A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Eagle Harbor Trails

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Eagle Harbor Trails

Since I don’t have to work them, Sundays are my adventure day. Last Sunday I went to bike the Eagle Harbor trails with Hannah and her red healer, Tiki.

In the winter these trails are groomed for cross-country skiing. In the grassy months these two-tracks traverse gently rolling terrain past inland lakes and out to Great Sand Bay.

When I speak of an “adventure day,” it's the day I take to get out to the rest of the spots in this beautiful country that I need to explore in more detail before I can confidently send people out with a personal pocket guide. I can't have people getting lost; my reputation and credibility are at stake!

So these are research-based adventures. What a rough life I have created for myself.

In Copper Harbor, I am used to riding my bike up and up over an elevation of 600 feet, then down and down 600 feet. 600 feet may not sound like a lot (especially if you live in the real mountains), but I always pant profusely on the way up.

The Eagle Harbor trails were a walk in the park comparatively. They’re great for beginners or a joy ride. The only element we had to fight (besides the mosquitoes and blackflies) was the sand. We had to push our bikes through a few sandy spots. We laughed, though. We didn’t care. It was part of the adventure!

Exiting the woods to Great Sand Bay was a real treat. That Big Lake, she gets me every time. Apologetically, I did not bring a means of visually capturing the moment. But I can tell you that the brightness of the blue sky was mirrored in the sparkling waves. The air was crisp and refreshing. Ah, it’s always important to savor those moments.

Would I ride the Eagle Harbor trails again? Yes, but probably later in the season when the sand settles a bit. My chain ring wasn’t too happy with me. But riding nine miles without feeling like my heart was going to pop out of my neck was a welcome feeling.

You know what else is welcome? All the beautiful flowers that are blooming! Compare these to what is blooming by you.

In their prime we have lilacs, gaywings, starflowers, wild strawberry blossoms, apple blossoms, rockcress, chokecherry blossoms, blueberry blossoms, pussytoes and heartleaf arnica.

Just starting, we have wild roses, buttercups, wild lily-of-the-valley (get down and sniff that one), thimbleberry blossoms, vetch of all kinds, wild peas of all kinds and Canada hawkweed.

These are just the ones I’ve seen along my travels. I think I come across a freshly blossomed species nearly every day! Oh, the joys of summer!

1 comment:

RichJune 21, 2013 at 6:27 AM
We have thimble berry starting to blossom and lupines in the yard here at the first knuckle of the Keweenaw. It seems like it's going to be an abundant berry and fruit year with all the blossoms and abundant moisture. Our blueberry patch has been full of blossoms, bumble bees, butterflies and humming birds for a couple weeks now. Do you have noseeums up there? We have them as well as the usual skeetes, blackflies, stable flies, deer flies and horse flies. None of them bother while I'm biking though.
Peace,
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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

“If you’ve never been there, you wouldn’t understand” is a quote printed above an outlined picture of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on a t-shirt sold in gift shops in the area. Some people cock their heads in bewilderment of what this could mean. Well, if you’ve never been there (to da U.P.), then you wouldn’t understand.

It’s simple really. Where are you guaranteed to see more trees than people on any drive or walk? Where can you sit in a bar in April and know everybody’s name? Where can you wear flannel and Carharts anytime of the year without a flinch from a passerby? Where can you end most of your sentence with the colloquialism eh, eh? Where can you go to truly get away from the civilized world? If you answered “da U.P.” to all of these questions, why, you must have been there.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula makes up one third of the state’s land mass, but only 3% of its entire population. It’s no wonder the average number of people per square mile is 19.3. Nineteen people per square mile! Its lack of inhabitants combined with a plethora of wilderness, unique geographical features and an abundance of water is a big part of what makes the U.P. so unique. In fact, it was included in the Sherman Travel worldwide “Top 10 Places to Go in 2005."

And unique in itself, at the most northern tip in the Keweenaw Peninsula sits the little village of Copper Harbor. “Tops in Michigan,” “the beginning of the road” and quite frankly, the hardest place to leave once your soul has found its peace. It’s the least visited and most revisited place in America. Returning visitors make an appearance at least once a year, no matter what gas prices are. And when they’re back at home, they dream of their next visit to the end of the world.

Why would people want to return to a place where their cell phones don’t work and they can’t get a Big Mac for at least 54 miles? Once you drive through the one and only blinking stop light in town, you are 99% guaranteed not to see any authorities. The town can take care of itself for the most part, and people respect each other and each other’s property.

To the local residents and the handfuls of returning tourists (of which some have been adopted), Copper Harbor is the only place where they can be themselves -- completely and shamelessly (at least until the next morning). Fashion does not exist, but comfort is a must. Possessions mean nothing, but attitude means the world. Loitering is encouraged, and talk is ceaseless. Fresh air is plentiful, and serenity is down the block on Lake Superior’s shore. Ahhh.

Only 90 people can bear to live there year-round (good thing because the post office only has 130 mailboxes), but the population peaks around 250 in the busy summer months when people reopen their business or their summer home.

Copper Harbor and the rest of the Keweenaw Peninsula average 270 inches of snow each season. Whether it falls consistently throughout the winter or all in one dump, it’s guaranteed to fall if it isn’t drilling sideways. Only four businesses stay open through these long months because sometimes, there’s just nobody there.

U.S. Highway 41, which runs all the way to Miami, Florida, begins in Copper Harbor, and yes, it gets plowed the whole way up. A half mile north, six miles east and five miles south of this landmark puts you in magical Lake Superior. I know it’s magical because I’ve caught myself and many other people staring, mesmerized by its pure vastness, undulations and crashing waves.

When you can enjoy every breath of Lake Superior air, wear clothing soley for funtion and not mind seeing the same people day after day after day after day, then, my friend, then, you’ll understand.

A Little Slice of da Harbor...

Copper Harbor, That is!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Eagle Harbor Trails

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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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