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A Wild Ride Up & Down the Mountain  

By Jim DuFresne

We had no more locked the car and stepped into our bindings, when we experienced the first problem of our adventure to a ski-in cabin in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
     
Lugging 35-pound backpacks, we stopped and stared at the chairs whipping around and somebody asked "how are supposed to get on the lift with these packs?"
     
"How are we supposed to get off?" I wondered.
     
It turned out to be no problem at all. Riding a chairlift with Nordic skies pinned to our boots and a pack on our lap may be a new experience for us but not at this state park. The park sells a special one-ride tow ticket to the top of the mountain so cross country skiers can gain quick access into the heart of this 60,000-acre wilderness.
     
When the lift operator saw this gear-laden group he slowed the chairs down to a crawl and we were easily scooped up, packs and all, and then just easily dumped off at the top. It was the fastest 600-foot ascent I've ever made in cross-country skis and it was immediately followed by the fastest descent I'll ever want to experience.
     
The problem, it turned out, was getting down the mountain, not off the lift.
     
Adjacent to the Hidden Valley downhill run, the Triple Trail, marked by a bright yellow and red "!", descends the back side of the alpine area.
     
They should have used two exclamation marks.
     
We lost more than 100 feet in elevation in less than a quarter mile with gravity and our backpacks teaming up to give us an extra push down the steep trail...as if we needed it.
     
Baby, I was flying. Century old pines were a blur to me like a picket fence from a car window. As hard as I dug my edges into the trail in a snowplow attempt to slow down, I just kept gaining speed so I did what any freaked out skier wearing a backpack would do.
     
I fell. Actually twice before the trail leveled out from a kamikaze run to something more manageable. Less than 30 minutes into our two-day outing and we're already brushing snow off us and thinking "what an adventure."
     
Maybe the best.

Trail Guide 
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When you combine the rugged and spectacular scenery of the Porkies, with that renown Lake Superior powder and the park's groomed trails and ski-in cabins and yurts, it hard to imagine any other place in the Midwest that offers a better Nordic backcountry adventure.
     
Right from the start in the 1940s, the park has always been a winter destination but primarily for downhill skiers who enjoy the scenic and an affordable alpine area that is now managed by Gogebic Community College as part of its Ski Area Management Program.
     
Cross-country skiers can ski anywhere in the Porkies but the park has a 42-kilometer network of double track set trails that fan out from the alpine area. Some trails head north from the winter chalet and skirt Lake Superior where skiers stop to admire the frozen sculpture, caves and arches of the shoreline ice.
     
Some trails head south and loop around Union Spring, the second largest in the state, which remains open throughout the winter to create a surreal scene of gurgling water surrounded by deep snow.
     
Two of the most popular destinations for skiers are on top of the mountain. Utilizing the chairlift, they ski along the crest of the ridge to the West Vista.
     
At 1,500 feet, the view from this knob is a stunning panorama. You stand on the edge of the high point and gaze out over the Upper Carp River, Lake of the Clouds, the Escarpment that encases the area and Lake Superior in the distance. Without the heavy foliage of summer, the scene appears like two great mountain ranges and the valley between them.
     
But we headed east along the ridge. After that quick beginning the trail followed the gently rolling crest of the ridge until we emerged from the pines at the East Vista. At 1,200 feet, this knob is slightly lower than its western counterpart but almost as scenic. On a clear day, you can see for miles along the Lake Superior shoreline all the way to Ontonagon, 20 miles away.
     
We continued our moderate descent off the ridge until we bottomed out at a posted junction with the River Trail and then kicked along the set of double tracks to a small arrow that said "Union River Cabin."
     
Home for the night.
     
The cabin was built in 1991 after the park was forced to close the older units to winter use due to heavy maintenance costs. Union River and two other cabins, Whitetail and Gitche Gumee, were built especially for winter. Union River is heavily insulated and snug; two big logs in the wood burning stove gets you threw half the night.
     
There's a table inside and a L-shaped counter for cooking and a row of windows that overlooks the deep snow and pines leading down to its namesake river, still flowing freely in February.
     
We brought our goose down "bunny boots" for the cement floor, mid-weight sleeping bags, a backpacker's stove, lots of food. But most important we packed in a good supply of candles and something to lace the hot chocolate.
       
Night comes early in the winter wilderness but we stayed up late, still exhilarated by our first day and wondering what tomorrow's adventure will bring.

Facilities 

Most of the park facilities are closed during the winter, including the visitor center, while South Boundary Road and M-107 past the alpine area are not plowed. The chalet offers a warming area, restrooms, food service, lockers, tow ticket sales and equipment rental, including cross country skis.

Three cabins are available for winter use but only two of them, Union River and Whitetail, are on the Nordic trails. There are also four yurts that are reached via ski trails and are used during the winter.

Hours & Reservations 

The alpine area of the park, including the triple chair, is open Friday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST). Cabins are reserved through Michigan State Park Online Reservations (800-44-PARKS) and can be booked six months in advance.

Additional Information 

For a snow update or more information go to www.porkiesfun.com.