Day 1: 9.4 miles total
Government Peak Trail- M-107 to Trap Falls. 4.6 miles round trip but sans packs
The trail was neat and the falls were cool, but I'm glad we did this first because we saw things that were way cooler.
North Mirror Lake Trail- Lake of the Clouds overlook to Mirror Lake. About 4.8 miles
Starting out at the overlook offers a beautiful view and we can see the valley we're about to descend down to the lake...and then the massive climb we make back out the other side. We'd rise 650' in about .75 miles. Again massive.
Our campsite was on Mirror Lake, about 10' from the water's edge. A gorgeous spot, but probably our least favorite of our 3 campsites. That's how sweet the next 2 were. We also had a "storm" at night...but if this was a storm then the next day was a hurricane.
Day 2: 9 miles
South Mirror Lake Trail to Summit Peak Tower Trail. 2 miles
Two always ascending miles as we climbed to the highest hikeable point in the park. And 2nd highest peak in the state! At the top is a small observation tower which on a clear day offers sweet views of the park. We naturally hit it on a super foggy morning.
Summit Peak Tower Trail to Beaver Creek Trail. 1.7 miles.
Beaver Creek is a nice mild downhill trail that runs down through a gorge and out into a vast marsh/wetland.
Little Carp River Trail- Beaver Creek to about 1 mile past the Crosstrail Junction. 5.3 miles
Starting from the marsh this trail wraps around Lily Pond and then cuts through the forest. Finally about 3 miles later meeting back up with the Little Carp River around Overlooked and Greenstone Falls. Really this entire river is made up of falls...it's just the larger ones have names.
We set up camp literally on the river it seemed as the flowing water flooded our ear drums with its calming pulse. There was another tent set up next to ours, but it was their last day and they were gone by the time I got up from my nap. The sun finally broke through the haze in the afternoon and we were able to soak in the river (ice cold, but refreshing) and lounge. As the sun headed towards the western horizon the clouds came rushing back, but no sign of rain. Alas at 1:30am I was awakened to rain hitting my tent, but nothing major other than the relief that I had ultimately decided to attach my rain fly and I went back to sleep. Around 2:30 I was woke up again as the rain had reached torrential strength and the wind was howling. Frantically I felt around my tent and was relieved to find the interior dry. It was LOUD outside. Then the thunder and lightning came on for the main event. Pretty much every time I have backpacked I have experienced some kind of storm from inside the tent. This was easily the most insane one yet. The lightning seemed to start from within my tent, with every flash even with my eyes closed I felt like I'd been blinded by a strobe light. The thunder was not a rumble but instead the roar of a lion mated with a megaphone . This went on for hours. I was in and out of sleep until about 4am with this storm. Needless to say Tyler and I were both tired when we finally crawled out of our tents (cloudy, but no more rain) in the morning.
Little Carp River Trail- Campsite to Lake Superior. About 5 miles
Shortly after leaving our now soggy campsite we came to our first true river ford. Meaning no bridge or easy rock path across. I grabbed a couple of discarded walking sticks and semi-gracefully ventured across sticking to mostly dry rocks with success. Feet dry. Ty also made it across without incident and we were rewarded with the beautiful Trappers and Explorers Falls. After this was another river ford, and here Ty and I disagreed on the best way across. My way was wrong. I made it about halfway across when I came to a log that was supposed to allow the rest of my safe transit. Nope. Just tapping the log with my toe sent it spinning shifting in the water. All that would accomplish is me plummeting into the river with my pack, no thank you. I briefly considered turning back after seeing the success Tyler was having downriver, but part of me wanted to test out the quick-drying ability of my hiking shoes and wading across knee-deep water was the quicker solution. I'm still not sure if this was the correct choice, as my shoes felt damp the next morning? But when I put my feet in them they remained dry even after walking several miles.
Lake Superior and part of the Big Carp River Trail. Round trip 2.5 miles
Lake Superior is easily my favorite lake in the world. Our campsite could've been on an active volcano and I still would've picked it as our favorite. That being said our site was fantastic. Someone long ago had built a couple of walls from driftwood to block the fire pit and a flat area for tents if it was blustery. There were also various chairs and benches made from rocks around the fire pit. My personal highlight was finding a flat spot about 5 feet from the shoreline that was protected from waves/wind (well as long as a huge storm didn't come in) by a granite wall (no beach here). After setting up camp Ty and I set up the Big Carp River Trail about a mile to a spot unofficially called Bathtub Falls. Here there is just never ending small falls and rapids, perfect for crawling into and soaking in various whirlpools. After this we headed back to Lake Superior to soak up the sun on the shoreline and swim in the lake. Life was rough that day :)
Day 4: 9.7 miles
Big Carp River Trail- Lake Superior to Lake of the Clouds overlook
As everything must do, our trip came to an end with a 9.7 mile hike out. We'd also be gaining almost 1,000' of elevation today, 450' of it coming on a brutal 1/2 mile stretch. The beginning of this trail up to the astounding (and the park's biggest) Shining Cloud Falls was gorgeous, as were the last couple of miles walking atop the bluff to the overlook. Maybe because we were tired, the end was in site, and Ty's backpack strap broke, but the middle 5 miles seemed extra grueling and dragged on.
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