Bear with me on this post eh? ;D I am at Chet's trying to make posts like I usually do but am limited to Chet's connection. Ya see, in da U.P., when ya click, ya gotta manually take that click and drive it to the computer shop, they send da click on to da forum, the forum sends back da click, and you take it, drive home through da drifts, put the click on your computer, then wait for the click to show up.
I'm back with my first click. This is going to be da story of Chet and I and justjim going to visit nailhead for a day. Now this was a whole click ago, so say, sometime on tuesday it happened. ;D Since Chet has to go back to prison today, I'll try to relate this story via some photos and some comments. First I have to go drive through the current beautiful springtime blizzard and get anudder click. Be back soon. :)
You forgot to explain about when that computer store gets a reply that says that forum thingy either does not exist or it's busy right now. :D
Guess I must be in da UP too?
I sure hope you don't have to paddle to far up stream to get the click in place :D I know we just about need to canoe to where we gotta go some places around here. The creeks are running and still lots of snow to go.
Hey .. I ressemble those clicks .. I had to start answering this last week ... ;D
OK. I'm BACK.
Justjim and Chet and I set out for Nailhead country Tuesday morning. Nailhead lives in some pretty his historical county as related to Michigan's logging past. We traveled up 141 past canyon falls and Alberta where Henry Ford's mill stood (stands) where they sawed out the lumber for the side panels of the old Woodys. We traveled on up to Skanee where we were to rendezvous with Nailhead for a burger at the Huron River Supper club (Tavern actually, and pay no attention to the many Root Beer and Sarsaparilla bottles you may see in accompanying photos ;D)
Here is from right to left, Justjim (Jim, da waxlady's brother), Chet and then Pat (Nailhead). From here we commenced our days journey. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/western_up_nailhead.jpg)
Back wit unnuder click.
CRAP! DIDNT TAKE...
It wouldn't be so much trouble if ya hadn't packed that blizzard along with ya!
Ya should have saved a little of that FL hot air ya took home with ya and shared some with Chet. :)
Thats da problem! Ya know what ya get with warm air blowing across lake superior! Lake effect!
OK, next stop was at Pat's to get provisions. We needed to get a shovel, a powersaw and a cooler, all important stuff to get to nailhead's "High Camp" in the Huron Mountains area, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. High camp is very near the highest elevation in Michigan and about 1000 ft above Lake Superior, not but a few miles away. This was the first trip in to high camp this year. Good thing we went and then got out when we did, a few hours later, and we would still be there as this was the biggest April storm to hit the area in many years, although as you will find out, getting stranded at High Camp could have its advantages. ;D
Here are some photos of the stop at Pat's place. As ususal we had to keep an eye on Chet cause he keeps trying to walk off with Pats little Knuckle boom.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/western_up_nailhead_3.jpg)
Here are a couple other toys we took a look at before we headed "up".
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/western_up_nailhead_4.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/western_up_nailhead_5.jpg)
Would that be a 57 ford under that tarp?
Jon
Close, Dat would be what Nailhead calls his "Gramma car" Its a 57 4 door Belair. 8)
We kept wondering as the road conditions worsened if we would get to high camp, but finally did. We were about 15 miles in and at least 3 miles as the crow flies from any other buildings let alone any people. We Parked Pat's rig up around a bend from tha camp for a final hike in as the last bit was pretty poor and ending up in a creek that far from help was not what we had panned for the day. Also, a good time to put this out there. We are looking for a few adventurous Forestry Forum member guys for an ATV weekend this coming September. Pat has room for about a dozen or maybe a few more of us and we have 4 or 5 already, including me, chet, pasbuild, justim and Pat. It will be a beautiful time and we will get guided on some of the most beautiful scenery you will see in Michigan. We will see waterfalls that only the most adventurous have ever saw. We only have limited room so shoot me a message if you are interested.
