Juhannus and Back-to-Back Waterfall Bushwhacks
After completing our North Country Trail hike to the Plumbago Creek Bridge last Friday, Julie and I headed up to Hancock for the Juhannus kokko (bonfire) at Porvoo Park. As I have discussed in previous installments, approximately 30% of us who live here in the Keweenaw have Finnish ancestry. This midsummer festival which is a really huge deal in Finland is also celebrated here in the Keweenaw. To see what a big deal it was in Hancock this year, check out this link on Facebook.
As a very exciting development during Juhannus, Hancock was named the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture which is the first time this designation has occurred at a location in the United States. You can learn more about this announcement on this news story from WLUC TV6: Hancock named 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture
Early on Saturday morning, we would be whacked with torrential rain in the area between Chassell and Hancock with several people measuring anywhere from 3.3 to 4.4 inches of rain in Chassell Township and Portage Township to our north. The rapid nature of the rain caused some local road and property damage. I drove up to Abe’s in Dodgeville that morning to pick up my mower and chainsaw and found the Pilgrim River to be swollen to a level very high up to the bridge. Fortunately, the bridge did not give way as it did during the Fathers Day flood in 2018.
Sunday we would meet up with our hiking group to go on a waterfalls bushwhack hike at a secret location led by our friend Steve Jurmu. (Note: if you are ever in the Keweenaw and want someone to lead you on a waterfall adventure, Steve is the perfect guide! You can find him on Substack as
).After driving to a remote location, we would begin our trek up a creek that led into a conglomerate-walled gorge which would present waterfall after waterfall. We would climb over three-hundred feet in elevation over the course of this bushwhack hike which spent a good deal of time in the creek.
Many of the falls were moss covered which provided for excellent traction.
Geologically, this waterfall hike rates as one of the coolest as you have one serendipitous discovery after another.
This was a mere sampling of the photos. To get a better feel for the hike, check out my GoPro video at this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:
Talking with Steve and Zack, I would learn about a couple of additional waterfalls we had not seen before. As a game-time decision after swimming at MTU this morning, we decided to go on another hike today to see if we could find them.
We did not exactly go about this in the suggested fashion. Had we done that, we would have found these falls quickly, but, instead, we would endure a very dense bushwhack through a forest full of downed trees, thick stands of ferns, and wetlands created by a significant beaver dam that was at least four and a half feet tall.
Julie was a particularly good sport on this hike as it involved many fits and starts caused by continuous re-routes due to the obstacles in our path. There were many pine stumps along the way that were absolutely monstrous in size with alternative species growing from them.
Our perseverance would be rewarded as we would come upon the beaver dam and, shortly afterwards, a beautiful series of waterfalls. I will leave you today with a mix of photos and videos I put together from this over three-mile hike/bushwhack using the GoPro app that you can find on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mc-jJ1i_Vns
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.