Located north of Champion, the McCormick Tract is a 16,850 acre wilderness in the Peshekee Grade. Originally owned by Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the reaping machine, the land was donated to the USDA Forest Service in 1967 and is now available for the public to enjoy. In July of 2009 I visited the south west corner of the tract along a historic route to the old camp on White Deer Lake.
Starting from the Peshekee Grade, which follows the old Iron Range & Huron Bay railroad grade from Champion up to Mount Arvon, I parked at the access area with some fellow hikers. The small parking spot had a restroom as well as some informational signs and maps. There is no trail markers allowed on the McCormick Tract, so it was nice to get a short refresher from these maps. After crossing the bridge over the Peshekee River, we followed a well-worn path northeast towards White Deer Lake.
While the trail was easy to follow, the rain-covered, thick undergrowth soon had us soaked. For the first mile or two, the trail was surrounded by tall grass and bushes and little old growth. Most of the trip seemed uphill with swamps surrounding us and the cutter flies were relentless. There were a few stark cliffs to our right that looked appealing to climb, as the trails offered little to no sweeping views of the area. After two miles, though, the trail opened up and we saw a few old growths.
White Deer Lake snuck up on us. While we could see a clearing ahead through the trees, it was hard to determine if we were coming up to another swamp or the actual lake. Once we started passing old rock and concrete foundations, though, it was obvious that we had reached the lake. There wasn’t much left of the mighty camp - just concrete floorings and a few pilings in the lake.
The island lake looked quite perfect that afternoon. A stone foundation raised up off the southern shore marked the location of the main cabin. The wind had picked up a slight ripple in the water, and a few birds sat peacefully in the lake. After a few minutes to take in the view, we headed down west along the shoreline to visit Bulldog Lake to the north.
After passing a few more foundations along a trail we found ourselves bushwhacking through thick, wet swamp. We turned around after a quarter mile, soaked, and cut straight back to the main trail. The walk back was silent in disappointment, as we had all hoped to see Bulldog Lake and the dam where the Yellow Dog River began. Still in the hopes of mixing up the trip, we headed off the trail about a half mile from the Peshekee River, making a beeline to the North Country Trail, but were unable to pick it up in the thick undergrowth. Defeated again, we headed back to the parking lot.
There was several trails that branched off of the one we followed. One heads north to Baraga Lakes while the others we checked ended at campsites within easy walk of the main trail. If the North Country Trail could be picked out of the undergrowth, then you could find the tallest point in Marquette County and the Dead River Headwaters. The only other easy trail in the McCormick Tract is located far to the north off the Triple A and leads to two waterfalls, West Branch Yellow Dog and Bulldog Falls. If you do plan a trip to this area, though, I’d recommend a good GPS and staying away from wet summer afternoons.
Laura
Hi are you aware of the Foye insurance website about McCormick w GPS trail info, historic photos etc. and a link to realtor Hendricksen's website (who disassembled and owns all the McCormick buildings?). If not email me.
Jacob Emerick
Hi Laura! Ah yes, I discovered that site after this visit, it has a lot of solid information about the history of the tract. Loved the historic photos sections, gives you a great insight of how different the area is and how much they loved the land.
scott heiden
have you heard of anybody portage a canoe back there? whats the website with the GPS coordinates? thanks Scott
Jacob Emerick
Hi Scott, yes, I've heard of people getting canoes back there. Upper/Lower Baraga Lakes wouldn't be hard to get to, though the real treasure is White Deer/Bulldog, which is a three-mile walk (and they don't like wheels on the trails, so you'd be carrying the whole way.
As for coordinates, this site has a lot of valuable information: Foye's McCormick Site. If you need more information (I have a few old maps collected over the years, etc) I can also send you stuff directly - just let me know!
Happy hiking (and/or canoeing)!
Rod
My old boss had told me some stories of the McCormick Tract that most people do not know. He was part of the crew who under contract had taken down most of the structures in the early 1970s for the National Forest Service. From memory, he told me that they had spent two seasons de-constructing the buildings, boathouses and docks leaving only foundations and smaller brick structures like cornerstones.
Some of the structures went back to the 1890s where most could be dated to the 1910s and 1920s. Several big names can be connected like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison and they had some holdings in the U.P.
Materials from the site were salvaged and used elsewhere and it is possible that these can be found not all that far away. My old boss, his name was Don, had a small amount of panelling and wainscot that he re-purposed in several of his rentals in Negaunee.
I, myself have not visited the McCormick Tract but from the many photos I've seen and from my old boss descriptions, it all fits! Much history in the U.P. and it is good that this place is preserved.