This was our first view of High Camp. I think High Camp could be better described as a "lodge" :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/high_camp_1.jpg)
This central woodstove is fronted by a big semi circle of easy chairs. I didnt get a picture of those. behind that is the pool table and then Kitchen
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/high_camp_2.jpg)
A view of the Kitchen
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/high_camp_3.jpg)
Here is Pat climbing the stairs to show us a long row of bunks where camp visitors sleep.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/high_camp_4.jpg)
Chet and Pat check out a plat map of the area as Pat shares some history. We are only a couple miles from what is called the McCormick tract. http://hunts-upguide.com/champion_mccormick_tract_wilderness_area.html
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/high_camp_5.jpg)
The electical plant at High camp serves it well. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/high_camp_6.jpg)
Hiking back to the truck from high camp. and onward to more sites.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/high_camp_7.jpg)
On da way out from High camp, we stopped for a quick pitstop near a small falls on the West Branch of the Huron River.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/huron_west_branch_falls_2.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/huron_west_branch_falls_1.jpg)
This here is a Firewater "lite" powwow near the falls. :) Half the reason for the stop, acutally its the reason for the other half too. :D But we would have stopped anyhow, as a view of this little falls simply can't be passed up. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/huron_west_branch_falls_3.jpg)
do you guys in MI really call that a waterfall?
Stonebroke
That white stuff gives me the heebie jeebies. My feet shrunk up a little just from da pics.
Quote from: stonebroke on April 05, 2007, 03:30:30 PM
do you guys in MI really call that a waterfall?
Stonebroke
Well, if you don't like this one, we have a couple hundred more to pick from. I'll pick on your state once you fill out your profile. :) ;)
So.....
Pat says, do you guys want ta see a big tree? We says, "sure", so a crank of da wheel and a powerslide and we are off. After a short trek down a winding trail, Pat stops and we get out. In the distance you can hear Superior just a crashing. We start into the woods in the prescribrd direction and start to see a tree.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/big_white_pine_huron.jpg)
O.K., its bigger then the rest of em. We get closer.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/big_white_pine_huron_1.jpg)
Its a bunch bigger then the rest of em, and the rest of em are probably a foot through. Pat says this White Pine is a land mark if you are off shore on Superior. It towers above everything else by 30 0r 40 feet.
Once we get close you can see she is a real beauty. Not only big, but very healthy and just beautiful. :)
Here is justjim trying to get his arms around it followed by a view up.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/western_up_nailhead_1.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/western_up_nailhead_2.jpg)
Onward to yet to some more discoveries along the shores of Gitchigume. :)
After getting back on the trail for a bit, we all realized it was time to jump off da trail, take another break and lighten the cooler again.
Where we stopped was less then 100 yards from the shore of a very angry and cold looking Lake superior, I didnt venture any closer then this picture through the woods. What lay around our feet was far more interesting to me. I could not imagine a sawmill in this cold location, but there is was, or what was left of it, which surprisingly, was quite a bit. Pat knows something of the history of these ruins, so once he finds this thread, maybe he will jump in and fill in some details of stuff I have left out, forgotten, or flat out got wrong. ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/superior_sawmill_1.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/superior_sawmill_6.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/superior_sawmill_2.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/superior_sawmill_3.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/superior_sawmill_4.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/superior_sawmill_5.jpg)
It looks like ya'll are havin' fun......
I see they shaved Chet when he went ta prison...... :D :D :D
How's come Nailhead's eyes are closed in all da pictures.... ??? ??? ???
What a grand tree 8).
Nice tree 8) Was there indication as to the make of the mill ??? ???
Quote from: Burlkraft on April 05, 2007, 07:28:57 PM
How's come Nailhead's eyes are closed in all da pictures.... ??? ??? ???
Since you asked, there is a very good reason...
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/pat_nailhead_red_eyes.jpg)
Sure was Greg
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/superior_sawmill_7.jpg)
R.R. Howell and Co.
Jeff
Just trying to be funny, guess I wasn't. Sorry. NY has Niagara which I think is a pretty good waterfall. I thought mich. was all flat and sandy. Do you guys really have hills?
Stonebroke
Why don't ya sign up fer the 4 wheelin weekend stonebroke and ya can see some of those hills & water falls fer yer self ;)
Quote from: stonebroke on April 05, 2007, 10:38:47 PM
Jeff
Just trying to be funny, guess I wasn't. Sorry. NY has Niagara which I think is a pretty good waterfall. I thought mich. was all flat and sandy. Do you guys really have hills?
