Tahquamenon Falls and Pike Lake Near Two-Hearted River and Seney, Michigan Day 44 - July 16, 2002  Back   |   Next

We ride through a town called Paradise and explore Tahquamenon Falls. Ever since I came into Michigan I have been hearing legends of the Falls. We hike from lower to upper falls. I tell Rich that the trail we walk used to be an Indian hunting trail. It takes us through the forest primeval along the rust yellow tinged river. "Really", he asks. No, but it sure looks like one. The trail is rugged and takes us through an old growth forest and over ravines, streams and cliffs. Tannin is leached from cedar, spruce, maples, and pines and goes into the river to give a distinctive rust yellow tint. We rest in the shade of the forest and cool our overheated bodies in the river. A hiker tells us that we are experiencing a heat wave. Really? Later we would see a thermometer give the temperature at 100 degrees. I cool down in the river. There are fish bubbles floating down river. I ask Rich is this is fish urine? He says yeah, that's why the river's yellow. The map says we are near Two-Hearted River and Seney. These two names catch my eyes as I scan the map. They are places in Hemingway's story, "Big Two-Hearted River." I am excited. Last Fall I wrote a paper on Seney and the river that Nick Adams went fishing after he came back from WWI. Now I am riding through lands Hemingway once wrote about. We decide to ride up to Maumee Beach and Pictured Rocks on the North Coast before heading back south to Seney, where we will go our separate ways. Two-Hearted River After hiking the Falls area we are back on the road. Our journey takes us off the pavement and onto dirt road. That morning I had asked a forest ranger about the quality of the dirt roads. She said they are just as good, if not better, that the dirt road that comes into the campgrounds. Ten minutes into the dirt road and Rich gets a flat tire. Cars pass by and coat our sweatiness with dust as we change his tire. An hour later we are still riding on dirt road, but the quality has gotten much worse. The dirt is so loose, almost sandy, that we skid all over the road, nearly wiping out several times.   Rich Gallagher Makes Sugar Cookies on a Sandy Upper Peninsula Road We camp at Pike Lake. Some grandparents in a nearby campsite give us a six-pack of Gatorade. Another family gives us some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Rich makes hamburger helper.