Hiking to the Top of Mt. Baldy
Last Sunday our hiking group ventured up to Eagle Harbor to hike the Helmut and Candis Stern Preserve via the Nicole Bloom Trail to the top of Mt. Baldy. This trail normally provides some of the most outstanding views in the Keweenaw, but a combination of wildfire smoke and fog would limit the view over Lake Superior and provide a hazy view of the surrounding forests, ridges, and peaks. Our typical experience on this this trail would be to encounter breezy to strong wind conditions at the top of Mt. Baldy. On this day, there would be little breeze at all which allowed the mosquitoes and black flies the opportunity to follow us in clouds at the lower elevations.
The trail crosses through Cedar Creek early in the hike which usually has enough rocks or logs in it to allow for a dry passage.
The trail to the top is largely by way of a forested two-track that ultimately turns into a trail as you reach the higher elevations. The end of this over three-mile hike to the top will reward you with beautiful, unobstructed views in all directions. The juniper bordered trail along the final stretch to the top provides particularly awesome views of the steep cliffs facing the south.
As you reach the top you will have an outstanding view to the northwest over Eagle Harbor.
Even with light winds, we did not have much of a problem with mosquitoes and black flies at the top of Mt. Baldy. We had a great time enjoying the spectacular view and hanging out with our friends!
After more than a half-hour on top, we made our way back down the trail to complete what would be a about a 6.7 mile hike.
You can check out my GoPro video from the hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:
Around a couple of 2,000+ yard swims on Monday and Wednesday at the SDC, my week was focused on working with the County Drain Commissioner John Pekkala and Chris Holmes at U.P. Engineers and Architects on pulling together everything we needed to complete the soil and erosion permit application for the ADA accessible walkway project at Centennial Park that is part of our SPARK grant proposal.
Thursday morning Julie and I hitched a ride downstate with our friend Cheryl to attend our daughter Amy’s graduation from her 5-year orthopedic surgery residency at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc which took place on Friday evening.
If you can imagine jamming about ten years worth of work into five years, you can get an idea about the kind of dedication it takes to do something like this. On top of the hard work and study that went into completing her residency, Amy also did a good deal of research and was published sixteen times over the course of these five years. She also recently passed her boards and will be moving on to do a one-year sports orthopedic fellowship in a university environment.
We rode back to the Keweenaw yesterday with our friend Cheryl. One thing I forgot to mention about our trip down is that we came upon moose that had been struck by a vehicle on US 41 to the west of Nestoria. A trooper was already on the scene and readying a rifle. Clearly the injury sustained was going to require that the moose be put down.
Moose are not uncommon in this stretch of US 41 as well as on nearby US 141 and M-95. Be sure to be alert for moose in these areas!
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! Learn more by visiting 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.