Memorial Day Weekend in the UP

[upcruiser]

I thought I'd get off my lazy butt and post up a little write up, but mostly just some pictures from last weekend's outing. My buddy/coworker Shaun came to visit from New York and brought his kayak. We pretty much just threw this adventure together one morning over coffee at the local bagel shop. 3 hours later the Cruiser was packed (and packed to the gills!) with 3 people, 3 kayaks, 3 mountainbikes, and all the camping gear, recovery gear, and tools it would take to see this thing off. We knew no matter what, it would be a fun adventure. Shaun and I travel the world together for work and always get into some strange predicaments and it never fails to be entertaining. He's the guy that I traversed the Atacama Desert of Chile with last year in a rental Chevy Luv, good stuff!

The other big goal of this trip was one of a romantic nature. I have been hatching this plan since last November to try to set Shaun and my friend Meredith up. She just graduated med school and is moving to Rochester in couple of weeks (where Shuan hails from) for residency and it just seemed too perfect. They are both big kayakers, Shuan a former paddler for Riot and Meredith a whitewater guide in Alaska. I had this feeling that they would dig each other. Boy was that an understatement! It went so damn well that I think I'm going to start an overland romantic tours company! haha

Anyway, so on with the trip.....

Day 1 and those two were hitting it off like they'd known each other for years. On the take out of the Paint River. A nice scenic paddle with some Class II/III sections that made it fun.

Myself and Meredith

Shaun packed into the back of the Cruiser

A quick stop at the old Cliff Cemetary off of Cliff Drive on the Keweenaw peninsula. The site of the old Cliff Mine. This cemetary has quite a spooky feel as trees have grown up all througout the site, very few of the tombstones remain since many were wood.

We stopped and scoped out alot of rivers but due to the lack of recent rain many were just to low to run. This was on the side of the road next to the Eagle River were it cascades down a series of falls to the town of Eagle River on the Keweenaw peninsula. You can see, I was already becoming the proverbial 3rd wheel! haha

You just can't go to the Keweenaw and NOT tour Brockway Mountain. Fun with shadows

Dinner time at camp. This is at Highrock pt, the site where we camped for the UP Overland Trip last summer. Essentially the very tip of the Keweenaw peninsula.

 

[upcruiser]

Not a half bad view from the bathroom!

Great campfire, great stories, and a sky full of stars stretching out to the horizon of Lake Superior.

We took a morning to ride Copper Harbor. The trail network here is first class and the single track is soooo much fun. They have done a great job of mixing in fun and technical single track with awesome views over the town and some impressive trail building engineering in places.

At the end of the ride in Copper Harbor

 

[upcruiser]

After exploring around and checking the Montreal River for a possible paddling adventure and determining it was low, we checked the beaches for wind and waves. No luck, a beatiful dead calm day. Typically you get waves on one side of the Keweenaw or the other and we were hoping to get a little kayak surfing in.

Instead we checked out Mt Houghton and had a little picnic lunch there. Yep, another shot of the loverbirds...

The trail to the top of Mt Houghton is steep, narrow and a bit rough. Having a tall and wide load on the top of the cruiser made it even more exciting. No issues though

What drive through the town of Gay, MI would be complete without the obligatory, try to catch a shot of your buddy in front of the Gay Bar sign. Meredith escaped but both Shaun and I got incrimenating evidence of each other. haha

From the town of Gay the designated OHV route takes you down almost 9 miles of very soft beach to the settlement of Grand Traverse.

On the route home I flipped the big 200,000 with the Land Cruiser. Just breaking it in now!

All in all, it was a great weekend, especially for those two who it sounds like was a VERY special weekend and one they will remember for along time. That's what its all about, and hey, good stuff came out of it for me too. These two are bound and determined now to find me that "special" someone. I think I am doomed!

 

[hikingff77]

Sweet TR. Those impromptu trips are the best.

I love your 'Cruiser.

Looked like a lot of fun. I got to ask though, how short are your two friends? Or better yet, how lifted is your truck!? They have at least a full foot of headroom under the hatch. I never have that luck.

Thanks for posting.

 

[jerbacher]

Were you travelling on forest service roads or an OHV route or both? Could you point me to a map of the area that would show these routes or are they on topo?

Great trip report, by the way. I'm trying to gather lots of info about this general area since I'm moving up to Minneapolis this summer. Thanks.

 

[TimS]

pics

Sounds like a great time. I've competed in the Lake Suprior Pro Rally based in Houghton a few times. One of the stages is on Brockway mountian. Great area. Thanks for the photos. Now, I have to get back there.

