Date: 2017-07-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Finally back up to speed after eye surgery in March, it's time for a warmup hike. I'm hiking in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the far northwest corner of Upper Michigan with my high school friend and occasional hiking partner, Peter. We made it to the area of the park last night and checked in getting our window sticker and backcountry camping permit. After that, it was back to the hotel for dinner, drinks, last minute pack checks, and more drinks. We had every intention of getting an early start this morning, but between sleeping in a little, breakfast, and the drive to the trailhead, it was 9:15 when we started hiking. The first trail we took on was the Union Spring Trail. Four miles long with, wait for it, the Union Spring in the middle. The Union Spring is one of the largest springs in Michigan and we had great a great view with the heavily overcast sky providing very little glare. The two miles to the spring were mostly a two track road walk through the woods. The road appeared to be used by equipment taking material into the backcountry to build group cabins. As we neared the spring the terrain changed abruptly. Goodbye wide road, hello skinny muddy trail with dozens of downed trees across. After taking a 15 minute break at the spring, we continued on. The next two miles were basically an obstacle course with many stations. Participants are asked to go over, under, and in some cases around all the downed trees. As we left the area around the spring, we saw a sign that said the trail ahead was "ungroomed". I have a deep appreciation for what that means now. After completing all the obstacles we went down a steep incline to a river which needed to be forded. Off go hiking boots and socks, on go the flip flops. The cold water felt great on the feet. Of all things to find on the other side of the river in a wilderness area, there was a bench, which we made use of to sit down and have lunch and regroup. Our next trail followed the river for nine tenths of a mile and took us past Trap Falls. We then took the Government Peak trail, to what else, Government Peak. Since this was a groomed trail, gone were the obstacles. However the mud stuck around, as did thousands of Michigan's unofficial state bird, the mosquito. After passing an impressive beaver lodge and pond, with corresponding flooded muddy trail, we ascended Government Peak and were rewarded with sunshine for the first time. After taking a short break and even getting cell service to get a couple of texts off we continued on. After another hour or so we came to the North Mirror Lake Trail and the final push for the day. When we arrived on the north side of Mirror Lake we found all the campsites to be occupied. We talked to one of the campers who told us he believed there were more sites on the other side of the lake. Sure enough, after hiking an additional half mile around the lake we were able to snag the last available site. We aren't right on the lake like the other sites, but a two minute walk down a hill gives us access. Which I used after dinner to fill my platypus bag and to splash off several hours of sweat and bug spray. So now after packing up my bear canister and walking it out into the woods, I'm settled in for the night. We covered 10 miles on day one, overcame several challenges and enjoyed some great sights along the way.