Trap Hills hikes

Northcountrytrail.org

In a remote, rugged part of the Ottawa National Forest, a series of spectacular high bluffs and panoramic knobs known as the Trap Hills have attracted increasing attention among outdoors enthusiasts. In this "hidden gem of Michigan's Upper Peninsula backcountry," says Wisconsin outdoor writer Eric Hansen, a person might hike on the North Country Trail all day without seeing another hiker.

Eric is the author of Hiking Wisconsin and Hiking Michigan's Upper Peninsula, published in 2005. To him, the Trap Hills stand out in all the Midwest. He loves their many vistas, the eagles riding thermals, and grouse in the pine forests.

A series of remarkable panoramas can be seen from many unobstructed high points on the 33-mile North Country Trail section from north of Bergland to Victoria. Eric singles out the vista from Lookout Mountain as especially "glorious" for its views of Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains to the north and Lake Gogebic and Wolf Mountain to the south. On the Gogebic Ridge Trail, near the North Country Trail, Cookout Mountain [sic] has a view of Lake Gogebic on a clear day. Most views from the Trap Hills are to the south. Lake Superior can be viewed in a few places, including the rock pile at Victoria, 50 feet off the trail.

Doug Welker, organizer and webmaster of the western U.P.'s North Country Trail chapter, mentions additional attractions of this stretch of the North Country Trail:

■ four waterfalls: some spectacular old-growth hardwood-hemlock forests

■ rare plants in hardwood forests, rock outcrops, and stream gorges

■ visible remains of copper mining from the 19th and early 20th centuries. (The famous Ontonagon Boulder of solid copper came from the Trap Hills near Victoria.)

Some of these high hills (including Michigan's highest bluff) exist today because they were capped with dark, erosion-resistant basalt formed as lava cooled. ("Trap rock" is another name for basalt formed of cooling lava.) Other hills were capped with conglomerate, formed by the cementing together of large and small rocks eroded from nearby highlands. These rock balconies and perches make especially scenic backpacking campsites.

All this information and much more is on Doug Welker's detailed Peter Wolfe Chapter site within the North Country Trail website. Doug carefully describes ten suggested day hikes from trailheads near Merriweather, Bergland, and Norwich. (Norwich, not on state maps, is south and a little west of Ontonagon, reached from here by going north on Norwich Road at Matchwood, a spot on the road on M-28.)

These hikes do not require youth or special stamina. Most are do-able by average hikers if they pace themselves. They don't involve shuttling vehicles: you hike to the destination and back again. If you print out directions to trailheads before setting out on your trip, and print out map segments where possible, you'll be set for a variety of adventures!

Go to http//Xnorthcountrytrail.org/pwf/trail and northcountrytrail.org/pwf/traphills Detail maps show trail sections on USGS maps, with water sources. Photos convey both the panoramas and the Peter Wolfe Chapter's ongoing work projects. Doug points out that the most strenuous hikes. Winter recreation options (cross-country skiing and snowshoeing) are also noted. For even shorter hikes, go to eric-hansen.com and download Eric's one-mile Trap Hills hikes.

An ardent backcountry skier from outside Bessemer seeks out the Trap Hills for back-country skiing like that out west, with its big hardwoods and deep, snowy valleys. He approaches it from Norwich Road, which is plowed later than main routes. Victoria Road is not plowed at all. "When there's two feet of snow by Lake Superior near Bessemer," he says, "there's four feet in the Trap Hills." He approaches the informal ski area from Norwich Road. Skiing starts at the North Country Trail sign and goes east and up. (After snowfall, Norwich Road is plowed later than main routes.) Remember, Victoria Road is NOT plowed.

Caution: print out and read trail notes carefully, bring a compass, know how to use it just in case, and bring water and ample insect protection. (Some seasons a mesh veil over your hat can be a good idea.) Be prepared for wet terrain or shallow fords at some times of year. In summer, inland parts of the U.P. can be hot—or cold.

The Trap Hills are part of the Ottawa National Forest, but they currently enjoy no permanent protection. Timber harvests and roads have been proposed that would affect their scenic beauty.

Northwoods Wilderness Recovery is a Marquette-based group formed to lobby for vulnerable natural highlights in the U.P. It has successfully blocked logging in one beautiful section with some rare plants. To stay abreast of this and other NWR projects, see its newsy website, http//Xnorthwoodswild.org

From Bergland, Michigan, at the north end of Lake Gogebic, drive 10 miles north on M-64, then 4.5 miles south on old M-64 to the Gogebic Ridge Trail.

A 28-mile hike starts at the Gogebic Ridge Trail on old M-64, turned a half-mile east to the North Country Trail (NCT), and followed that path east to Old Victoria (a restored historic mining village that features an Adirondack-style trail shelter). Some of the western segments of this section of the NCT are faint, but navigable thanks to blue diamond markers. Shuttle rides: Ontran, (906) 884-2006; check for availability.
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