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Deep within the most pristine wildeness of the Upper Peninsula is an exclusive club that few are allowed into. The Huron Mountain Club stretches along Lake Superior, encompassing over 13,000 acres of ancient forest, deep glacial lakes, and rugged peaks. Needless to say, Jacob is very interested in this land and takes every opportunity to learn more about it.
The trail along Mountain Lake faded in and out like a quicksilver snake. Downed branches and undergrowth masked sections, leftovers from the long winter, and other parts just slipped into the ground. I tried my best to follow it on my way from Turner Point to the mouth of Mink Run. There's a marsh…
Predawn light streamed over Cliff Lake, dim pinks and blues reflecting off the calm surface far below. I stood uneasily on the outcropping. It would be at least an hour before the sun would break over Mt Benison's bulk and throngs of mosquitoes already surrounded me with a steady whine. A full of…
Damp sand gave easily under my insistent footsteps. The logging track was smooth from a recent grading, a soft and even surface that hid years of ruts and potholes underneath. I envied the tires that got to enjoy such a road. Only loggers and the guards of the Huron Mountain Club were allowed to…
A two-track led east and I followed. There was a much more ambitious route to my right that climbed rocky hills and pushed through thick woods, one that promised sweeping views of Cliff Lake and the eastern swamp, but I stuck to the track. Snow had been falling for the last few hours, soaking the…
Forbidden land stretched out in front of me. I was within a mile of the Huron Mountain Club property, standing on an unnamed outcropping southeast of Burnt Mountain, looking north along the eastern guardians of Mountain Lake. For years I had been trying to see this huge lake within the Club's…
It was late afternoon as I walked away from my parked car on the Northwestern Road. The air was cool and damp from the morning's rains, keeping the normally pervasive black flies and mosquitoes to a background detail. Several logging roads branch north from the Northwestern Road here before it…
It was so, so early in the morning. I watched sunrise try to seep over Ives Hill in the east but got impatient and headed downhill before the rays touched my chilly outcropping. There was a long hike in front of me and I didn't want to waste time, especially on a lazy sun. Most of this hike would be…
As the Lake Superior shoreline stretches north from Big Bay two named features, Black Rock and Salmon Trout Point, make a bitter stand against the pounding waves. The shore here is mostly composed of straight, towering sandstone cliffs with the exception of these two basaltic outcroppings which…
Rising up like a large, gnarly growth, Mt Benison stretches from Mountain Lake to Little Huron River and from Howe to Cliff Lake. Similar to Ives Hill far to the east and Superior Mountain just to the west, Mt Benison is not a simple peak with a distinct shape or defined outcroppings but a whole…
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.…