Bushwhack Tag | Jacob Emerick's Blog

Return to Mulligan Cliffs

The cliffs along the southeast wall of Mulligan Plains is one of the most rugged and tempting hikes I've found since I first viewed them in late 2008. Towering hundreds of feet above Mulligan Creek, often with sheer rock faces that are rare in the Upper Peninsula, they promise of awesome views of the plains below and hold back wild, unvisited highlands spotted with swamps and lakes. This area has multiple impressive cliffs near Stager Lake and Red Road, but these cliffs are the tallest and most difficult to visit.

Up at one of the bluffs

I had spent the night next to the Rocking Chair Lakes. My journey up here had not been easy, with several clumsy stumbles into swollen, thigh-deep puddles in the twilight. Waking slowly with the wet, foggy morning I ventured south along the ridge line. It was slightly tempting to climb one of the two outcroppings on the east side of both Rocking Chair Lakes, both of which offer a commanding view of the plains below, but my hike today was a long one. I was planning on backtracking my ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• cliffs,
• dead river,
• mulligan plains,
• rocking chair lakes

Blind 35 Hills - South Side

Sleeping in through the cloudy sunrise, I woke up on a rocky outcropping west of Big Bay. I had spent the previous evening hiking around some of the hills on the north side of Blind 35, finding plenty of western views towards Ives Hill and even a limited shot of the Keweenaw Peninsula to the north. You can read about those adventures on my previous post (Blind 35 Hills - North Side). This morning it was time to head south and west to explore more of the hills.

South, across Blind 35, to my morning hike

I packed up my gear and headed down the steep slope, trotting and sliding down the pine-covered slope to Clear Creek. Leaving most of my stuff in my car, I set a brisk pace westwards along the road past muddy holes and huge rocks far too large for my small vehicle. Blind 35 continued to degrade, slowly resembling a well-traveled four-wheeler path more than the beginnings of state trunkline. After a bit of walking I came to the bridge over Snake Creek, a small two-lane concrete piece ...

• Tags:
• big bay,
• blind 35,
• bushwhack,
• campsite,
• huron mountain club,
• huron mountains

Wetmore Hike Part D - Wetmore Pond

The wide path down Hogsback Mountain led me back to the railroad grade a short distance south of where I left it earlier. While the path continued ahead of me something of interest drew my attention to the right. The large, swampy Wetmore Pond stretched out to me along the railroad grade, luring me away from the path. I turned south on the grade again, walking along the western edge of the pond.

First view of Wetmore Pond from the grade

The views from the grade were pretty amazing. Wetmore Pond is a great example of a Huron Mountain swamp, with thick grasslands, rocky outcroppings, and a few deeper portions of water with lilies clustering on the outskirts. While the grade was lined with a thick cover of brush, there was several clear portions that offered me great vistas of the wetlands. I'm unsure if the main trail to Hogsback Mountain, which goes along the northeastern shoreline, offers similar views with the grade in the background.

Eastern outcroppings on Wetmore Pond

I continued south along the grade even as the pond started ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• marquette,
• north country trail,
• pond,
• wetmore

Wetmore Hike Part B - Wetmore Beach

After climbing Sugarloaf Mountain, just a few miles north of Marquette, I headed down the eastern flank towards Lake Superior. With Wetmore Beach to the north and Partridge Bay to the south I stepped out of the cold, soaked woods and was greeted by an amazing view of waves pounding against huge, black rocks.

Waves crashing on the rocky shoreline

I carefully crept out on the slick boulders until I could feel the spray of the waves as they crashed onto the shore. My hike had been rushed to this point... I woke up early, quickly packed up my campsite, and scrambled up a mountain. This was a great time to catch my breath and really enjoy the scenery.

Cloudy skies loomed angrily over Lake Superior, with a few whitecamps visible far off to the east. I was on a bit of a point, and I could make out both Presque Isle and Little Presque Isle along the shoreline (in opposite directions). The black rocks I were sitting on were ancient, with lichen-covered crags and deep, worn grooves. Some of the waves barely curled over before ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• lake superior,
• marquette,
• sandy beach,
• shoreline,
• wetmore

Nealy Falls

A short, bumpy drive along the powerline's service road brought me to a dirt four-wheeler track heading south. I stepped out of my car and immediately felt the heat rising from the ground like a swelling pool of water. Grabbing some water and a few granola bars, I entered the green forest on the overgrown track at a brisk pace, not particularly looking forward to this hike through the sweltering heat.

