Slate River Hike and NCT Trail Maintenance

Last week wrapped up with a Wednesday evening trail run on the MTU Trails with the Keweenaw Running Group. The reflexes must still be strong as I covered the Hairy Toad and Lotsa Rocksa Loops with no crashes. The sudden arrival of cooler weather which broke the heat wave made for a nice run!

Thursday was focused on drafting minutes for July’s Chassell Township Planning Commission gathering in preparation for the evening’s meeting. With a quorum on hand, the commission would extend the deadline for residents to complete our current the recreation survey to September 30th. The results will help chart the direction for our next MDNR 5-Year Recreation Plan which we will complete before the end of the calendar year. For those of you from Chassell Township (or those who just might have an interest), you can find the survey on the township’s webpage at this link: http://chassell.net/index.php/parks-and-recreation-2

Friday, Julie and I headed down to the Slate River for short hikes to Quartzite and Black Slate Falls. If you would enjoy the serenity found in the presence of falling water without significant effort, be sure to add this place to your list of adventures to check out!

There is an awesome swimming hole below Quartzite Falls, but it was a bit too brisk to take a dip this particular afternoon!

From there we headed upstream to Black Slate Falls. Be sure to continue hiking beyond this waterfall as there are many more small drops in the river upstream on this pleasant walk in the forest.

You can see my GoPro video from this hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:

On Saturday morning we headed down to the North Country Trail with our friend Sue to do trail maintenance on the segment of the trail between US 45 and O Kun de Kun Falls, The cooler weather provided excellent working conditions.

There were some occasional splashes of color along the way leaving no doubt that autumn will soon be here.

This segment of the trail reaches the Baltimore River at the Upper Falls where the river tumbles over a sandstone shelf.

About 800 feet farther downstream, the river cascades over a much higher sandstone ledge to form O Kun de Kun Falls. This is a really cool place to explore as you can actually climb up behind the falling water where ferns cling precariously along the rock wall.

Check out my GoPro video from this trail maintenance adventure 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.