Waterfalls of the Keweenaw

Conditions:

Hot, cloudy, humid, heavy rain

Companions:

Solo Trip

Vehicle:

Ford Taurus

It was muggy when I headed out today towards Herman with a good chance of thunderstorms. I planned on visiting a number of falls, including Upper Silver, Upper Sturgeon, and Harley, most of which were along the Herman-Nestoria road. I took Herman rd to Kerranen, which forked immediately. Taking the right fork (Summit/Lahti) and staying on it until the first left took me down a nasty two-track that had a large dirt block before it crossed Silver River - sans bridge. I arrived at this 'dead end' around 5pm.

I noticed that Harley Creek ran into Silver River near the end of the road, so I started hiking upstream. The going was pretty nasty, mostly walking through tall grass and ferns. I stayed close to the river, watching for Harley's entrance into the river. It was barely visible - small and surrounded by the undergrowth. The only way to cross the river was to ford it, so I crossed a few dozen yards upstream where it was rocky and shallow.

Going upstream Harley wasn't too bad, though it did involve a lot of uphill hiking. I stayed on the S bank most of the time, as it seemed to be easier. The woods were getting dark, and I could hear thunder getting close by the time I reached the first falls - small chutes of water jumping around and over huge boulders. Right above these was a proper slanting wall of rock, which the creek flowed down similar to Jacob's Falls near Eagle Harbor. The creek was small enough for me to climb the wall w/o getting wet.

The second falls was set in a trough of rock, and you could watch the water jump past the different layers of the slate. Each side was moss covered, so it was bit difficult to get past, but I ended up climbing this bit of rock as well.

The next drop of water was split in half by a large, mossy rock, and it dropped down into a small, perfect pool surrounded by dark rocks. This marked the lower part of the third falls, which was in a very dark slate gorge. The water went down a set of stairs before emptying into a deep, deep pool. This area was pretty spooky and enclosed, and I quickly headed further upstream.

The last set of falls I saw that day was a small, two foot drop surrounded by very mossy rocks. There was a distinct chute at the top and the water flowed quickly over the rocks from there. There might have been more falls beyond this, but the thunder was getting omnious by then and I started heading back along the creek, half-jogging along the downhill parts.

I attempted to cut some time by heading due W from the creek. However, after I ran into a dry creek bed and comparing my position to the map, I gave up and followed this ravine down to where it met Harley Creek. If anything, this trip lost me about ten minutes through thick red pines and an upward climb.

The rain started coming down as soon as I hit Silver River. At first I could only see sprinkles on the water, but by the time I was halfway back to my car huge drops of rain had soaked me head to foot. The thunder and lightening were really close, too... To the point were I was holding my breath in wait for the next strike. I almost got lost on the way back, opting to cut through the woods from Silver River straight back to my car, but emerged from the woods about 100' from where I first came in.

By the time I got into my car, it was around 7pm. My windows steamed up immediately, and I spent most of the time in the car wiping them down with my soaked jean jacket. On the way back out, I tried to find a trail from the road to Upper Silver, even going as far as going straight on Lahti to where there was supposed to be a bridge, but the multiple deep puddles and washouts on the roads and constant thunder kept me in the car. I gave up on this area by 730, and headed back to Houghton soaked and defeated. I was still surprised by the variety of falls that Harley Creek had along it's length, but having to turn away so close to Upper Silver river and the long drive back to Houghton with foggy windows and heavy windows did put quite a damper on the trip.