Hosting and Hiking in the Porkies

We moved into our free camp host site in the center of the 98 site campground at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, lovingly called the Porkies. Our supervisor and several of the park employees came by and introduced themselves and made sure we knew where everything was. We moved things around a bit so set up for working with the campers the next day.

Sun rises over Lake Superior behind us.

Basically, our duties include making coffee and keeping water hot for hot chocolate every morning, greeting campers who come by, keeping local scenic site brochures out for the campers, answering questions, finding help when needed, and checking the restrooms occasionally to make sure the tissue is always supplied. We also walk or bike around the campground in the afternoons when folks are setting up and greeting, but that's about it. Thankfully, Ed took over the early morning coffee start up as I'm usually up, but I'm not keen on getting out going early mornings any more. He starts the coffee at 7:00, and it takes about 30 minutes to brew so at 7:30 we set out the coffee and hot chocolate supplies. Once coffee is done between 9:30 to 10:30, we are free to head out on our own. There are no set times for us to be here, and we can even put a sign up and take the day off when we want, except they ask that we be at our site mornings and afternoons on the busier days. It's an easy, cool gig!

His dream of being a camp host finally happening.

With great weather for our first days, we headed out to drive to the most visited areas of the park, Lake of the Clouds overlook and Summit Peak Tower, so we can begin to answer questions about the Park. 

A short, easy trail leads to the beautiful Lake of the Clouds overlook.

The river heading in the other direction.

Such a gorgeous day! 

The stairs lead to the Escarpment Trail that follows the ridge above the lake for 4 miles each way. We turned back deciding to come back another day with more time.

We drove around to hike the just over half mile to the Summit Peak Tower, the tallest point in the Porkies. It's an easy uphill hike to the tower, and the effort is worth it for the beautiful views.

Lake Superior in the distance.

Panoramic view from the top. So glad we'll be here for the color change that has already begun.

We are facing north east so we can't see the sunsets from the campground, but we still get the beautiful evening views. Our site is a short walk down some stairs to the very rocky beach.

The morning coffee crowd grows every day, and some days folks stay a while to just chat--sort of an inverted Happy Hour.

Another gorgeous day later, we went back to hike half of the four mile escarpment trail. The trail out and back from each end is a moderately difficult 8 miles. To cut down on my wear and tear, we parked at the lower end, the Government Peak Trailhead, and walked the easier road 2.25 miles to a trailhead about half way leading up to the Escarpment's highest point. We then hiked the more difficult trail back down to the truck. 4.5 miles in all. We did the same thing on the other end of the trail a couple of days later. Beautiful overlooks, a few really steep sections but totally doable the way we chose without needing recovery time.

A loaded apple tree in a roadside park along the way.

A little over two miles up the road, we turned into the Cloud Peak Trailhead.

Somewhat steep mile along the ridge to join the Escarpment Trail. 

Lots of sunshine and a nice cool breeze.

We did it over again but parking at Lake of the Clouds, walking the road two miles to the Cloud Peak trail again, then back the opposite direction back to the truck, 4.8 miles this time. This part of the Escarpment runs the ridge directly above the lake. That day was quite humid and warm as we had a bad thunderstorm overnight with lots of moisture hanging in the forest, but we still had a gorgeous sky and sunshine with great views.

We spied the largest woodpecker we've ever seen in the forest. I was only able to get a glimpse of him in the photo, but he was nearly two feet long.

We drove the 25 minutes into the nearest town of Ontonagon, Michigan to the post office and for some Dollar General items. Ed found a camper recommended cafe that had an in-house bakery, Syl's Cafe. Oh, my goodness! What a treat he brought back to the truck, and the prices were incredibly low. Four giant pastries for $7.00. 

As I waited on Ed in the truck, I noticed this sign. I realized I was as the end of U.S. Highway 45 that goes all the way to Mobile.

Lake Superior is well known for the fast changing weather, and by the time we returned from our sunny day hike and trip to town, a thick fog and rough waves were coming into shore.

We are enjoying our camp hosting gig and are getting busier every day as we meet more campers and get to know the staff who come by to chat and get coffee.