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Waterfalls of the Keweenaw

Conditions:

Cold, cloudy, heavy rain

Companions:

Solo Trip

Vehicle:

Ford Taurus

After several trips ending early, I wanted to really start making some headway on this project. I left work right at 4pm on Friday, jumped in the car, and headed south. I was determined to visit seven different waterfalls before the sunset, regardless of the weather warnings of thundershowers and the cloudy sky thwarting navigation by the sun.

Grabbing dinner from Subway on my way through L'Anse to save some time, my first stop was on Dynamite Hill Road and Middle Silver River Falls. I wasn't quite sure what they looked like, only that I would bump into Gomanche Creek Falls about half way there. I parked just past the bridge over Silver River and started walking along the eastern bank, following any sort of animal trail I could find.

The woods were not that easy to walk through, so after I got past the house on the western side I jumped down onto the rocky riverbed and took the river down. Along the way I passed a cute little creek flowing into the river on the east bank with some small falls along it and several decent rapids on the river. By the time I got to Gomanche Creek, which flows from the west, the thunder and lightening were getting pretty loud.

I continued on regardless of the coming storm, making it past several decent falls before finding what I hoped was the upper falls. It started raining here, and I could tell that there was more falls further downstream, so I cut to the west bank and followed the river under the trees. I could hear the falls from the woods, but the rain was too much for my camera and I to climb down the now-steep river walls. While the west bank was easier to walk through thanks to an ATV trail, it would have been hard to get down to the river.

Finally, the river mellowed out and started to meander slowly back and forth. The area here also got swampy, so I figured I had found the last of the falls. I cut across the river to the east bank and made my way slowly back up past the falls I had walked by before, getting more pictures. There was at least three falls that were over five feet with many more multi-tiered drops and chutes in between. When I made it back to Gomanche Creek Falls, I headed up the eastern bank to a gravel pit that ran parallel to the river and dashed through the woods, hoping that I wouldn't get hit by lightening. Even though I was soaked clear to my boxers when I climbed back in the car, the trip was completely worth it.

Driving shirtless down Dynamite Hill Road in the pouring rain was a pretty sweet experience, too. I was in high spirits when I hit my next stop: Quartzite and Black Slate Falls. I didn't have good information on either of these falls, and only knew that Slate River flowed under a bridge, which was a good enough starting place for me.

I was pretty sure that Quartzite Falls was located downstream from the bridge, but I thought that Black Slate Falls was downstream from Quartzite Falls. I parked just past the bridge on the right side of the road and followed the surprisingly well maintained trails along the river, finding Quartzite Falls very easy. They weren't that large, but the shape and pond here was a unique surprise. After getting a few pictures and getting soaked on the falls, I headed downstream along some narrow trails that led no where, trying to keep quiet through the woods, as there were several houses across the river that probably owned the land. Giving up after a quarter mile or so, I went back to my car and noticed some drops upstream from the bridge. These ended up being Black Slate Falls, and I hiked up at least a half mile and found one drop after another. The largest ones are visible from the bridge, though.

My next stop was an unnamed falls far upstream along Ravine River. These falls are very close to Mt. Arvon. Along the way I passed a young couple looking for the mountain, and I pointed them in the right direction. The few signs there are in these mountains are often pointing in the wrong direction thanks to mischievious adventurers.

I found the waterfalls, which were visible from the side of the road, to be quite small. In fact, if it hadn't been raining early in the afternoon, I doubt that this creek would have been wet, let along flowing. After a few pictures, I headed down on Ravine River Road in search of Ravine River Falls, which I didn't find that day, though I did find a picturesque Roland Lake.

The next stop was Slate River. The rain had come back as a light drizzle, though it was sunny near Mt Arvon. I parked on the western side of the bridge and tried to follow the west bank while staying dry until I hit Slate River Falls, where I forded to the east side to climb over the falls.

The first falls along this river are pretty sweet. The river slides down a tall, steeply sloped rock that has two large jags in it which effectivly create two jagged chutes. A large, deep pool surrounds the bottom of the falls, and tall, rock walls surround most of it. However, the steep rock walls also make it very difficult to continue on the river. You can climb the eastern side of the falls, but once you're level with the top, you have to choose whether you want to walk in the river and get quite wet or climb the steeper walls up and out of the canyon, hoping to get back down further upstream. I opted to climb, which was a big mistake on that wet, drizzly day.

Directly past these falls is a small, unnamed drop that was quite cute. I wanted to get a picture of them, but was perched close to a hundred feet above the river after climbing past the first falls. I tried to climb straight back down, but lost my grip and slide almost thirty feet before stopping on some hidden roots. I was still a signficant distance above the hard rocky riverbed, so I had to climb back up, shaken, and venture further upstream before making it down to the riverbed by dropping myself four feet onto a slanted boulder.

After that experience, I was willing to get wet again. I took some pictures of the slope and started on my way to the next falls. I knew that there were four drops along this section of river, but wasn't sure what they looked like or what order they were in. There are several impressive drops in this canyon, so when I finally made it to Ecstasy Falls, I called it a day. It was getting quite dark out by now, and with no cell phone reception and once again completley soaked and cold, I headed straight up the western canyon wall to make my way back.

I headed along the river for a short distance before I hit a logging trail. Taking that due west led me to an ill-maintained gravel road, where I picked up a large stick and headed downhill. The forest was very dark, and I could just barely make out where the road was located. When I finally made it back to my car, it was past ten pm and still drizzling.

While I did miss a few falls (Slide, Kuckucks, and Ravine River), this trip was eventful and productive. Not only did I hit up seven or more falls (depending on how you count Middle Silver River Falls), but I saw some great scenic views during the drive. It would be several weeks before I made another trip as fun and remote as this one.