Hiking Silver Mountain
My last episode concluded with our hike into the Sturgeon River Gorge to visit Sturgeon Falls. After enjoying some chilled cider at the trailhead that our friends Rich and Debby had recently pressed, we drove to nearby Silver Mountain to make the hike to its summit!
The trail passes through the forest as it wraps along the sheer face of this volcanic plug which is clearly a geological outlier.
Just before making the ascent out of the forest, we would have a scary moment as a substantial branch of a tree would fall on the trail. Our friend Steve captured the moment on this video on his YouTube channel:
After an initial somewhat steep hike, you reach a place where glacial grooves were carved into the rock. It looks like giant fingernails scratched the surface of the earth!
From here it is a steady uphill climb to the top. The view on this day would be earned as the late afternoon temperature remained in the upper 70s. It was hard to complain about the weather as the normal high temperature for this time of year is closer to 60 degrees.
Once at the summit, we were rewarded with a commanding view of the surrounding Ottawa National Forest and Prickett Lake which is formed by a dam on the Sturgeon River.
We enjoyed some time just hanging out at the summit and taking in the changing look of the color below as the sun angle dipped and a few passing clouds left shadows across the landscape. While the view was awesome, there are clearly more colorful days ahead as there was plenty of green foliage.
We then made our descent back toward the trailhead. The lowering sun brought new perspectives on the surrounding forests.
Once we reached the forest below, some of us took a detour to hike along Silver Mountain’s sheer rise where we saw plenty of mountain climbing hardware dotting its face.
You can see my GoPro video from this hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:
Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how at Visit Keweenaw at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com. Learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.