As much fun as heading out and exploring new areas of the Upper Peninsula there was a fair amount of work involved in the waterfall project. I really enjoyed being outside and hiking in different areas, pushing into new and exciting locations, but there was a lot of other stuff to do too. There was research, studying of possible routes, and keeping an eye on water flow and weather, as well as keeping track of road conditions and feeds.
When Nick, a college friend of mine, came back up north to attend the fall semester I worked on convincing him to a go on a hike with me. It took almost two weeks but he finally gave in. Nick is not the most outdoors-y kinda guy so I was really looking forward to hauling him out to some cool spots in the Keweenaw. Plus, it would give me a chance to relax and enjoy some time with an old friend.
Logan and I picked Nick and James, another college buddy, up from Wadsworth Hall at Tech. I didn't bring my camera or plan an elaborate trip this time. Today we were going for a simple trip, one that I was familar with. I drove us up towards Lake Linden to Hungarian Falls.
I had been to Hungarian early on this year back in June. Most of the creeks are still a bit swollen this early in the summer from the spring melt. Dover Creek was not. A small trickle down the creek barely wet the impressive rock faces of Hungarian Falls, most of which were large enough to promise amazing sights if they had water. I didn't hold my breath for today to be any different, expecting only to show Nick and James some cool rock formations and a great view of Torch Lake from the lower drop.
Parking at the normal north entrance we headed to the reservoir. Nick had brought along a camera so he spent some time snapping shots of the area in the dim, cloudy light. There was no glaring sun and everything was soft and damp from the day's earlier rains, making the forests and paths excellent glistening subjects for his photos. I led our group up past to the reservoir to the upper falls which, as I expected, had a few narrow streams running down it's grooved and worn face but no real water flow.
My friends didn't care about that the lack of water, though, We all climbed down the bank and hopped around a bit, checking out the different interesting features on the upper falls and stepping over the cluttered lower sections. Eventually we moved on, heading to the lower drops, occasionally wandering off the path to check out an interesting tree or old rock wall. We took our time in the quiet woods, talking loudly about summer and school and work and such.
When we reached the lower drop of Hungarian Falls we all paused, drinking in the view down the long valley to Torch Lake. I had given up on the waterfalls by now, as all of the lower ones were dry, so we didn't follow the edge of the gorge down to view the lower fall from an angle. We just turned back from the edge and headed back to the car, happy and chatty, and I didn't regret the decision to leave my camera and planning for another day.
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