A bright pink-orange glow lit up the side of my tent early in the morning. I jumped out of the sleeping bag and my breath was taken away by the fiery view over Lake Superior. Caught in Wisconsin traffic on my drive up last night, I had climbed Raven’s Nest near Little Huron River late at night through the dark and could barely make out the surrounding view in the rising moon’s light. Now, with the sun’s rays blazing across the landscape, the rocky top offered 270° vistas, including a direct shot at the beautiful sunrise.
Today’s morning hike didn’t give me much time to delay, though. I only had a few hours before some friends would be meeting me at Big Erick’s Bridge. Ducking into the brush on the north side of Raven’s Nest I struck east towards the Huron Mountain Club’s property. There are a few hilltops covered in scraggly brush that had potential views of Huron Mountain, Howe Lake, and Rush Lake on the verge of their property (all three of these are within the Club).
Hoping to get some more views of the rising sun during my hike I stuck to the ridgeline parallel to Lake Superior’s shore. Recently logged and covered in hip-deep undergrowth, the ridgeline did not offer views or pleasant hiking. A gentle rain kicked up and drenched the vegetation, soon soaking my pants and jeans. One mile of this wet bushwhacking was more than enough and I cut south to a two-track marked on my topo map that made a much easier route.
This logging road seemed to be surprisingly well traveled, even though I’m not entirely sure where it meets up with the Little Huron River road system. There was a single cabin being built by hand with a forced view of the Huron Islands to the north, but otherwise the area was too vacant to account for the amount of tracks on the dirt road. Shrugging it off, I continued east several miles until I bumped into the inevitable ‘No Trespassing’ signs of the Huron Mountain Club blocking the road.
I headed due south here along some blue blazes, what I thought their property line was. After reaching the top of this hill I was disappointed by a few limited southern views of Mount Benison. The blue blazes had faded away during the climb, so I cautiously headed further east in hopes for better views. After a few hundred yards a rocky outcropping greeted me with beautiful, sweeping views north and east of the lakes and Huron Mountain.
A four-wheeler trail headed east from here, presumably used by members of the Huron Mountain Club to reach this view. Unsure of who’s property I was on, I quickly headed back west towards the two-track I had followed in. On my way back I noticed a trail leading up to the south marked as a ‘Scenic Overlook’. Surprised to see a marked trail this remote, I followed the orange blazes along a damp, overgrown trail that did not result in any views, scenic or not. After wandering several miles out of my way I burst back onto the two-track disappointed and even more soaked then before.
When I was less than a 1/2 mile from my parked car at the base of Raven’s Nest I was shocked to find a gate and some angry signs. The Huron Mountain Club had recently purchased all of the land I had just hiked through! Surprised and chagrined, I slunk past the gate and quickly trotted down to my car. The viewpoint I had reached was definitely worthy of a repeat visit, especially with a two-track providing such an easy route. However, with the Club’s recent purchase and their strict policies on trespassing, it appears that this entire area is now off limits. This chunk of land is distressingly close to Raven’s Nest and some of the other Western Huron Mountains, and I hope that they do not continue buying land in this area.
Riddler mOOse Trax
Jacob,
I find your hiking skills, pictures and your love of the Hurons the same as mine. The name Raven's Nest comes from a geocache placed there years ago. Some call it Toilet Bowl as there used to be a porceline toilet at the top by the cairn. mOOse Trax and I have been there numerous times and have witnessed a murder of ravens all around us with the intent of running us off. Trax and I know that neck of the woods intimately. We have been on club property numerous times. We do no harm and leave no trace. For the record Ravens Nest and Superior Mtn are currently NOT owned by HMC. If it was they would send the guard dogs to find you and fence it all in for only their selfish enjoyment. The picture of Howe and Rush lakes I do believed is named Winkler's Knob to the locals. The HMC people purchased a mess of property two years ago where they select cutted the east half of Superior Mountain or as some say Claus Mountain. There is a USGS marker on the top of it that says "Super". The HMC people left all the hemlock trees to grow on the mountain. It is so sad that soon they will be purchasing the west half of the mountain... it is only a matter of time. The Escanaba Paper Company still owns the western halfit as of this writting . I am surprised that the greedy, "we gots to run all the poor folks off the mountain and keep it only for us, the priviliged" HMC folks didn't purchase most of Bald Mountain when it was for sale 4 years ago. It is just so sad that their greed and selfishness is so appalling to non-members. Sorry for being so negative, but I am passinate of the places I love and when some one says one day that "You don't belong" it upsets me. Trax and I have been busting through them woods for over 30 years. I would love to raise some money to keep the other half of the mountain free and open to the public. They already foiled the Federal Governments plan to turn it into a National Park back in the 1930s by greasing some congressman's palm with cash tro kill the bill.
