nwoods
Expedition Leader
Really cool photo. Nice trip report!
Bugs, Sweat and Tears- Exploring the UP's Copper Country
- Thread starter upcruiser
- Start date
Really cool photo. Nice trip report!
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Evening two at camp
Day 3
Well the forecast today was looking brutal. It would prove to be the hottest day of the summer. We wasted no time packing up camp and rolling out. While our initial plan was to hike Bare Bluffs, the increasing heat made us rethink the plan and we ended up taking the dirt all the way down to the small beach of Bete Gries. Paddling along Superior and taking advantage of the cooler air off the lake proved to be the way to go.
A mist hung over the water and swirled over the shores as the incredible difference in temperature between land and water created cool effects with the local weather.
Working our way along the coast. This stretch of shoreline from Bete Gries towards Keweenaw Point is some of the best unknown paddling in the area. Large cliffs, rocky shoreline with many inlets and smal caves makes it a paddlers paradise. Paddle far enought to the mouth of the Montreal River and you can see a beautiful cascade of waterfalls as the river makes the final drop down to Lake Superior.
Paddling through a small sea arch.
We were both pretty spent from the heat and previous days activities. Surprising what 100 degree heat and insane humidity can do. We lounged about in the canoe, taking in the scenery and cooler air.
Rugged coastline with lush forest coming as close as it dares to the water.
Alyssa assuming her position still ;-)
We eventually paddled back to the beach, took some time to swim before loading the boat and venturing off. We would drive tarmac down to the town of Gay. Along the way we stopped along the incredibly long stretch of beautiful shoreline to swim in an area that has smooth sandstone on the bottom with small bowls and features sculpted in the bottom. The water felt so good.
We stopped at the Gay Bar for the obligatory rig pic in front of the sign and decided to get some lunch. Quiet day in Gay. The owner was the only one working, there menu now features burgers, previously only a huge selection of hotdogs. Funny, eh?
Next stop was the Gay beach. It is a stretch of beach that extends 8 miles to the village of Grand Traverse to the south and is a designated OHV route. Cool photo opps abound. Get your mini Sahara fix here.....
scarysharkface
Explorer
I was just up there a couple of weeks ago on the little Suzuki dirt bike. Beautiful country! Spent one night in Copper Harbor and enjoyed some incredibly good whitefish.. Love the U.P.!
John
John
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Did you ride the DR all the way up? Good stuff, and yeah Lake Superior Whitefish > Lake Michigan Whitefish
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
The trips not the same without you guys! Hope things are going well in Cali my friend!
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Thanks so much. Trying to represent and under represented area as much as I can. :elkgrin:
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Thats what is really cool about the US and North America in general is just how much variation there is in the landscapes and climates. Something for everyone.
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
We put the AC on high and heard reports on the weather band that a heat warning was in effect. I hear winter storm warnings giving residents directions for what to do, to stay in their homes, etc up here but a heat warning seemed alien. It really WAS hot. I had the front and rear AC cranking on the Rover and we were blissfully ignorant of the temps outside. We hit pavement for awhile, my original intent was to check out some trails I wanted to explore while working our way south along the eastern side of the Keweenaw. I had to throw in the white flag. Our campsite for the night was calling my name. A sugar sand beach at the mouth of the Huron River and water was all I could focus on! We crusied down the Keweenaw then out to the end of the road at the mouth of the Huron River which borders the western edge of the Huron Mountains.
This is a great spot with no developed campground but being on state forest land it is a prime place to "disperse" camp though some interpret that a bit differently than others. Honestly alot of folks abuse this great area. Driving atv's and trucks on the beach, leaving human waste, leaving campers parked there all summer, etc. This time was no exception. I watched a grandma and two grand kids drive around the no driving on the beach sign to go... well, drive down the beach along the water. A Jeep Wrangler and a lifted Tahoe appeared on the other side of the river and started baja'ing along the beach, driving in and out of the water and along the rocks at the far end of the bay. Not cool, not legal, not treading lightly, and definately not doing anything good to keep this great resource available to the public. Its only a matter of time....... That said though, we found a great spot at the end of the road, set up the tend on the sandy ground and were getting ready to take a dip. We quickly realized the bugs were INTENSE. Mosquitos and biting flies, Oh My!
Severe storms were forecaste for this evening and three storms in a row approached then diverted around us. The humidity and heat was still high. This made for a great sunset though.
