First run at the Upper Peninsula - May/June 2017

[El Gigante Jake]

After months of planning, we rolled out on May 28th from Cleveland, Ohio headed up to the UP. The goal was to see what we could see, stay on dirt and camp. But also to be realistic and have fun.

The trip up was easy enough. When we got to the Mackinac Bridge, it was covered with fog. That was a little unnerving, knowing you are way up in the air but not being able to see a thing. A couple miles in and we immediately headed onto forest roads



After a short time it was starting to get dark, so we found a place to camp off of forestry road 3105 before Round Lake. It was wet and slightly drizzling - a preview of our week to come.

Camp site:


Camp kitchen setup:





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[El Gigante Jake]

Sorry for the rotated pics, they are coming off my phone where they display with no issue

After a decent night's rest, we awoke and made breakfast under a barrage of mosquitos. They are huge, aggressive, hungry and everywhere. We could care less about the potential side effects of DEET, it was required.

We headed off around Brevort lake and then north. Lots of tight single track. Picked up a few pinstripes unfortunately, but that's what polish, wax, etc is for.

We got down this trail a ways and after clearing a few dead falls, we decided to turnaround when the opportunity arose and chose a different path.



Anytime we found something that looked interesting, we stopped and went adventuring.


Parking off the main track. Sand everywhere.




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[El Gigante Jake]

We found a great spot to camp for the second night. We found a lot of lakes surrounded by private property, but this one looked perfect. (minus the mosquitos)

Camp setup


View from the tent


The lake and the Lil Dude


Of course, it started raining. Then it started pouring. Then we spent the night in the truck. It was getting past the seams on the tent and suddenly we had an instant creek running right thru the camp. Thank God it's a big truck.

Woke up to a beautiful morning, and we decided to give the day a shot. However, that afternoon the skies again went dark and it got ugly (right as I was making a pot of camp chili). After having 2 fires drowned out, we had a meeting and decided to head north and grab a hotel (the entire up was covered with rain per the radar). No reason to be miserable to prove a point.

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[El Gigante Jake]

We spent the following day looking for another camp site and waterfall hunting. Here are some of the sites.




We found a spot that interested us greatly, but it was supposed to be 40 degrees and raining on Superior. So while we had sun, we got permission from the hotel (if you ever need a hotel in Munising stay at the Americinn - highly recommended) to setup the tent and dry it out.

After a good night's sleep, we headed over to our chosen site. This site was based on another OB members recommendation and provided gps coordinates. An unbelievable location just outside the town of Christmas right on the lake.




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[El Gigante Jake]

We spent a couple of days enjoying the beauty of the area. I haven't seen water that clear outside of the Caribbean. Next time (or should I say next year), I'll go a little later in the season when it's warmer so swimming is a non hypothermic option. [emoji1]

Behind the tent.


Lakeshore beauty





We did lots of hiking/exploring





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[El Gigante Jake]

My son had started to pick up a cough so we decided to head back a day early. He has asthma and a cough can become more quickly. We stuck to paved roads, but did more exploring on the way.



Log slide




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[El Gigante Jake]

It was great trip to start exploring the UP. Learned a lot, and realized how much more there is to see and explore. It was my first more then a weekend camping trip as a dad and we had a blast. My son can't wait till the next one. Neither can I. :)








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[Steve]

What a great trip! That's something your son will remember forever! We want head up that way for a loop around Lake Superior after we get our trailer.

 

[El Gigante Jake]

@Steve I have been bouncing around the idea of an offroad popup (or buying used and strengthening the frame and flipping the axle) so the wife would be more comfortable. The one thing I can say about at least the UP, they have some of the nicest state camp grounds I have ever seen. Super clean, well maintained and in amazing locations. This trip was supposed to have been 100% boondock, but with the crazy rain and temps, we errored on the side of intelligent. :) I will definitely make more boondocking trips up there, and will likely do other slightly "less primitive" camp trips with the whole family.