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trips - Winter Hike - In Honor of MataharihikerTrip Info
DescriptionWinter Hiking/Camping at Pine Marten Run Trail. Lots of lakes and rivers with some fairly easy terrain and a few shelters. South of Munising, northwest of Manistique. This is the UP. It will be snowy and it will be cold. Please watch the weather forecasts to help you determine whether or not you will attend and what sort of gear you should be bringing. Please only attend if you are confident in your own winter backcountry skills. It is the responsilbiity of each individual person to determine if they are capable of finding the parking area and hiking in to the designated site. If you are not confident in your vehicle, your ability to find a trailhead or your winter hiking/camping skills, this isn't a trip for you. This trip, like any TT trip, is at your own risk. ----------------------- UPDATE Some decision were made during our scouting. First, we still intend to park at the snowmobile trailhead. We plan to hike to the access road east of the trailhead. And, we plan to camp at Rim Lake Shelter. I did not reference a compass while scouting so all directions located in the following information are based on the trail map. DIRECTIONS: From the Bridge - Probably the easiest way to get there will be to take US2 West to H13 North. Approximately 19 miles north on H13 will get you to CR440. The sign for CR440 is quite obvious. Head east on CR440 to the trailhead (see below) From the North - Dave and I will be traveling from Marquette and intend to take M28 East to H13 South (in Wetmore). Just over 16.5 miles south on H13, we will head east on CR 440 to the trailhead (see below) TRAILHEAD: Since Hiawatha Nat'l Forest does not maitain the Pine Marten Run Trail trailheads in the winter, we will be parking at the Big Springs North Snowmobile Trailhead (maintained by snowmobilers). This trailhead is located on the south side of CR440, 3.7 miles east of H13. The parking area is enormous. There will be more than enough room for all of our cars. HIKING: To avoid bushwacking, we hiked on CR440 approximately one mile east of the parking area to a forest service access road for Ironjaw Lake and Nineteen Lake. The road is marked with a sign. At this junction, we followed the access road north. The access road was fairly packed from old snowmobile traffic making hiking easy (but snowshoes are still necessary on this trip!) After about 10-15 minutes, it intersected with the Pine Marten Run Trail. The trail joined the access road at this point. We continued east (and north east) for another 20 minutes, or so. At this point, the access road continued north and a signpost for the Pine Marten Run Trail appeared on the right. We headed southeast here. There are no snowmobiles allowed on the trail at this point so we broke trail for the remainder of the hike. About 10-15 minutes in this direction took us to the sign for Rim Lake Shelter. Just a couple minutes south on this spur trail lead us right to the shelter. CAMPING: We will be base-camping at Rim Lake Shelter . There is some space right next to the shelter for tents. I doubt every tent will fit in the immediate vicinity. But a short walk will get you a nice, cozy spot. A disper$ed camping permit is usually required for overnight camping in the National Forest but the ranger said they don't enforce it after deer/rifle season. "If you're crazy enough to camp out in the winter, we're not gonna charge you!" MAPS: I scanned my map in case any of you need to check it out. Click here The map I'm using is the Big Island Lake Wilderness map from the Hiawatha National Forest. We purchased ours at the Visitor's Center in Munising. It may also be available at the Manisitique Ranger District. Call 906-341-5666 to confirm. Or the St. Ignace Ranger District. Call 906-643-7900 to confirm. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE TRAILHEAD, THE SHELTER OR ANYTHING TRIP RELATED, PLEASE POST THEM ON THE "QUESTIONS" THREADS. Oh, and come prepared for Sasquatch Signs and Sightings !!!
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