Oh hey, have you been on Rocky Ridge? I was taking a look at some of those ridges up there around Medora, was thinking of trying out Baldy and a few other ones this year.
Sadly, I never made it up to rocky ridge! That's the fairly bumpy ridge just inland (south) from Brockway. There are some mountain bike trails there, but I don't know of much else (especially lookouts -- it seems mostly forested without any cliffs).
I've been up to Baldy several times, and it's glorious. I highly recommend it. Great views and very remote feeling. If you're feeling motivated, try going down the east side instead of the west -- never did that, not sure where the trails come out.
There is also a big bump with the "Lake Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary" trail along it, east near the Silver River crossing at the base of Brockway. It was a miserably thick and dense trail when I went there, but you do get a reward of some nice views inland at the top.
Ha, I was just reviewing some of these earlier this week, dreaming of spring hiking...
There does look to be a few cliffs east of Medora, but I'm not sure how good the view would be. Medora would be cool, but I think that's about the limit. On the west, though, that one looks more promising. Thinking of coming in from the south, parking by Gull Lake, then doing a nice triangle between Silver River falls (the upper ones) and a few outcroppings on the west side of Medora. 'J Belote' has one photo that shows a snippet of Lake Superior.
Baldy is that good, eh? I've been holding off, as it seems to have more traffic than the hikes I'm used to (lonely HM adventures), but you're making it sound pretty awesome.
Bailey? That one wasn't even on my radar. Does the trail lead up the hill west of Silver River?
Jake, you got me looking closer at the topo maps. I didn't realize it, but I'm pretty sure that this photo is NOT looking towards Rocky Ridge -- at least, not the part to the east of Medora. Based on the direction, this is actually pointing towards the cliffs to the west of Medora, which you mentioned in your comment. The lake to the right is then Upson or Bailey.
The Lake Bailey sanctuary which I mentioned is actually along this same ridge, then. The trailhead is very slightly to the west of the Silver River bridge, so it climbs up the ridge to the east of Baldy and west of the Silver River. It's not bad, the views are all south (inland), but very remote and rugged feeling.
Baldy has great views. There's a good chance that you'll meet someone else up there if you go on a nice day, but it's still a 6 mile loop -- anyone you meet will probably be a spiritual brother. :)
While I'm at it, I've *almost* done your hike from Gull Lake to the Silver River (upper) falls. There's an old mine halfway between there and the Resolute mine (on a little loop north of US-41). The hike is steadily uphill and a bit bumpy, with a few small outcrops. No views, but very nice remote hiking.
I'll have to keep an eye out for that mine! I was mostly looking at that approach as an easier way of accessing the upper falls than hiking up Silver River from 26. Last visit was in early spring, everything was snow covered and icy. Any sort of bluffs or cliffs in that area would be interesting side destinations.
Was there much left at Resolute? I don't think I've heard of that one before.
No, not a lot there. Resolute is just some bulldozed rocks and two breather pipes now. The mine along the way is the Agate Harbor exploration. It has a lot of trenching, some very small rock piles, and two small fenced shafts, which are also filled. One is RIGHT next to the trail but easily missed in a grove of trees. No ruins that I could find. That sort of "lost" mine is totally my thing, but probably not yours. :P But it definitely would be an easier approach to the silver river.
9 comments:
What is she seeing in her binoculars?
Cindi
It's actually a camera. :) I believe that she was taking a photo not too different from this one, of the landscape.
Oh hey, have you been on Rocky Ridge? I was taking a look at some of those ridges up there around Medora, was thinking of trying out Baldy and a few other ones this year.
Sadly, I never made it up to rocky ridge! That's the fairly bumpy ridge just inland (south) from Brockway. There are some mountain bike trails there, but I don't know of much else (especially lookouts -- it seems mostly forested without any cliffs).
I've been up to Baldy several times, and it's glorious. I highly recommend it. Great views and very remote feeling. If you're feeling motivated, try going down the east side instead of the west -- never did that, not sure where the trails come out.
There is also a big bump with the "Lake Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary" trail along it, east near the Silver River crossing at the base of Brockway. It was a miserably thick and dense trail when I went there, but you do get a reward of some nice views inland at the top.
Ha, I was just reviewing some of these earlier this week, dreaming of spring hiking...
There does look to be a few cliffs east of Medora, but I'm not sure how good the view would be. Medora would be cool, but I think that's about the limit. On the west, though, that one looks more promising. Thinking of coming in from the south, parking by Gull Lake, then doing a nice triangle between Silver River falls (the upper ones) and a few outcroppings on the west side of Medora. 'J Belote' has one photo that shows a snippet of Lake Superior.
Baldy is that good, eh? I've been holding off, as it seems to have more traffic than the hikes I'm used to (lonely HM adventures), but you're making it sound pretty awesome.
Bailey? That one wasn't even on my radar. Does the trail lead up the hill west of Silver River?
Jake, you got me looking closer at the topo maps. I didn't realize it, but I'm pretty sure that this photo is NOT looking towards Rocky Ridge -- at least, not the part to the east of Medora. Based on the direction, this is actually pointing towards the cliffs to the west of Medora, which you mentioned in your comment. The lake to the right is then Upson or Bailey.
The Lake Bailey sanctuary which I mentioned is actually along this same ridge, then. The trailhead is very slightly to the west of the Silver River bridge, so it climbs up the ridge to the east of Baldy and west of the Silver River. It's not bad, the views are all south (inland), but very remote and rugged feeling.
Baldy has great views. There's a good chance that you'll meet someone else up there if you go on a nice day, but it's still a 6 mile loop -- anyone you meet will probably be a spiritual brother. :)
While I'm at it, I've *almost* done your hike from Gull Lake to the Silver River (upper) falls. There's an old mine halfway between there and the Resolute mine (on a little loop north of US-41). The hike is steadily uphill and a bit bumpy, with a few small outcrops. No views, but very nice remote hiking.
I'll have to keep an eye out for that mine! I was mostly looking at that approach as an easier way of accessing the upper falls than hiking up Silver River from 26. Last visit was in early spring, everything was snow covered and icy. Any sort of bluffs or cliffs in that area would be interesting side destinations.
Was there much left at Resolute? I don't think I've heard of that one before.
No, not a lot there. Resolute is just some bulldozed rocks and two breather pipes now. The mine along the way is the Agate Harbor exploration. It has a lot of trenching, some very small rock piles, and two small fenced shafts, which are also filled. One is RIGHT next to the trail but easily missed in a grove of trees. No ruins that I could find. That sort of "lost" mine is totally my thing, but probably not yours. :P But it definitely would be an easier approach to the silver river.
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