Porcupine Mountain Adventure -- Post 3

The last hike Helen and I took while in the Porkies was at the western end of the park.  We checked out both Overlook Falls and Greenstone Falls.  The first falls was a half mile or so from the parking area.  To get to the second falls, we crossed the river and hiked along the river for 1.25 miles. 

It was misting most of the day.  I had to capture the droplets on the leaf below.

The first half mile was downhill and easy.  Of course, on the way back we had to walk back up the hill.

Overlook Falls....

The ecosystem along the trail is almost rain forest like.  I love the detail....

We headed up river and hiked to the Greenstone Falls cabin.

There were a lot of old growth trees in these woods.  I roughly estimated the number of growth rings in the downed tree shown below.  I counted around 200 years.

The 3-4 foot falls below does not have a name.  Helen named it Bruce Falls after her favorite rocker.

A good part of the trail required walking over a skinny and, in some cases, not too stable boardwalk.

Much of the trail went through an old growth cedar swamp.

Burl...

I have never seen red shelf fungi before....

We assumed that the falls and cabin are named after this seven foot high chunk of Copper Harbor conglomerate, which was probably dropped by the glacier or moved by a glacial river.

Here is the view from the cabin looking toward the river.  The park has numerous rustic cabins that are available for rent.

The root ball from the overturned tree is around 12 feet tall!