Trax and my theory is this... take more and more of the land we have been enjoying for over 30 years and we will clandestinely enjoy it as well. We mean no harm and leave no trace of our excursions. Enjoy the land and protect it. It was meant for all of God's children to see, not just the rich.
Anyhow, keep on busting them trails and wrtting about your adventures for us common folk! I just love your website. Peace!
Riddler
Jacob Emerick
Good information right here! Yeah, I might have picked up that name from your geocaching - you and Moose have been a lot of help for my explorations in this area.
Anon
Hey there, great pictures! The views, as always, are spectacular. I'm a member of the HMC and always deplore the comments like the ones above. The truth is that, while the membership is obviously limited and inclusive, this club preserves this property. I promise that any trails made by four wheelers were not made by HMC members. 4-wheelers are a no-go there. It's really sad but without the club and without their rules, this piece of property simply would not be what it is today. Thank you for the wonderful pictures. Always puts a smile on my face to see this gorgeous place. Thanks for being respectful of the land though. That's by far the most important thing.
Riddler mOOse
"Deplore"?... Sorry if the truth hurts. "This property would not be what it is today" without the HMC ?... Off limits to the average person. Now that my friend, is deporable.
Jacob Emerick
Hi Riddler, Anon,
I can understand both of your points of view. I completely understand your point of view about preserving the land, Anon - I've grown sick of the way some of the public areas up there are treated. The HMC's rules about preservation combined with their work with the HMWF is really neat. That being said, even though I've only been hiking in these areas over the last three years, it is sad to see so much of the area marked off as no trespassing. The Upper Peninsula is a rare gift with how much land is public and free to roam for everyone, and seeing some of the best areas fenced off does hurt.
I've never met anyone in the HMC or one of the guards before, but if I do, I hope that they are as open as you, Mr. Anon. While I try to avoid HMC property (usually), occasionally I'll stumble upon a marked sign or some old fence and realize that I've been on private land for the last few hours. I don't leave anything behind (I try not to break branches or twigs, either), and I hope that if I do run into someone, they understand and are willing to have a chat instead of fining/yelling/shooting/kicking me out right away.
Hiker
The good news, that some may not be aware of, is that the land described as Winkler's Knob is not owned by the HMC. It is private land and the to my knowledge, the landowner welcomes those who desire to respectfully use the land. I was there a few years ago and a sign was posted welcoming hikers etc, but asked that no motorized vehicles proceed beyond that point.
Robert Carmody
That is correct that Winkler's Knob is privately owned. Our family has owned the land for about 15 years now and hikers are welcome to visit the knob. We just ask that all motorized vehicles not be on the property so we can all continue to enjoy the natural beauty of the Huron Mts.
Jacob Emerick
It's awesome to hear from you, Robert! It's a great view from up there, and it's great that y'all welcome hikers in the area. How much land do you have up in that area?
Linda Adamowski
Why was I brought to this place many years ago and not able to get in. Yes, I found out why. Today there seems to be a push for US communities to upsurp "Sustainability" in the 21st century. A plan of the UN called Agenda 21. Not a conspiracy theory. Check UN Agenda 21's websiste. Can this land experiment be one of the basis of the UN Agenda 21? Moving the commoner to cities and the countryside to be kept for the Elites? My research begins.
Jacob Emerick
Hi Linda,
While some of that makes sense I think the HMC might outdate that. It was founded around 1890 as a private hunting club. Some of the sustainability concerns didn't crop up until 1938 (w/ Aldo Leopold) and 1960 (the Wildlife Foundation), which correlate a bit more with the UN timeframe, but I'm not sure how likely it is.
Linda A
Thanks for the response Jacob. If I come across anything else, thoughts, etc I will post. I'm busy digging into Agenda 21, Obama's creation of The Interagency Partnership on Sustainable Communities and it's connection at our local level with an Illinois project called GoTo2040. Keeps my mind off of wanting to be in the UP(not really).