PORCUPINE MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS
The Porcupine Mountains, or Porkies, are a group of small mountains spanning the northwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Ontonagon and Gogebic counties, near the shore of Lake Superior. The Porcupine Mountains were named by the native Ojibwa people, supposedly because their silhouette had the shape of a crouching porcupine.They are home to the most extensive stand of old growth northern hardwood forest in North America west of the Adirondack Mountains, spanning at least 31,000 acres. In these virgin forests, sugar maple, American basswood, eastern hemlock, and yellow birch are the most abundant tree species. The area is part of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. ~wikipedia
The drive through the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness are was popping with color. We entered on the West side – Presque Isle River area. I was a lovely six hour drive from Red Wing, MN.
WEST SIDE
The Presque Isle River water falls are short hikes from the main road with ample parking places. There are quite a few stairs on one of the hikes. Another occasion to get the puppy-kids out of car for a walk. This Michigan state park was a bit more pet-friendly compared to WI and MN, where you are limited to an area or certain trails.
Geography
The most striking geological feature of the Porcupine Mountains is the long basalt and conglomerate escarpment parallel to the Lake Superior shore and overlooking Lake of the Clouds, a continuation of the same copper-bearing bedrock found farther northeast on the Keweenaw Peninsula. A second ridge farther inland, on the other side of Lake of the Clouds, includes Summit Peak, the highest point in the mountains at 1,958 feet. Rivers, waterfalls, swamps, and lakes lie between the rocky outcroppings. There are a number of waterfalls on the Presque Isle River in the extreme western side of the park. ~wikipedia
EAST SIDE
Lake of the Clouds Overlook is accessible from the East t side of the park. It is hard to beat the view from here. This area is wheelchair accessible via a long ramp.
It was mid 39 degrees with a 30+ MPH wind when we visited – Brrrrrr, it was cold. I must say that an iPhone does a tremendous job with a panorama. My phone was all over the place in that wind. You can see by the weather map below; although Lake Superior is a cold lake, this time of year it’s relatively warm and turn that snow right into rain.
Don’t miss that photo op @ Porcupine Mountains Outpost.
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These photos were shot from the faint yellow circle area between Centennial and Wolverine.
![ake Pepin occupies a valley carved by the waters of Glacial River Warren, which drained Lake Agassiz in a catastrophic flood at the end of the last Ice Age, and to a lesser extent from Lake Duluth, a smaller glacial lake which drained through the present valley of the St. Croix River. When the continental glacier's meltwaters found other outlets to the sea, River Warren was succeeded by the more modest Upper Mississippi, which drains a much smaller basin, and the St. Croix spillway became the present river. Over a long period of time, the deep valley was partially filled with sediments, forming a broad floodplain. In this plain Lake Pepin formed behind a delta comprising sediments deposited into the ancient lake bed by the Chippewa River near the present community of Wabasha at the southern end of the lake. The lake backed up behind this sediment dam as far north as the location of Saint Paul. In the 10,000 years since the lake's creation, ongoing sedimentation into Lake Pepin has caused its upper end to migrate downstream some 80km (50mi) to its present location east (river direction south) of Red Wing, Minnesota.[5]](https://i0.wp.com/traun-photo.com/dan/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-09-19-DF068-Around-the-Lake-0001-7-Edit-2.jpg)
