Trip Reports: Western Upper Peninsula Fall 2024
2024 has been a whirlwind. It seems like only yesterday that I was packing for a winter(ish) trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) in search of frozen waterfalls and forests blanketed with snow. Fast forward almost eight months later, and it was time to head back to the Western UP for my annual fall photography trip. In-between February and October, there were trips to the Porcupine Mountains, and Western UP in order to scout locations ahead of the fall trip, which I now commonly refer to as “the main event”. After a lackluster 2023 fall trip, I delayed my departure date to October 10th hoping for better color progression (and I conveniently had Parent-Teacher Conferences until 6 pm on the 10th). After experiencing my first Northern Lights display while driving along US-2, I arrived at an overlook in the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness at 2:30 am on the morning of the 11th. I got ready for the night, set my alarm for sunrise, and eagerly awaited to begin my 2024 fall adventure in an area I’ve grown to love and appreciate deeply. This is a day by day account of my Fall 2024 trip to the Western Upper Peninsula.
Day One: Friday October 11th, 2024
The sound of my alarm woke me up from a (surprisingly) decent sleep in the front seat of my car. I made the short drive over to the trailhead of Sturgeon River Gorge Falls anticipating to create an image that I scouted out in the summer. I made my way down the switchbacks towards the falls, analyzing the fall color throughout the forest. When I arrived at the falls, the water levels where extremely low, and the falls were essentially two cascades with a large black rock (that’s usually covered by raging water) in the middle of the cascades. I walked the Sturgeon River for some time but did not make any images while exploring the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness.
Upon returning to the car, I made some coffee, ate breakfast, and then began heading west to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (the Porkies) to meet up with friend and fellow photographer Nicholas Albert (Nick) for what would be a few days of chasing waterfalls throughout the Porkies and it’s surrounding area. I arrived at Union Bay, setup camp, and took a much needed afternoon nap before we headed out to a remote waterfall in Baraga county. While the waterfall Nick had scouted during the summer (and had already visited on his fall trip) was stunning, upon reviewing the files of the images I created, I feel they can be improved upon during a return visit. This was still a great first outing to set the tone for the rest of the trip! The night ended with some banter at camp before calling it a night around 8 pm.
Day Two: Saturday October 12th, 2024
Day two began before sunrise with a trip up to the Lake of the Clouds Overlook. Earlier in the week, there was fog down in the Big Carp River Valley, which is something I have been wanting to photograph for some time. While there was no fog this morning, there was an amazing sunrise over Lake of the Clouds, with some of the most intense red light I have ever witnessed. I did not make any images of this moment, as I was (for the second year in a row) photographing another subject when the sunrise was putting on a spectacular display. I did capture a video of the tail-end of this sunrise though.
After sunrise, I hiked down the Big Carp River Trail to seek new compositions and refine previously scouted images on prior trips. While the colors in the Big Carp River Valley were stunning, the light was not in my favor. Upon reaching my previously scouted area, I created a image that I had previously scouted, but upon further review didn’t find overly appealing. I hiked back out to the Lake of the Clouds parking lot, and met Nick at the Porkies Outpost for a much deserved Outpost Burger before heading out to a remote waterfall in Ottawa National Forest.
Route on day two from Lake of the Clouds Overlook to the forest floor of the Big Carp River Valley (via Gaia GPS).
Now, as much as Nick and I think we know the Upper Peninsula, our adventures to more-remote locations usually involve a small amount of getting lost, getting slightly injured (mostly just our pride), or breaking gear (usually from user-error). This afternoon in Ottawa National Forest was no different. It took us some time to traverse our way down into a small canyon where the waterfall we were seeking was located. While descending a steep bank, one of us took quite the tumble (readers can come to their own conclusion who this was). Nick and I eventually found the waterfall, and spent the next two hours shooting the falls while enjoying a couple Athletic Brewing N/A Beers. While this was a great location, I again wasn’t overly found of the images i made upon reviewing the files. I was in quite the funk, and the conditions coming the next two days would make this trip even more challenging.
Day Three: Sunday October 13th, 2024
I was woken up on the morning of day three by the sound of rain hitting the outside of my tent. The night before, Nick brought up that some sections of the Western UP were forecasted to receive over an inch of rain from Sunday morning-early Tuesday morning. With this in mind, we decided to head to Syl’s Cafe in Ontonagon to grab some breakfast and make a plan for the day. At breakfast, we decided to head out to visit a few waterfalls along the Slate River. I also made the executive decision to book a last-minute AirBnB for Sunday and Monday night so I could escape the torrential rain.
Once arriving at the first waterfall along the Slate River, the rain had now turned to a steady drizzle. While this wasn’t going to necessarily be the biggest problem for us (thanks to rain coats and pants), it was a problem for our cameras. While both Nick and my cameras are “weather sealed/resistant” no camera is meant to be exposed to rain for a prolonged period of time. I didn’t take my camera out at the first waterfall we visited, but I did create an image at the second waterfall we stopped at.
