Waterfalls of the Keweenaw

Conditions:

Cold, cloudy, some recent rain

Companions:

Cory, Faith, Katie, Logan

Vehicle:

Saturn Vue

Cory, Faith, Katie and I set off from Houghton in the predawn with one goal in mind - visit the rest of the waterfalls in the Huron Mountains area. The list of stops included Hogback Falls, Alder Falls, Dee Lundeen Falls, Wylie Dam Falls, and Upper Sturgeon Falls. Little did we know that we wouldn't only fall a few stops short on our trip, but also spend most of the night in the middle of the swamp.

The first destination was Hogback Falls along the East Branch Salmon Trout River. We took Big Erick's Bridge across Huron River and headed up the Northwestern road hoping to save some time. I had been a few miles down this road to visit Cedar Falls earlier in the summer and was sure that Katie's car could handle it. However, we soon found out that this road degraded quickly past Cedar Creek, with steep grades, deep ruts, and huge rocks along the route. More scared to turn around with a steep drop to our right then to continue, we finally made it to Dodge City after nine in the morning.

There is a two-track that leads up the Salmon Trout River with one of it's branches ending several hundred yards from the falls. After passing through the amazingness of Dodge City (two cabins along the road), we turned down the two-track in hopes of driving most of the way there. We had to park less then a mile in due to the deep, sandy ruts in the road that would have bottomed out most mortal vehicles. With over three miles left to go, we got the dog and started walking down the maze of trails.

For the most part, it was easy to tell which way to go. There was many side tracks that looked far worse then the main road and we could tell roughly where we were at all times from the surrounding elevations. The woods were odd and not very pretty for the first few miles, looking almost sickly with plenty of dead underbrush underneath. After we got into the hills, though, the brush thinned out and the forests looked normal. There were several small wooden bridges over dry creeks that were too busted up for anything but a four-wheeler, and it didn't take long to realize that these falls are only accessible by a long walk.

After getting a bit confused at the last fork, we headed off the main road down a very steep trail. You could hear the falls in the distance, but they weren't that loud, so we weren't entirely sure we were going the right way until we actually saw them. The steep trail ended suddenly, but some yellow tape tied to the branches made a rough trail further east. Following them led us straight to the falls, a short but impressive steep chute with unique rock formations around and under the falls. After climbing over and around the falls a bit, enjoying the smell and taste of the fresh water, we left Hogback Falls and headed up the long way back.

Our next stop was going to be Wylie Dam Falls, but as it was past noon when we reached the car, we headed to Alder Falls instead. The road in to the falls were a bit hard to find, as neither the beginning or parking area of the road were marked. Hoping that we were right, Cory, Faith and I headed down a well-trod path directly to the lower, and largest falls. Amazed at how lucky we were, we headed upstream to the next three falls, each one being slightly smaller then the previous ones. I split off to climb the rocky mound on the west side of the third falls, which offered a good view of the upstream swamp and Lake Independence downstream. Happy with this find, we headed out along County Road 550 to Marquette for a late lunch.

Deciding to skip Wylie Dam for another day, we headed next to Dee Lundeen Falls. I had tried to reach these before, but had turned the wrong way at the fork and ended up at a gate. Hoping for better luck, we took the right fork, making sure to stay away from the swampy Lake Arvid area, and parked in an open clearing. I walked up the road a bit and saw a large gate clearly marked 'Keep Out'. Cory, Faith and I decided to head to the right of the gate with a small ATV trail in hopes to avoid trespassing. We didn't make it far before this trail simply faded out, so we headed back to the driveway in hopes to talk to the owners of the property for directions.

After a decent walk down the driveway we found a large, modern cabin with no one home. You could see the falls from their garage, so we went ahead and took a few pictures before heading out. I'm not sure if there's a way to visit these without direct trespassing, as we didn't get to talk to the owners, but I'm also not sure if we'd want to. The entire area had an odd, unwelcoming feeling about it. I've heard that it's haunted, which could account for the odd feeling, but am unsure whether or not if that's actually the case.

We headed out of there quickly and made our way to Upper Sturgeon Falls. It was fairly late by this time, around five, but we hoped to make a short trip in. Parking on Tama Siding road near the green gate, Cory, Faith, Logan and I headed along the two-track through the hills and woods and made a fateful decision to take the left fork about a half mile in. After a short while, roughly following where we thought we were on the topo map, we cut right off the road and hiked through the thick woods, leaving our sweaters as trail markers along the way. We bumped into a swampy creek after a lengthy walk but saw no falls, even after checking both upstream and downstream. Turning around, we followed our path as best as we could in the fading light until we walked straight into another thick, swampy creek.

It was getting too dark to see the topo map at this time, but hoping that we were on the Sturgeon River, we headed to the left, which should have led us to the railroad tracks. Unfortunately, we weren't on the river, and by keeping the creek we were actually heading upstream, further away from the road and railroad tracks. By eight it was too dark to safely continue walking, and we found a flat rock on a hill above the swamp to settle down for the night. Cory still had cell phone service, and after weighing the options (freezing rain on the way and one sweater between the three of us), we called 911 for rescue.

Due to the poor signal, our rescuers were unable to pinpoint our location using GPS. After they had scoured the area by Tioga Falls fairly well, though, they followed our incorrect directions and spent a good amount of time along the railroad tracks, a good three miles from our location. We were able to talk to some of the guys in the swamp looking for us over the phone until about two, when the phone died out. By four in the morning, both Cory and I were getting a bit delirious from the cold and rain. We had heard some people yelling from the direction we came from earlier that night, and even though we hadn't heard anything for the last hour, decided that our best bet was to head that way. Luckily, we bumped into a DNR officer who was looking for us within twenty minutes of walking. By five we were warming up at a fire near a hunting cabin, and by six in the morning we were back at Katie's car, roughly thirteen hours after we left it.

In the end, this adventure was a great time for Cory, Faith and I to complain about swamps and Upper Sturgeon Falls in general. We felt pretty bad for having to call 911, but Katie assured us that if we hadn't of called them then she would have. Our rescue crew was friendly and talkative, and though I didn't remember their names after the ordeal, I hope to bump into them on some later hike, though in a much different context.

Cory, Katie and I returned to the swamp two days later to pick up his good sweater and to try to find Faith's and my camera, both of which were lost out there. We found the sweater and my camera, but Faith's camera, as well as two sweaters, are still out in that swamp. I also found out later that if we had followed the left fork along the two-track, we would have walked directly over the waterfall without having to venture in any swamp or woods.