Porcupine MountainsOct 2, 2009
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my site was like a pull through at beginning of cg
the view out my front window until a camper came in!
Union Bay Landing was used for shipping out copper from Union mine
I was told by many people to be sure to check out this area while in the UP of Michigan. It is a wilderness forest containing the last virgin stand of Eastern Hemlock trees that can live 300 to 500 years. Maples, Aspens, Birches, Elms, Pines and Oaks also abound. I spent 3 days here - cool, cloudy most of the time, with rain the last day. Fall has arrived!
The Porcupine Mountains, called “The Porkies” by locals, was named because the hilltops looked like hunched porcupines to the Ojibwa Indians who resided here first. The modern campground, the one with electric and a dump station and sites big enough for motor homes, is on the northern end of the range. Right next to it is the boat launch that used to be the dock where copper was loaded onto schooners from the Nonesuch mine on one of the mountains. There used to be 45 copper mines in the Porkies but they didn’t make a profit and mining was abandoned for logging the hardwoods. The areas that were logged became bare and burned out before 1920. Now birches and aspens cover those areas as they recuperate from our destructive practices. One area has been kept clear and has a few ski slopes. From halfway up the hill, I looked down towards the lodge and saw colorful trees alongside the buildings and deep blue Lake Superior behind them. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky at that time and the scene before me was just beautiful. I didn’t have my camera but if I don’t see a comparable view on one of my hikes, I will come back to see if I can capture it.
Most of the mountains are pristine and mature, having never been logged or intruded upon for business reasons. Here there are huge hemlocks, maples, and white pines along with yellow birch, beech, and other deciduous and evergreen trees. There are porcupines, fishers (weasels who learned how to prey upon the porcupines), beaver, red squirrels, black bear, wolves, and white-tailed deer. In fact 3 deer crossed the road in front of me at midday and ran alongside (I think I was going about 40 mph) for quite a ways before turning off into the woods.
Along my walks and hikes, I saw waterfalls, learned of the copper mining efforts that occurred here, saw a good portion of the Porkies from Summit Peak at 1958 feet above sea level, hiked the Overlook Trail on the north side of the park, and of course, visited the infamous Lake in the Clouds. I went to a ranger program about geocaching, another one telling us about the big wild animals of the U.P., and a photographer’s seminar on digital imaging during my short stay here.
