Ice Falls

A seasonal waterfall. Apparently "seasonal" includes winter.
Last weekend, Kyle and I snowshoed at Hungarian Falls. We did something new for me: we started at the bottom of the gorge and worked our way up to the first (and largest) waterfall, following the iced-over stream. Actually, the stream was just starting to melt -- although we followed the well-established snowshoe trails, we still had to deal with a few dodgy spots and near-soakings.

Along the way, we found this beauty of a frozen waterfall -- where no waterfall should be! This is actually a seasonal waterfall, along the side of the gorge. In this case, "seasonal" apparently includes winter. This is every bit as huge as it looks -- towering far above us and requiring a certain amount of skill to get even this close. The colors here are pretty accurate -- they're even a bit more green in real life (to add to the blue ice from Copper Harbor). As a bonus photo, check out how green it appears in the photo on the side here -- I took this photo when we'd climbed half of the way up the side of the waterfall, and found an ice cave behind the waterfall.

Finally, after viewing the main falls from below, we decided it was time to go back... straight up the gorge. As it turned out, that wasn't the most brilliant idea, and we learned the true meaning of "upclimbing is easier than downclimbing". But truly, it's not a hike with Kyle and me if there aren't a few terror-filled moments, with your entire weight supported by a sapling, 50 feet above the gorge floor, wondering just how well you really can sled on snowshoes. Ahem, Mom and Dad, don't read that previous paragraph.

For non-Yoopers, Hungarian Falls are a series of some of the largest waterfalls in the Keweenaw, all collected together in a deep and very steep gorge. The gorge and falls complex also included a large reservoir used by the Calumet and Hecla mining company to power its mills (including the Ahmeek Mill right downstream from these falls). They're also right in the town of Tamarack City, easy to access and a popular place for Michigan Tech students to go hiking.