Stonebroke
No problem at all! ;) If thats what ya think of Michigan, ya gotta come see for yourself. Michigan has the next largest falls this side of the Mississippi, your the only ones that has one bigger. :) Got an ATV? Come on over and we'll introduce ya to the real Michigan. :)
Boss,
Y'all should measure that big white pine. Michigan has the national champion I think. The Michigan champion (and national champion I think) has a diameter of 63.6" and a height of 150'. That one in the pic sure looks big. I sure would feel better if you measured it ;D.
How about if we measure a different one? Chet says he knows of one dat is bigger. :) These western Yooper boys seem to be just full of neat secrets that can be pried out with a little barley pop levering. They however have thier ways of making you keep just enough back that you only THINK you know what dey know. Like makeing lots of crazy circles and getting you completely discombobulated before popping out to one of these secret locations. :) They say stuff like "You can't get here with out us" and they're right. :D
A bigger one would be even better :D. Y'all might be already familiar with how to measure a champion tree, but for those reading this post who do not know how, here is how.
1). Measure the circumference in inches at breast-high (4 1/2 feet from the ground).
2). Measure the total height in feet.
3). Measure the average width of the crown from drip-edge to drip-edge. Measure the average spread of the crown from several points and average them.
Total score = inches of diameter + total height in feet + one-fourth of the average crown spread.
Here is the michigan website http://www.michbotclub.org/big_trees/big_trees_measure.htm
The michigan champion has a circumference of 200", a height of 150' and a crown spread of 53'. Total points = 363 (200 + 150 + 1/4*(53). Happy hunting :D.
I know Chet'll scramble to the top with the measuring tape, no problem there.
But I NEED a pic of Chet and da Boss shimmying out to those branch tips with the measuring tape stretched between them! :D :D :D
QuoteTotal score = inches of diameter + total height in feet + one-fourth of the average crown spread.
I think WDH means to add inches of
diameter circumference here....... ???
Quote from: Furby on April 06, 2007, 01:28:30 AM
I know Chet'll scramble to the top with the measuring tape, no problem there.
But I NEED a pic of Chet and da Boss shimmying out to those branch tips with the measuring tape stretched between them! :D :D :D
I'm game :) but da boss ain't too sure about holdin' up his end of da tape. :D
Dat's bout what I figured, da measurement is bound to be a bit off if da Boss is on the ground with his end. ;D
My end is definitely stayin on da ground.
The mill owners just packed up and left eh eh Doesn't look like they packed anything too big either ;) Does Pat know when it was last operational ???
Great pictures Jeff. Sure looks like a great time you guys had. Lots of interesting things up there in yooper land. Looks like beautiful country. Guess you did not need to haul any ice around to keep the pop cold either. :D
Just for the sake of conversation what is required to run around up there on a atv? In NY you have to license them if you take them off your property. I think you are required to have insurance also but not too sure since I have never licensed mine ( it stays on the farm only ).
You are right, Beenthere.
It is inches of circumference.
Have you heard this joke? How many Forestry Forum members does it take to measure a tree?
Bitternut, you would need a Michigan ORV sticker that can be purchased on-line. I found a link that should answer most questions
Michigan ORV FAQ (http://midnr.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/MiDNR.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=hgiS5lRg&p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=122&p_prod_lvl2=%7Eany%7E&p_search_text=&p_new_search=1)
Nice tree!
Quote from: Jeff B on April 05, 2007, 11:07:40 PM
Michigan has the next largest falls this side of the Mississippi, your the only ones that has one bigger. :)
It might be my fuzzy memory but I seem to remember THIS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Falls) being the second largest falls in the US? (Good pictures and fun facts.) (http://www.turtlehill.org/stt3/cumb.html)
No disrespect intended. I've visited the lower part of Michigan and like the landscape and the people. Unfortunately, I've never gotten to visit the UP.