We took a couple swims that evening, the water was amazing and gave a break from the heat and the bugs! Occasionally a wind would blow through as storms skirted us. We grilled up some kabobs on the portable grill and enjoyed it with some beers. Despite the bugs best efforts we were having a nice night. Crawling into the tent we found the heat and humidity made for stifling conditions in the tent but eventually fell asleep. That night as we slept severe storms rampaged across the northern end of Lake Michigan. The Chicago-Mackinac sailboat race was underway and one particular squall pummeled the racers. Just off of North Fox Island on Lake Michigan the storm capsized one sailboat in the middle of the night, and two crew members were lost. Several other sailboats were badly damaged and forced to find safe refuge after riding out the storm. Sad night for sure.
Day 4, Monday morning
We awoke early and wasted no time packing up camp. Our plan was to cross back to Marquette via the Nortwestern road, an unimproved, narrow dirt road, that connects from Big Eric's bridge on the Huron River to the village of Big Bay on the East side of the Huron Mountains. Its a bit of an adventure if you don't have maps or GPS or know where you are going because nothing out here is marked.
Crossing an old bridge that has seen better days. Beavers have dammed up the upstream side of the bridge making a pond. The Rover was just wide enough to span the gap.
The rest of the drive was rather uneventful. We rolled back into Marquette by 10am which allowed Alyssa some time to clean up and get ready for work. She works virtually from home and her office is in Utah, 2 hours later which buys her some extra time in the mornings.
We had a great trip despite the challenging conditions. Usually in this region, challenging conditions mean, snow, cold, mud perhaps, but this was a whole other type of condition to reckon with. In the end we had a great time and came away with some great memories.
This is a great spot with no developed campground but being on state forest land it is a prime place to "disperse" camp though some interpret that a bit differently than others. Honestly alot of folks abuse this great area. Driving atv's and trucks on the beach, leaving human waste, leaving campers parked there all summer, etc. This time was no exception. I watched a grandma and two grand kids drive around the no driving on the beach sign to go... well, drive down the beach along the water. A Jeep Wrangler and a lifted Tahoe appeared on the other side of the river and started baja'ing along the beach, driving in and out of the water and along the rocks at the far end of the bay. Not cool, not legal, not treading lightly, and definately not doing anything good to keep this great resource available to the public. Its only a matter of time....... That said though, we found a great spot at the end of the road, set up the tend on the sandy ground and were getting ready to take a dip. We quickly realized the bugs were INTENSE. Mosquitos and biting flies, Oh My!
Severe storms were forecaste for this evening and three storms in a row approached then diverted around us. The humidity and heat was still high. This made for a great sunset though.
We took a couple swims that evening, the water was amazing and gave a break from the heat and the bugs! Occasionally a wind would blow through as storms skirted us. We grilled up some kabobs on the portable grill and enjoyed it with some beers. Despite the bugs best efforts we were having a nice night. Crawling into the tent we found the heat and humidity made for stifling conditions in the tent but eventually fell asleep. That night as we slept severe storms rampaged across the northern end of Lake Michigan. The Chicago-Mackinac sailboat race was underway and one particular squall pummeled the racers. Just off of North Fox Island on Lake Michigan the storm capsized one sailboat in the middle of the night, and two crew members were lost. Several other sailboats were badly damaged and forced to find safe refuge after riding out the storm. Sad night for sure.
Day 4, Monday morning
We awoke early and wasted no time packing up camp. Our plan was to cross back to Marquette via the Nortwestern road, an unimproved, narrow dirt road, that connects from Big Eric's bridge on the Huron River to the village of Big Bay on the East side of the Huron Mountains. Its a bit of an adventure if you don't have maps or GPS or know where you are going because nothing out here is marked.
Crossing an old bridge that has seen better days. Beavers have dammed up the upstream side of the bridge making a pond. The Rover was just wide enough to span the gap.
The rest of the drive was rather uneventful. We rolled back into Marquette by 10am which allowed Alyssa some time to clean up and get ready for work. She works virtually from home and her office is in Utah, 2 hours later which buys her some extra time in the mornings.
We had a great trip despite the challenging conditions. Usually in this region, challenging conditions mean, snow, cold, mud perhaps, but this was a whole other type of condition to reckon with. In the end we had a great time and came away with some great memories.
Being in the southeastern US we see plenty of high temps in the summer along with high humidity, but I dont think about it for places so far north. I think I might have waited for the weather to cool down, but it looks like you had a good trip.
CO plates on the front of the Rover, did you move from there and she from Utah to MI?
To the guy from Tasmania, you guys are the ones with incredible scenery, just looking at some photos over the weekend that a buddy sent me. He is planning a trip there next summer and said he might not come back, lol...
CO plates on the front of the Rover, did you move from there and she from Utah to MI?
To the guy from Tasmania, you guys are the ones with incredible scenery, just looking at some photos over the weekend that a buddy sent me. He is planning a trip there next summer and said he might not come back, lol...
