Keith and Mary take on the Porcupine Mountains: Lake of the Clouds

 Thankfully, after the fun off-roading adventure to Rock Cut, the actual visitor's center and check-in process was a breeze at the Porcupine State Park.  

After checking into our backcountry camping reservations, we grabbed some maps and drove up to the Lake of the Clouds overlook where the truck would stay parked for two nights.  I would love to see this place in the full color of fall and the pristine quietness of winter snow.  The first is doable, but the latter may be a challenge as the park closes the road to drive up there for the winter.

Keith and I rearranged our backpacks and off we went down the trail to our first campsite for the night right on Lake of the Clouds. 

The walk down to the site was peaceful and perfect.  The sun shined through the trees like a beacon.

As we entered the trail to the campsites, Keith noticed a little mouse sitting on a small boardwalk.  The sweet thing was so confused about life that I just HAD to lift it up and give it some encouragement. I wanted to bring it with me as a pet, but Keith was nice enough to talk me out of that because I was already carrying Sasquatch on my back. 

That first night in the Porkies was perfect. It wasn't too hot nor too cold.  We got to start a fire, wade in the Lake of the Clouds and watch the sun dance off the trees.

For some reason, Keith and I woke up before the sun.  We sipped coffee - which is the one thing I forgot, how do I forget coffee???? (thanks for sharing, Keith) and took our time to get packed up.  This was perfect because we were blessed by a bald eagle flying the length of the lake as the sun started to crest the trees.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of it soaring, but honestly, I was in awe of God's blessing upon us that morning, that I didn't even think about getting my phone until after it was too far away.

Somewhere around 8 am, we were packed up and ready to climb back up the overlook to drop off some trash, grab more food, and begin the next leg of the hike down Big Carp Trail.

While at the truck, we met a couple from Indiana who started asking us some questions.  They were really nice and gave us instant coffee.  We talked with them a big longer than what was planned, but it was nice to have a friendly conversation.  It also didn't hurt that they were probably a few years older than us and thought I was in my early twenties.  That truly made my day. 

Once they left, Keith and I continued our adventure that will be continued in another post in a few days.

Mary and Keith Take on the Porcupine Mountains: A history and drive there

Back in July of this year, I started thinking about going backpacking alone (well, with Battle), in the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The Porkies, as known by locals, was formed from volcanic lava over 2 million years ago, making it one of the oldest mountains in the world.  It covers over 31,000 acres of land and has the largest old-growth hardwood forest west of the Adirondacks.  There are over 60 miles of trails and around 90 different waterfalls to splash in.  

In my quick research of the Porkies, I found out they have a flower named after me, the small blue-eyed Mary.  How cool is that?

Image from Gardenia.net

Enough history, now onto the trip.  

Right after I started planning the trip, my uncle Mike was fully healed from his cancer and joined his dad, stepdad, and his favorite nephew-in-law, my husband, in Heaven.  Uncle Mike had 8 kids and he always seemed to have been able to find some sort of activity with them all, even through adulthood.   I will always remember how he dated his kids when they were younger and before it was fashionable and thought that was something I wanted to do with my kids.  So I did.

One of the activities he did was backpacking with Keith.  Last year, Keith and a few friends and I went backpacking together, so I thought I ask if he'd like to join me.

I'm so happy that he said yes.

We talked so much about everything and nothing on the long 5 and half-hour drive up to Germfask where we slept for the night to help break up the drive a bit.  Not once did he lean back to close his eyes to snooze.  It was impressive.  

On our way to the Porkies, we took a detour to what is known as the Rock Cut.  Back in the 1890s, some Detroit investors thought they could make a fortune moving iron ore by train to an ore dock by Champion, MI.  When the railroad was completed, the ore stopped producing iron and those investors who put up around 2 million of their own dollars sold it for $100,000.  Oops.  At least their failed attempt allowed me to break into my new truck.

The Ruck Cut is about 20 miles off of a good paved road and follows the picturesque Peshekee River.  I imagine that if it would have been winter or spring, we would not have been able to drive there without a four-wheeler or snowmobile.

But guys, it was so worth it!  

Stole this one from Keith.

As a side note, I learned that as much as I trust Keith with many things, he is NOT to be trusted with two-track trails and google maps.  Why in the world google has two-tracks listed that go through some serious "should I be here without a winch" roads with names, is beyond me.

It was an absolute riot!  I felt pretty badass driving YeeHaw through those places and honestly, if I would have been able to winch myself out, I would have continued on.  After all, we were just a few hundred feet from another road, right, Keith? 

We were able to backtrack enough to get back to the main road and continue onto the main destination: the Porkies.

Stay tuned for that story.