Waterfalls of the Keweenaw

Conditions:

Cool, cloudy, some recent rain

Companions:

Faith, Logan

Vehicle:

Ford Taurus

Faith and I wanted to go for a hike on Friday, both feeling a bit stir-crazy from a long week. We decided to head up to the Keweenaw country to visit Copper Falls. I had been in that area before, but was pretty certain that I missed the main falls along Owl Creek.

We parked on the Copper Falls loop, a small two-track that runs off of a remote part of Brockway Mountain. Heading down the road a short distance took us to a bridge over the creek and we started upstream. The creek was pretty and unique but dry. Feeling a bit disappointed already from the lack of water but enjoying the fresh, ripe apples found near our parking spot, we hiked upstream.

After a distance along the creek we headed up a pile of poor rock on the eastern bank. An unexplainable two-track was here, so we followed it for a while until it lead back and across our creek further upstream. Surprisingly, a large clearing was on the west side of the creek with a copper pole sticking out of the middle of it. The pole had the words 'Cu Falls' welded onto it. Taking the hint, Faith and I headed back to the creek and found a stream of water pouring off of a steep rock face onto a pile of broken rocks and disappearing, presumbly into a shaft of the mine.

On the way out, we noticed that a two-track leading away from the clearing and creek led to a famaliar road - the Brockway/Central cutoff. This road also had the trademark blue mine shaft with the bat cover on top along it. Next time I visit these falls, I'll plan on taking that route, as it would save several hours of hiking.

To get back to the car, we headed roughly north through the woods and ended up climbing several tall rocky hills. Starting to get a bit confused by the landscape, we turned towards the creek's direction and hiked straight to a modern cabin. Circling the cabin brought us to the creek and the car, and we grabbed some more apples and took off.

The original plan was to venture on to Douglass Houghton Falls, but we were running low on time. An easier hike, Ripley Falls, located near Hancock, sounded much more appealing. Parking near the Ripley Fire Department, we headed up the hill along a few well-trod trails and up the creek. The first time I went here, I only ventured upstream a few hundred feet. Faith and I ended up climbing straight up to the top of Mont Ripley on this fall day and found several impressive drops, including a surprising sheer twenty-foot falls. Since the water was barely flowing, we didn't take pictures on the way, just enjoying the views and weather.

After reaching the top of Ripley, we headed up the side of the creek to one of the slopes and walked back to the car. The view of Houghton in the fall was great, and Logan was pretty happy to be out in the open after spending so much time in a narrow creek gorge. Though both of the creeks were running low, it was a nice hike away from the daily grind.