Porcupine Mountains

( Lake Superior and the Iron Range )

Upper Penninsula, Michigan/Wisconsin/State of Superior, September 2013






This September, as in most years, I had booked a flight into Seattle. I always look forward to having an annual wilderness experience in the mountains, and the Cascades are my favorite destination. But in 2013 it was not to be. After postponing a week and rescheduling because of a bad cold and worse weather, I finally cancelled altogether because of the weather forecast for the following week. The places where I usually park a rental car and load up my backpack before a long uphill climb were supposed to under 1-2 feet of snow. Even the roads would probably be closed for at least a day or two.
Why fight it ?


So on to Plan B. The weather outlook for Wisconsin and da U.P. eh was as glorious as the P.N.W. was bad. I had been wanting to return to the Porcupine Mountains for a backbacking excursion ever since rediscovering the place during a few daytrip bike-hikes, and this seemed like a good opportunity.


In a number of ways, this trip was similar to going backpacking in the Cascades. Gander Mountain in Wausau had to substitute for REI in Seattle, but at least they had white gas for my stove and Mountain House freeze-dried food. I also picked up a collapsible water bucket that came in handy for scooping water out of Lake Superior.


The hike in was pretty uneventful, but I had to hustle to find a place to camp before the sun went down. Fortunately, most of the people who had parked at the trailhead were staying in a rustic cabin near the Lake. Only one dude was tent camping at the mouth of the Little Carp River, and I had my choice of wilderness campsites. So I chose what I immediately christened the "Flintstone Camp".


People here get very creative with the many flat rocks and driftwood logs that are found along Lake Superior. This particular campsite had been fully outfitted with a semi-circular stone windbrake, a driftwood bench with flat stone seats, and a stone-paved patio surrounding a firering.
We're talking deluxe accommodations, baby !


I had just enough time to set up my tent, gather some firewood, fetch water, and start the stove to get some water boiling before dark. Then I could wander over to my private beach to watch the setting sun and the emerging stars...


The next day I had no particular agenda. After all, I was already here ! I had all day to engage in what the Taoist sage Chuang Tzu called (loosely translated) "free and easy wandering". Does it get any better than this ? Of course, nature and/or human stupidity intervened along the way and I found it necessary to dry out my clothes for an hour or two. Memo to self: What looks like a flat dry rock may actually be a slick, frictionless surface if low to the water and slightly sloping downward to catch incoming waves.


Nevertheless, after drying out, I continued on my merry way and made a marvelous discovery. The falls along the Big Carp River Trail which are barely noticeable from the trail itself, which follows along the top of the canyon walls high above, are really very cool closeup. You have to scramble a little to get down to their level, is all.


The next day, on my way out, I stopped again at the mouth of the Little Carp River. This is near the cabin and where most dayhikers and fishermen tend to congregate. I could easily have stayed here all day long, but the trail home was calling to me, like something out of the Wizard of Oz...


One final stop. Manido Falls on the Presque Isle River...


"90% of life is just showing up."
Woody Allen



There are two ways to view the full set of slides:

Select a Thumbnail

Automatic Slideshow

(with 10 second delay)



more adventures !