“Arrowhead” is a image that I am very happy with. This image stands out to me because of the arrow-shaped section of rock in the middle of the smaller falls along the Slate River. The rocks throughout the scene were covered with pine-needles and the overcast lighting and rain provided a nice sheen on the rock surface to provide depth to the image. I was thrilled to create my first image of the trip that I was pleased with, but it was time to head pack to Union Bay to pack up and escape the rain.
Once we got back to Union Bay, Nick packed up his camp and headed home. I followed suit and got an early dinner in Ontonagon before checking into my AirBnB to plan how I was going to go about escaping the rain on day four.
Day Four: Monday October 14th, 2024
I woke up on day four, looked out the window, and noticed it was still raining. I made the decision to head back out to the Porkies, as I was already here, had rain gear, and had no reason to not go out shooting and try to make the best of a bad situation. I started with a small hike along the Union River to check the water levels of the smaller falls found throughout that area of the park. Despite the rain, these falls where still not flowing as I assumed they would be. I returned to the car, made a coffee, and ate some breakfast before heading down South Boundary road to the Little Carp River Trail. By the time I arrived at the trailhead around 11 am, the rain was just starting to pickup again. I waited for a lull, and made my way down the trail. This area of the park has a very dense canopy throughout the old-growth forest, which made the scenery on this cloudy day very dark and ominous. I went a fair ways down the Little Carp, hiking past all the major waterfalls and cascades that the heavily trafficked area of the trail has to offer. I did make a few images but these were half-baked ideas that I’m not that fond of.
I stopped to use the very luxurious new pit-toilet (which I affectionately referred to as the “Little Carp Lounge”) that is just past the Greenstone Cabin along the Little Carp River Trail. When I was in the Little Carp Lounge, it conveniently started pouring down rain. I waited for about 30 minutes (with the door open mind you) watching the rain fall throughout the old-growth forest. When the rain stopped, I hiked back out to the car, checked out a few more locations of note along South Boundary, and headed back to the AirBnB. With the rain forecasted to stop on Tuesday (my last full day of the trip), I knew I had to make the most of the dry condtions.
Route on day four from the Little Carp River Trailhead to the “Little Carp Lounge” (via Gaia GPS).
Day Five: Tuesday October 15th, 2024
On my last full day of the trip, I knew that I needed to have a plan in place to maximize my time before heading to Marquette later in the afternoon. I decided upon the following plan:
Lake of the Clouds Overlook - Potential fog after heavy rain in the Big Carp River Valley.
Union River - Heavy rain could create good flow in the river’s waterfalls and cascades.
Little Carp River Trail - Heavy rain could create good flow in waterfalls and cascades plus great sheen on Old-Growth trees.
Government Peak Trail - Possible good flow along the Upper Big Carp River.
As I arrived at the Lake of the Clouds Overlook there was some fog in the valley, but after waiting until well after the overcast-sunrise, the fog didn’t really spread like I had envisioned. I got in the car and headed down to the Union River area. Upon arriving, it (unsurprisingly) started to lightly rain. I headed to a waterfall in the area to check the water levels. To my surprise, the water in the falls was perfect! I tried to frame up a larger scene before eventually finding my composition. “Elemental Union” is a image that encapsulates my feelings about the Union River area. The image showcases the interesting geology of the area combined with the intimate, smaller falls all within the backdrop of an old-growth forest.
After leaving the Union River area, I visited scenes along the Little Carp River Trail I had previously scouted on day four. I did manage to create a few images that at the time, I was happy with. But upon further inspection, I feel they can be refined on future trips. I headed towards Government Peak and made my way through the old-growth forest to the Upper Big Carp River. This past summer, I scouted an area upriver from Trap Falls with an amazing rock slide that created numerous cascades. However after heavy rain, this area was too treacherous to shoot, needing to traverse the slippery rocks to frame up the composition I had envisioned (I did fall once attempting this). I managed to find an area further upriver to capture the diverging Upper Big Carp River. “Divergent” is a intimate view of the Upper Big Carp River cascading over millennia-old bedrock and fall foliage as it winds it’s way downstream into the Big Carp River Valley.
Route on day five from the Government Peak Trailhead to the Upper Big Carp River (via Gaia GPS).
As I hiked back to the car, I left the Porcupine Mountains with a feeling of fulfillment. Did I create a large body of work on this trip? No. But it’s the long game in photography that excites me. The idea of knowing an area well and capturing the essence of that area no matter the conditions. After leaving the Porkies, I drove to my AirBnB in Marquette, grabbed dinner, and reflected on a trip that much like 2024 (from both a personal and photographic perspective), was filled with challenges. I look forward to continuing to explore the Western Upper Peninsula, learning more about myself, and growing as a photographer.
Thanks for reading and supporting my work,
Josh