Waterfalls of the Keweenaw

Conditions:

Cool, partly cloudy, some recent rain

Companions:

Faith

Vehicle:

Saturn Vue

There were several large areas of unexplored waterfalls that I had left, and one that caused I was most focused on was the Yellow Dog Plains. The Triple A, which is pretty much the only reasonable road access to the Yellow Dog River, is not plowed in the winter. Faith and I decided to head this way early on Sunday morning, leaving Houghton at six in the morning, and we arrived at the edge of the McCormick Tract shortly after the sun started coloring the leaves around eight.

I wasn't too sure about the first stop, which was a trail that led to some of the Yellow Dog's headwaters and two falls, Bull Dog and West Branch Yellow Dog. I had read on some random websites that there was a parking lot off of Ford Road with an unmarked trail that led to the Yellow Dog. We found the lot, more from luck then anything else, and was surprised to see two barely visible trails leading into the woods, both heading eastwards. Taking the one on the right side (because it looked more like a footpath and less like an overgrown two-track), we headed east.

While most trees in Houghton and Baraga County were already orange/red or bare, the trees on the McCormick Tract were an odd green-yellow. We weren't sure if this was because of the trees, soil, or temperature, but it was a bit unnerving. Also, leaves covered the ground and any type of trodden ground for the footpath, so we were forced to look at the moss under the leaves every so often to check our path.

After following the trail for a while, we bumped into West Branch Yellow Dog almost before we heard the falls. The trail sort of ended at the river, so we headed upstream towards the noise and was soon greeted with a very large, tall waterfall. Clearly flowing along a slanted hard piece of bedrock, the water flows around a rocky hill with several straight drops along the way. We followed it up to the top and crossed the river, looking for the path to continue eastwards to the next waterfall. I knew a path continued with the river, cutting south and east to Bull Dog Lake, and wanted to be sure to avoid that path. After a good long search, we found our path continuing on where we had left it - at the bottom of the falls. It didn't end there, but simply forded the river.

Heading onwards, we climbed along the north side of the rocky hill and eventually found the Yellow Dog River. Unlike the last waterfall, though, there was an old cedar bridge that crossed the river. We were unable to pick up a trail on either side of the river or hear the waterfalls at this point. Hiking downstream first and finding nothing but calm water, we started upstream past several sets of rapids before finding the first of Bull Dog Falls.

While West Branch Yellow Dog Falls was a single, elongated waterfall, these falls had plenty of unique drops along them. There were roughly six drops, though many of them were multi-tiered and the fourth one was more of a elongated chute with several drops then a waterfall. The area was very rugged and pretty, and Faith and I spent the better part of the morning photographing and exploring the falls.

Heading back with grumbling stomachs, I grudgingly agreed to skip out on our three other planned stops (Wylie Dam, Alder, and Hogback) in the interest of lunch. We headed out of the Yellow Dog along County Road 510 and stopped at the Subway in Neguanee for lunch in the afternoon.

There were several stops along US-41 that I hoped we could make, including the little known Mulligan Falls near the Silver Lake Basin. These were one of the several waterfalls on my list that I never found online evidence of previous visitors, so I was unsure of both the directions and location for our adventure. After a tough drive and stopping to check out several random sights, most of which ended up being reconstruction of the Dead River, we parked near Mulligan Creek and were lucky enough to stumble upon some four wheelers. One of them was quite familiar with the falls and rattled off a series of directions that we attempted to follow.

The first adventure was crossing a swampy Mulligan Creek on a tall, swaying bridge supported by two metal poles. I had heard that there was a bridge over the creek, but that it was driveable - this was not that bridge, and I suspect that the old bridge has been removed. We headed down the two-track, cutting off it at a small trail, and soon found ourselves at a beaver dam, which we crossed over. Our path did not go with us, though, and we soon found ourselves pushing through a thick pine forest along a steep slope. We had almost given up when we stumbled onto the lower falls spilling into a deep, dark pool.

Mulligan Falls is not a single tall drop, or even a short series of medium sized drops. There were dozens of drops in the deep, rocky canyon, varying in height from two to eight feet in height. The river was incredibly varied, with some points buried and huge boulders and others flowing over and around bald bedrock outcroppings. Several deep, dark pools were scattered along the route, and the surrounding trees were huge, ancient, and untouched. There was no sign of man anywhere near the falls, and Faith and I were simply awed by the raw beauty of the creek.

Even though I suspected that there were more waterfalls further upstream, we turned around after the second series of drops and headed out, this time along the north side of the creek. It was getting a bit late in the afternoon and we were both tired, but I still hoped to get a glimpse of Stager Falls, located near Mulligan Creek. This creek was mostly dry, though, but in finding the site of the falls we ended up over a mile from our previous path along a two-track. Making it back to the car exhausted, we drove out and headed straight back to Houghton just in time for dinner. Even though we only technically visited three waterfalls, this trip was one of the most beautiful hikes I had ever been on, and both Faith and I can't wait to return in the spring.