 

[upcruiser]

Gotta love impulsive acts of recreation! haha

Those two are both 5'7". My 80 is just running OME 850/863 (heavy load springs) which are supposedly about 2.5". I'm a bit higher then that in the back unless fully loaded. I was parked on an incline which makes the back seem a touch taller then it is in those shots. Although, being 6', I never have any problem with hatch clearance.

Sweet TR. Those impromptu trips are the best.

I love your 'Cruiser.

Looked like a lot of fun. I got to ask though, how short are your two friends? Or better yet, how lifted is your truck!? They have at least a full foot of headroom under the hatch. I never have that luck.

Thanks for posting.

 

[upcruiser]

Were you travelling on forest service roads or an OHV route or both? Could you point me to a map of the area that would show these routes or are they on topo?

Great trip report, by the way. I'm trying to gather lots of info about this general area since I'm moving up to Minneapolis this summer. Thanks.

Most of the trip was pavement. If we had more time we were hoping to do at least cross back from the Keweenaw via the dirt routes that are available crossing under the Huron Mountains. However the only real dirt sections we did were up on the Keweenaw peninsula. Primarily Copper Harbor to the point and some of the various trails that connect around the point to Bete Gries near Lac LaBelle. We also did the Gay beach part of the OHV trail. There is a substantial network of trails and really, you could link all of this stuff with dirt. The trails range from forest roads, to OHV (snowmobile, ATV, 4x4) trails. The trails are very well marked for the snowmobiles, however there are a TON of spur trails and routes that branch off everywhere built for logging and accessing little lakes and things. The best thing to do would be to have a current GPS topo loaded, combine that with a Michigan Gazeteer, a Keweenaw County snowmobile/atv map, and one of the old school Keweenaw/Houghton county paper maps that show all the old dirt roads and trails. Between those items you really get a good representation of the stuff. Each one by itself seems to have errors or not cover certain trails. Kind of a pain but the best way to go.

From Minneapolis figure about a 7 hour drive.

 

[upcruiser]

Sounds like a great time. I've competed in the Lake Suprior Pro Rally based in Houghton a few times. One of the stages is on Brockway mountian. Great area. Thanks for the photos. Now, I have to get back there.

Awesome! I am a regular spectator in October for the "oldest, toughest, meanest, rally". Such a great event to spectate. Back when you could spectate on Brockway I had a near death encounter with Patrick Richard's car after the monster jump he did grazing the crowd. Wild stuff. The Delaware Mine Stage is another one of my favorites. Do you still compete?

 

[toledotimber]

I always love reading about and seeing pics. of your trips. I'm hoping to make it up there this summer for a little fun on the ORV routes and some fly fishing.

 

[jerbacher]

Most of the trip was pavement. If we had more time we were hoping to do at least cross back from the Keweenaw via the dirt routes that are available crossing under the Huron Mountains. However the only real dirt sections we did were up on the Keweenaw peninsula. Primarily Copper Harbor to the point and some of the various trails that connect around the point to Bete Gries near Lac LaBelle. We also did the Gay beach part of the OHV trail. There is a substantial network of trails and really, you could link all of this stuff with dirt. The trails range from forest roads, to OHV (snowmobile, ATV, 4x4) trails. The trails are very well marked for the snowmobiles, however there are a TON of spur trails and routes that branch off everywhere built for logging and accessing little lakes and things. The best thing to do would be to have a current GPS topo loaded, combine that with a Michigan Gazeteer, a Keweenaw County snowmobile/atv map, and one of the old school Keweenaw/Houghton county paper maps that show all the old dirt roads and trails. Between those items you really get a good representation of the stuff. Each one by itself seems to have errors or not cover certain trails. Kind of a pain but the best way to go.

From Minneapolis figure about a 7 hour drive.

Where would one find a "Gazeteer"? I am unfamiliar with this item. Seen it mentioned many times on this site, but still unclear. Clearly I am a beginner!!

 

[toledotimber]

You can get them in most decent bookstores and your local library may have one as well. The (library) system I worked in had almost all of them, and the particular branch I worked in had Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.

 

[TimS]

Awesome! I am a regular spectator in October for the "oldest, toughest, meanest, rally". Such a great event to spectate. Back when you could spectate on Brockway I had a near death encounter with Patrick Richard's car after the monster jump he did grazing the crowd. Wild stuff. The Delaware Mine Stage is another one of my favorites. Do you still compete?

I don't compete anymore. Its just way too much $$$ now. Patrick is a very good driver. I rolled my WRX at LSPR the last time there (2005) but we contunied on. Crazy stuff. Seeing these pictures really makes me want to get back to the UP. I went to college in Midland.

 

[teotwaki]

Lovely pictures and the "Lovebirds" are a crackup. So glad you posted this one up.

 

[adventureduo]

Great story man... your like cupid. Who couldn't dig Meredith with that perfect smile. Pics and write up is a good one man. Always like seeing your 80.