I found the thread and better defend myself. Burlkraft, my eyes are closed because I didn't want to look at the guy from prison. ;D But really, I enjoyed showing Jeff and the boys around. There is a lot more to see in this area, but the wrong time of the year to see it. Just got back from trying to go to camp and had to turn back. Over 3 feet of new snow(that means Chet lost the bet! :D)
Greg, the last time that mill ran was probaly 75 years ago or more, I'll have to do a little research on that. When it was in operation, the crew lived at the site. I remember as a kid going out there and some of the out building were still standing and log piles were 20 feet tall. I believe also that lumber was shipped out by barge. It was called Von Zellens Landing. The Lone Pine(that's what we call it anyway) is only a short distance from the mill site and can be seen for many miles from out on the lake.
Oh yea, the bottle that I'm holding in all the pictures is the same one, they super glued it to my hand ;D and would't refill it.
Get your reservations into Jeff for the fall tour. Pasbuild and I might have to check out the country before the big day.
Quote from: treebucker on April 06, 2007, 12:13:06 PM
Nice tree!
Quote from: Jeff B on April 05, 2007, 11:07:40 PM
Michigan has the next largest falls this side of the Mississippi, your the only ones that has one bigger. :)
It might be my fuzzy memory but I seem to remember THIS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Falls) being the second largest falls in the US? (Good pictures and fun facts.) (http://www.turtlehill.org/stt3/cumb.html)
No disrespect intended. I've visited the lower part of Michigan and like the landscape and the people. Unfortunately, I've never gotten to visit the UP.
None Taken. :)
Cause I'm right. ;D
GOOGLE LINKS FOR REFERENCE (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=tahquamenon+falls+largest&btnG=Search)
Jeff
Now there's a waterfall! Very pretty some ways nicer than Niagara. Many more trees around it.
Stonebroke
For anyone heading over to SAWLEX next month, if Cumberland Falls isn't too far off route, it's worth seeing.
There will be a new moon around that time so the odds of seeing a moonbow are slim, but you can still see lots and lots of rainbows on a sunny day. Well worth a stop if you have time! :)
Nailhead,
That is some beautiful country, we have spent time in that general area. What are the dates for your hands on study session of the local scenery? I am going to be attending my sons wedding not far from there on the Sat before Labor Day(Sept 1st) and have been comptemplating just staying for the whole week and attending the Logging Congress in Escanba the end of the week of Labor Day like the 6, 7, & 8th. I do not have an ATV but that might be an excuse to get one does a Gator qualify? When you have decided on a date post the info and maybe I could work it out.
Thanks,
Dewey
Nice neighborhood Nailhead. Great camp. Like the scenery and trees. That pine is a whollopper for sure. ;D I like seeing them big pine tower above the forest.
Ok down to brass tacks..... ;)
Quote from: Nailhead on April 06, 2007, 01:49:07 PM
There is a lot more to see in this area, but the wrong time of the year to see it. Just got back from trying to go to camp and had to turn back. Over 3 feet of new snow(that means Chet lost the bet! :D)
Well, ok, but who got you's stuck and who had to ride on the behind for ballast? ;D Probably no chains either eh guys? ;D :D
Don't worry, the whole story will come out with some extra barley brew. Just like truth serum eh? Don't forget the 'bleue' at the roast this summer, ok Isawlogs? ;) :D
That "Bleue" at the pig roast last year WAS tastie ;) Maybe you and isawlogs can make the ride?
Other than that I'm not sayin nothin ;)
YUPI can see a little visit ta nailhead is in order, gots ta plan all da activities and choreograph the route, probably have ta do it 3 or 4 times ta make sure we got it right ;D
I hope Debbie has her wild game feed da same weekend, I sure would love ta introduce the boys ta butt bowling ;D ;D ;D
I don't think I wanna know about butt bowling :o
Quote from: pasbuild on April 06, 2007, 08:10:39 PM
YUPI can see a little visit ta nailhead is in order, gots ta plan all da activities and choreograph the route, probably have ta do it 3 or 4 times ta make sure we got it right ;D
I hope Debbie has her wild game feed da same weekend, I sure would love ta introduce the boys ta butt bowling ;D ;D ;D
Well, THEE Bob. Which weekend is the wild game feed?
I don't know, haven't been up da road all summer, been way to busy.