Black River Harbor to Ontonagon

Day 9 August 8

It was a chilly night and we awoke to a cloudy gloomy morning and a gloomy forecast for the day. We decided to get underway as soon as possible owing to the fact that our destination, Ontonagon, Michigan, is a long 37 miles from Black River Harbor and the weather tomorrow will be such that we will not want to be traveling.  They are calling for 10 to 20 mph winds from the Northeast which on this lake and location pushes up really big waves. 



Black River Suspension Bridge



One of the main attractions of this beautiful little harbor is a water fall, Rainbow Falls, which lies about ¾ mile upstream from the marina.  We decided that we needed the exercise and the falls sounded interesting so we set out.  The very first encounter we faced was a suspension footbridge that was constructed back in the 30s by the CCC.  It is a really neat structure.  On the other side of the river, we climbed 90 crude steps that lead to the top of the cliff and a beautiful stand of virgin hemlocks.  The guide book says that this is one of the few areas that escaped the logging in the late 1800s.  This area is quite a bit dryer than what we hiked in on Stockton Island.  The vegetation is similar but much less lush and more sparse. 

Rainbow Falls

The falls were amazing.  The river was not real wide but quite a bit of water fell over the rock outcropping and it was evident that the erosion process was quite active.  Although the climb was physically taxing, we both agreed that these beautiful falls were well worth the effort. 

Back at the boat, the gentleman who had greeted us upon our arrival, brought out his charts and advised us of the various routes and destinations that we would be encountering all of the way to Sualt Ste Marie.  Unlike other trips we have taken, the various stopping points are truly few and far between and we need to watch the weather to make sure that we can get to our destination prior to a weather encounter.  There are no holes indicated on the charts into which we can duck in the event of a weather crisis. 

First Mate Janine Finishing Swabbing

We headed out around 9:00 and basically spent the next six and a half hours motoring on relatively smooth windless water.  At about half way to Ontonagon, a light breeze came up so I unfurled the jib and it kicked our speed up from about 6 mph to about 6.6.  As we traveled, I was busy navigating and handling the boat (with aid of the auto pilot) while first mate Janine swabbed the decks. 

Ontonagon is an old mining/logging town where a few years back someone tried to set up a ship building facility that evidently failed.  We took Damn Dink from the marina, across the Ontonagon River, to a town park and walked into the business district.  The town appears to have pride as illustrated by neat streets with old fashion street lights.  There are what appears to me to be an inordinate number of bars for a town of this size.  We had dinner as Syl’s.  This is a small mom and pop restaurant that is obviously a favorite of the locals.  We had been told that we needed to eat a pasty which is an old local staple.  It is basically stew baked in bread dough.  Janine opted to try it while I had their whitefish.  When I told my friend, Dwight Saunders that Janine had eaten a pasty, he commented that she was now an official “UPer” (pronounced “you-per”).  A UPer is a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

We were out of bread and running low on coffee so we headed for the opposite end of town to a carryout.  On the way, we noted what appeared to be an old grocery store that had been turned into a museum that alleged to depict local logging and mining operations.  Since the weather forecast for tomorrow looks quit bad, the museum might be just the type of entertainment we need to pass the time. 

Back at the boat, we watched a video of Winton Marcellus and Willy Nelson playing entertaining jazz, played scrabble, ate apple caramel cake and went to bed.