

The leaves of the common sundew are arranged in a basal rosette. The narrow, hairy, 1.3-to-5.0-centimetre (0.51 to 1.97 in) long petioles support 4-to-10-millimetre (0.16 to 0.39 in) long laminae. The upper surface of the lamina is densely covered with red glandular hairs that secrete a sticky mucilage.

Source: WikiPedia

Clinker built (also known as lapstrake) is a method of boat building where the edges of hull planks overlap, called a "land" or "landing." In craft of any size planks are also joined end to end into a strake. The technique developed in northern Europe and was successfully used by the Norsemen and typical for the Hanseatic cog. A contrasting method, where plank edges are butted smoothly seam to seam, is known as carvel construction.

Examples of clinker-built boats directly descended from those of Norsemen shipbuilders are the traditional round-bottomed Thames skiffs of the River Thames, and the larger (originally) cargo-carrying Norfolk wherries of England

Source: WikiPedia

Quite the beauty.

On the return trip I found a peaceful and quiet spot to have lunch and a refreshing skinny dip.

I always find the many shapes and colors of the cobbles to be fascinating.

The crystal clear waters of Lake Superior.

Another picture perfect lunch spot.

This Beech snag has provided both food and shelter for wood peckers. From the size of the cavities I would guess them to be Pileated Woodpeckers.

One section of the trail traverses a low wet spot which this Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) flanked boardwalk spans.

One last look at the Banks before I head back to Munising. Tomorrow I would take the slow route to Manistique.

Monday - August the 1st

I departed Munising via County Route H-58. Just about a mile outside of town there is a set of wooden steps on the left that ascend the hillside. I have passed these steps and informational sign many times. This time I decided to park and take a walk up those steps.

Memorial Falls & Rudy M. Olson Memorial Falls (aka Taanner Falls) on Tannery Creek can both be viewed by taking a leisurely walk on the steep hillside above County Route H-58 near the intersection of Washington Street.

Tannery Falls is a waterfall on Tannery Creek located near the city of Munising, Michigan. The Falls are also sometimes called the Rudy M. Olson Memorial Falls. The grave site of Rudolf Olsen can be seen on the path leading to the falls alongside a set of stairs. Tannery Creek flows behind a small residential area before reaching The falls which drop 40 feet (12 m) into an impressive sandstone canyon. There is a cave behind the falls. The level of water coming over the falls can vary greatly depending on snow melt or rainfall. Tannery Falls is one of the less-advertised and less-maintained falls in the area. For a number of years, the falls were under private ownership. The land around the area was purchased by the Michigan Nature Association which created a public nature preserve that includes the nearby Memorial Falls.

Source: WikiPedia

This is Tannery Falls. I would love to see this falls in spring or early summer.

Until this trip I did not realize exactly how abundant the Slender Rockbreak (Cryptogramma stelleri) is in this area. I saw healthy clumps of Cryptogramma in numerous spots on rock ledges near both waterfalls.
In West Virginia it is a very rare plant and seen by only a fortunate few.

I left Munising driving south on SR 28/94 and near the community of Wetmore I spotted the road sign for the "Robert McQuisten Munising Township Recreational Area". I pulled into the parking lot and had a leisurely 45 minute stroll along the extensive boardwalk.

Why I took no pictures of the boardwalk I do not know. But here is a Google Maps image and Panoramic photo below.

Since 1988, Munising Township has received three recreation grants from the MDNR. In 1988, the Township received a grant in the amount of $37,500 for the Munising Township Recreation Area to acquire approximately 28 acres of property now known as the Robert McQuisten Munising Township Recreational Area in the community of Wetmore. In 2001, the Township received approximately $175,000 to develop a barrier-free boardwalk and natural trail with interpretive signage around Cox Pond and adjacent wetland areas. In 2003, an additional $135,000 of funding was received for the park to extend the boardwalk and nature trail, construct a pavilion, add barrier free fishing sites and for fish habitat improvements.

