Red Group Trip Journal
The Green Group parked at Summit Peak Scenic Area near the center of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Day 1
was spent hiking up and over Summit Peak in the pouring rain,
connecting to the S. Mirror Lake Trail and eventually to No. Mirror Lake
Trail. While the intent was to stay roughly 1/2 way between Mirror
Lake & Lake of the Clouds, the group pushed forward eventually
ending up at the very West end of Lake of the Clouds. Again, the
weather was particularly challenging on Day 1 with a very wet, low
camp. Day 2 started with almost
400 feet of vertical gain to the Escarpment Trail. Once on top, the
group headed West along the Big Carp River Trail protected from 30-40
mile an hour winds off Lake Superior only by a thin strip of trees at
the top of the trail. From the trail, there was an outstanding view of
the valley floor and a real, tangible perspective on where the group had
come from. The group ended up connecting with the Yellow Group and
camped adjacent to the Big Carp River. Day 3
started with howling winds throughout the night and temps in the low
40's, but for the first time on the trip, no rain. Our route took us up
the Correction Line Trail, a long windy uphill across 4 different
smaller valleys back towards Mirror Lake. We connected again with the
Yellow Group and the open enrollment backpacking trip at lunch. Our
final destination was a site just to the South along Beaver Creek. The
day, while not completely clear, was free of rain and held our first
night of seeing a sunset and stars in the evening. Day 4
was the hike out day, heading back to the van along the Beaver Creek
Trail. The trail runs across foot bridges through a tall grassy swamp
along the river then back up through the mix of Hemlock & White Pine
forest eventually ending up in the hardwoods and at the parking lot.
While it only showed the route being 1.2 miles, for some it seemed to
take forever. All arrived and we were able to change and hit the road!
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