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Sometimes it takes more than one try to get it right,
as Aimee and Mike learned in what they thought would be a relatively
easy hike of the Union Spring Trail. The original plan was to park
at the Government Peak trailhead on M-107, hike in two miles to the
Union Spring Trail, then hike
either two miles to the spring, or four miles to South Boundary Road,
before doubling back. The
option of the shorter hike would require them to complete the segment
of the trail from South Boundary Road to the spring on a later hike.
The first attempt according to this plan took place in mid-May, 1989.
To illustrate typical western U.P. weather, there were still patches of
snow on the ground in shaded areas along the Government Peak Trail.
Accessing the Union Spring Trail required us to cross the Upper
Carp River, which is difficult to do without getting your feet wet
since there's no bridge and no really effective crossing aids like logs
or stepping stones.
We were doing fine over the first 1 1/2 miles along the trail, until a
point about 1/2 mile before the spring. The trail makes an abrupt,
close to 180 degree, change in direction at
this point. Instead of following this to the right, we made a much less
sharp turn to the left, which unknowingly put us on some unnamed
cross-country ski trail. We later noticed the blue blazes (this was at
a time when the hiking trails used red diamonds -- they now use the
same blue
blazes) but Mike also realized our direction was going to shortcut back
to the Government Peak Trail, which it did in the vicinity of the
Overlook Trail junction.
Our second attempt was made about a month and a half later, on July 3,
1989. This time we accessed the Union Spring Trail from South Boundary
Road, about two miles south of M-107.
Hiking to the west, we crossed the Union River after about 3/4 mile. At
that time, the river cut across the
trail at a shallow angle and it was relatively easy to ford. After
another 3/4 mile, we came to the Union River Impoundment, formed by an
earthen dam across the river. The trail passes over
the top of the dam.
The major attraction of this trail, Union Spring, was reached another
1/2 mile past the
impoundment. There is a wooden viewing platform where you can watch the
bubbling action of Michigan's second largest natural spring, flowing at
over 700 gallons per minute according to the park brochure. (The
state's largest spring is located near Manistique in the south central
U.P. and flows around 10,000 gallons per minute.)
We hiked beyond Union Spring as far as the point we'd reached before
making the wrong turn on our May hike, then doubled back to the
beginning. Since we'd only hiked five miles roundtrip, we decided to
complete the one mile Union Mine Trail, located adjacent to the Union
Spring trailhead, on the same trip.
We expected Union Mine to be a "wimpy" short nature trail for people
who were unfamiliar
with wilderness hiking. That's not the case. The only thing easy about
it was the distance. It was not flat -- there were some moderately
steep climbs and descents. There was some interesting
scenery including old mines and waterfalls. This short trail would be a
good brief introduction to what it takes to hike the Porkies for
someone who hadn't been here before.
On June 26, 2000, Mike and Maria hiked the Union Spring Trail from
South Boundary Road to
Government Peak Trail, then followed Government Peak Trail two miles to
the M-107 trailhead. Aimee dropped them off then picked them up to
facilitate the six-mile, one-way hike.
Recent rains had made most of the trail muddy that day, but Maria was
able to hike the first two miles past Union Impoundment to Union Spring
on her own two feet. It was no longer necessary to ford the river
apparently due to a slight trail rerouting including a bridge. We
stopped at Union Spring for
lunch, then Mike carried Maria in the backpack.
The signage at the
confusing ski trail junction was substantially improved, with the trail
indicated by a hiker graphic and labeled "Summer Trail" while the
cross-country ski route was signed with a skier graphic and labeled
"Winter Trail." Mike noted that it was actually possible to see the
spring from the
junction by looking straight ahead if you were hiking in the west to
east direction. To be honest, I don't know how we missed it in 1989.
I don't remember how wet our feet got in 1989, but on this hike, it
wasn't possible to
cross the Upper Carp River to reach the Government Peak Trail without
stepping off stones in a spot or two. Mike continued carrying Maria in
the backpack along Government Peak Trail, as far as the Escarpment
Trail
junction, then he let her walk the remaining 1/4 mile to the M-107
trailhead where Aimee was waiting with the car.
One thing to remember: The stream crossing of the Upper Carp River at
the junction of the
Union Spring and Government Peak Trails is probably the only remaining
difficult crossing in the park that doesn't have a bridge. I'm guessing
there will never be a bridge here, since the crossing occurs in the
vicinity of Trap Falls and a bridge would be likely to wash out.
"Difficult" is a relative term -- the day Mike and Maria crossed, the
deepest water was about three to six inches.
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Union Spring is the second largest natural spring in
Michigan. The bubbling action of the spring
is readily visible in the sand at the bottom with reflections of trees
at the water surface. This photo was taken on July 3, 1989. |
The previous
photo was taken from a platform which extends into the water to
facilitate viewing the spring.
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About a half mile downstream from the spring, the trail passes over a
dam which forms the Union River Impoundment. |
Maria poses
at the impoundment on June 26, 2000. She had hiked the first 1-1/2
miles to this point on her own two feet and completed the remaining 1/2
mile to Union Spring before Dad began
carrying her in the backpack.
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Maria poses near Union Spring, near the vicinity of our lunch stop on
June 26, 2000. |
Here's proof
that Maria hiked two miles on her own two feet a few days before her
5th birthday.
This broke her previous record of 1.8 miles on the Black
Forest Trail
in Pennsylvania in October, 1999.
She also read
the "No Fishing" sign and looked for fish in the spring, but all we saw
was one eel.
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The junction of Union Spring and Government Peak Trails is divided by
this stream crossing of the
Upper Carp River. |
The Union
Mine Trail passes a number of points of interest, including waterfalls
on the Little Union River at Little Union Gorge, just east of South
Boundary Road.
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