Power lines north of Ishpeming

After finishing my waterfall project several years ago and putting together my waterfalls of the keweenaw area website I began to explore other Upper Peninsula features, like mountains and lakes. I still visit waterfalls if they are along my route or when I'm with curious friends. However, falls started to crop up that I had missed... deep in the Peshekee Highlands, in a remote area of the Keweenaw, or in unexplored reaches of the Ottawa National Forest luring me back to adventurous bushwhacks through unmarked areas searching for the right creek flowing ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• carp river,
• ishpeming,
• swamp,
• waterfalls

Canyon Lake and Burnt Mountain

Time had taken it's toll on the Northwestern Road. Faith, Bryan and I bounced up and down in the Jeep heading east from Big Erick's Road through large potholes and deep ruts. I had driven on this road only a few years ago in my Ford Taurus, but there was no way I would risk a car on it today. We finally pulled up to an overgrown two-track about a mile past Cedar Creek in the thick wooded valley between the northern Yellow Dog Plains and Huron Mountains.

Rain had dampened the vegetation along the path and all three of us were soaked after a short distance on the two-track. We were on our way north to the fringe of the Huron Mountain Club's southern boundary, using a maze of logging roads along the way. The first road we were on had not been used for years, but we were surprised to stumble upon a fully active logging operation up ahead.

Logging south of Burnt Mountain

After walking down the wide, sandy road past numerous stacks of logs we cut off to the left. If I had known about the active logging operation we probably ...

• Tags:
• burnt mountain,
• bushwhack,
• faith,
• huron mountain club,
• huron mountains,
• managed forest

Huron Mountain View

A bright pink-orange glow lit up the side of my tent early in the morning. I jumped out of the sleeping bag and my breath was taken away by the fiery view over Lake Superior. Caught in Wisconsin traffic on my drive up last night, I had climbed Raven's Nest near Little Huron River late at night through the dark and could barely make out the surrounding view in the rising moon's light. Now, with the sun's rays blazing across the landscape, the rocky top offered 270° vistas, including a direct shot at the beautiful sunrise.

Fiery sunrise over Lake Superior

Today's morning hike didn't give me much time to delay, though. I only had a few hours before some friends would be meeting me at Big Erick's Bridge. Ducking into the brush on the north side of Raven's Nest I struck east towards the Huron Mountain Club's property. There are a few hilltops covered in scraggly brush that had potential views of Huron Mountain, Howe Lake, and Rush Lake on the verge of their property (all three of these are within the Club).

Hoping to get some ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• campsite,
• huron mountain club,
• huron mountains

Hills Lakes

I woke up early with the sunrise, still sore from yesterday's hiking. Dressing quickly, I rolled out of the tent and started a small fire. The coffee didn't take long to make and I was soon standing on the shore of the northern Rocking Chair Lake, watching the sunrise over the tall eastern hills and enjoying the warm aroma and taste of the brew.

Without much forethought I had spent the night halfway up Mulligan Plains on a small DNR campsite. My plan of sleeping on the southern terminus and hiking to these lakes in the morning had backfired thanks to recent logging activity. I was still debating on heading south to follow the southeastern cliffs of Mulligan, but the tall hills and trees to the east beckoned me. After gulping the rest of my coffee I started east to new territory with false bravado - I was heading straight into some of the thickest woods on this side of Superior.

Sunrise over the Northern Rocking Chair Lake

The southern Rocking Chair Lake drains north to the one I was camped on, and so my first ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• cliffs,
• mulligan plains,
• old growth,
• rocking chair lakes,
• swamp

Weekend on Mulligan Part C - Northern Cliffs

After a full day of hiking yesterday at Deer Lake and Silver Lake Basin I slept in past the sunrise. When I finally woke up and made some breakfast I made the difficult decision to head home early. The original plan was to stay at Mulligan Plains for another full day, going on multiple hikes around the area, but I was running low on water (and energy) and was ready to be done with the high temperatures and bug swarms.

Foggy morning view of Mulligan Plains

However, I did have enough water left for one more hike. I smothered my campfire and headed north along the cliff edge. My campsite was just off of the trail to Bob Lake on the tall cliffs north of Mulligan Falls, so I was just turned north and headed towards Stager Lake. This route offered some excellent views southwards of the plains and a glimpse or two back towards my campsite and the gorge of Mulligan Falls. Once I reached a prominent outcropping on the route I decided to cut west into the woods towards Stager Lake.

Making my way around a few swampy ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• mulligan plains,
• old growth,
• waterfalls

Why (some) Client-Developer Relationships Suck

Some web development projects don't turn out. The blame falls on both the web developer's and client's shoulders, though most developers will pine about the 'Worst Client Experience Ever'. It doesn't matter if the project is related to a full-time position or a one-time contract... things don't always work out. A combination of misunderstanding and miscommunication can ruin the best of working relationships, pushing back deadlines and frustrating both parties. There are two main causes for why this happens.

Web Development is New

The entire field is brand new, and whether a developer has been working for the past few months or the last decade, it's important to treat it as such. While the majority of people understand how to use the internet, there's a great deal of mystery about the experience. This goes beyond users not understanding the difference between Flash and Javascript and straight to developers themselves. Payment, expectations, and techniques differ greatly between individuals and projects. Also, it's far too easy for a ...

• Tags:
• bushwhack,
• cliffs,
• mulligan plains