Source: Munising Township

The McQuisten recreation area is at the intersection of SR 28 and Forest Road 13. The latter is the road which Betsy and I have been on twice to get to one of our favorite hikes - the 9 mile Bruno's Run Loop trail.

I said "Howdy" to the trail head sign and thought about the wonderful Bruno's Run hike Betsy and I took in 2010. The third hiking would have to wait for another time.

The Bruno Run hike is in the 894,836 acre Hiawatha National Forest which has about 30 campgrounds. One of them is the Widewaters Campground which the Bruno Run hike skirts on the west side. Widewaters is operated under a Special Use Permit by Recreation Resource Management, not the US Forest Service.

I continued due south on Forest Road 13 for 30 beautiful, back woods miles until I intersected US Rt 2 between Rapid River and Cooks. I was on my way to Manistique which was just about 25 miles east on US 2.
After a few miles of traveling east on US 2 I saw a brown Forest Service directional sign for "Nahma Marsh Trail". I turned right down CR 497/Gregg Road and found a short access road to a parking are for the trail head.

I walked down the short ADA trail to the overlook. On the way I flushed a Ruffed Grouse which always startles the shit of me.

My only photo of Nahma Marsh. If you look at this Google map image you will see what looks like a lake labelled "Marsh Lake". All I saw was this wet meadow.

I rolled into Manistique just in time for Happy Hour.

Keeping with the tradition Betsy and I had established, I set up my Happy Hour station at Manistique beach. This would be the last visit here until 2017.

While wading in the cool waters of Lake Michigan I noticed some beach balls floating about. I picked one up and decided it was worth hanging on to.

Interesting!

When I got home I set it up for this photo. There are no Manatees in the Great Lakes but I thought this bit of whimsy would make a fun photo.

Tuesday - August the 2nd

One of the reasons I like staying at the Star Motel in Manistique is being able to walk down to the water's edge with my coffee and watch the sunrise.
And with that sunrise my Solo Sojourn to western Minnesota and my UP wanderings were at a close. Now I would head south to the Lower Peninsula and make my way home.
I drove east on Rt 2 passing Gustafsons where Betsy and I had loaded up on our Happy Hour Smoked Fish when we passed through on July the 15th. Then it was across the bridge and down I-75 for a while, then I headed east on SR 68 and the SR 33 down to Mio.

I made one stop on my way to Mio. 13 miles SE of Onaway via M-33 is the Sinkholes Pathway which is in Aloha State Park. It is a two mile interpretive trail around and down into a series of sinkholes.
If you click on the signs below you might get a better idea of what the area is all about.

Michigan’s karst region is spread across Presque Isle, Alepna and Montmorency counties in the northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula and the heart of it is the Sinkhole Area, a non-motorized, 2,600-acre slice of the Mackinaw State Forest between Onaway and Atlanta.

A karst is a geologist's term for a limestone region where underground streams dissolved the rock into a series of large circular caves. These caverns eventually collapse under the overwhelming load of sand, rock and clay left by the last glacier 10,000 year ago and the result is deep conical depressions throughout the forest called sinkholes.

Source: Copyright © 2016 Michigan Trail Maps

The nearly 200 steps down into and up out of this sinkhole were a good test for my still healing ankle. No problems - Yippee!.
When I left the sinkhole I decided to take a trip down memory lane.

This is where Betsy and I camped on one of our first dates back in the early 80's. Then, Michigan was mostly new to us. But not for long.

Can you figure out where I stayed in Mio? I tried to find a cheaper place to stay as you can see from the marked up map. I checked three other places. None of them had offices that were open so I was stuck with Mio Motel at 65 bucks a night. The room was pretty nice but the location is noisy as ST 33 sees a lot of truck traffic.

The next day, Wednesday - August the 2nd I completed the drive home. I got to Wheeling just in time for ... You guessed it: Happy Hour!

Until next time...

 

 

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