A return to the Hiawatha forest of my youth
by Jim Joque
With every fiber of my being twitching with anticipation for snowshoeing season, a friend and I drove north on Federal Forest Highway 13 into the west segment of the Hiawatha National Forest of central Upper Michigan. We planned to meet another friend at a rustic cabin located off the woodland highway for a four-day snowshoeing adventure.
As I made the four-hour drive from my home in north central Wisconsin, I recalled how my back-country destination
was formative in my youth. Growing up in Escanaba, I spent a fair amount of time on and around Federal Forest Highway 13.
Snow blanketed the highway and donned the pines. Flakes lightly fell as I drove at a slow but safe speed. At brief intervals along this remarkable winter path, similar scenes faded in and out of memory.
Some 40 years earlier I traveled this same route on a snowy winter day. Bundled up in my winter coat, Wellington boots and a "chuke" on my head, I
rode this enchanted winter wonderland with my dad in his potato chip delivery truck.
During the late 1950s and 1960s, my father was a distributor for Ely Potato Chips, a local product made in Escanaba at the time. Every other Saturday for many winters, we would run a potato chip route north on Highway 13 into Munising and return via scenic Autrain, Chatam and Trenary. We often returned home as late as 11 in the chilling evening.
I recall a little restaurant along Highway 13
about 25 miles into the forest. An elderly couple operated it and served up the best chili I've ever consumed.
Summer in the Hiawatha Forest was as memorable as winter. It was in that remote paradise that I was introduced to the outdoors and a way of life in the Northwoods. At our Boy Scout camp on a pristine lake about 5 miles off the highway, I learned to canoe a skill that has been an integral part of my life ever since. I also camped with my brothers at Camp Seven Lake and having
to wear a mosquito head net while fishing.
I remember my parents taking all five of us kids for drives. We'd pass open areas scorched by small forest fires. My father would roll down the window of our Pontiac station wagon and sniff the summer air for blueberries. Whether he knew where the berries were located or actually found them via his olfactory senses, we never knew. We would stop along the roadside with buckets in hand and pick an ample supply of the rich blue fruit.
Yes, the U.P. was good to me. so it's surprising I've enjoyed the outdoors in many other parts of the country and Canada but spent very little time doing the same near my birthplace.
Finding Tom's Lake Cabin
A few years ago, I decided to rediscover my Yooper heritage by exploring on snowshoes. A friend introduced me to a rustic cabin located in the Hiawatha National Forest that is rented out by the National Forest Service.
The facility, nestled in the pines, is located on
Tom's Lake about 3 miles east of Highway 13. An arrow pointing to the north directed us up a typical Northwoods' snowed-in road. We loaded our gear onto plastic sleds, put on our snowshoes and packed in about a quarter-mile.
The log structure presented itself as a welcome fortress overlooking the 23-acre Tom's Lake, then frozen over. But getting to it wasn't easy. The last 100 feet of hiking took us up a 30-degree grade.
Outside the cabin was an ample supply of firewood. About
five yards from the front door stood a red-handled water pump in good operating order. Waiting inside was a freestanding wood burner. One match started a warming fire that lasted our entire stay. Two wooden tables with four chairs each were set to the left and right of the entrance.
Cupboards and a counter gave us space for our Coleman stove, and a hanging wrought-iron hook held our propane lantern. In the back room were four bunks for sleeping up to eight people. It was more than
comfortable for the three of us.
After we unloaded our gear and each claimed a bunk, the next order of business was a visit to the outhouse a pit toilet located several yards directly behind the cabin. My main emory of this trip is of sitting in the outhouse on a 15-degree day as a cool breeze came up from below. I made a brief visit and skipped reading the newspaper.
We snowshoed to neighboring Swan Lake at night, having just enough light reflecting off the snow to guide our
way. It was as if the evening sky graciously provided the right amount of illumination for our trek. Our only encounter with creatures other than ourselves was a small group of snowmobilers heading down our trail. We shined our flashlights, and they fled the trail they obviously knew they shouldn't have been traveling.
There exists a network of trails in and around Tom's Lake leading to other scenic lakes. The cabin sits about a quarter-mile west of the Ironjaw semi-primitive area and
the Pine Marten Run trail system, offering some 26 miles of trails. Going off-trail offers some adventure as well. A fun snowshoe trek for our group was taking map bearings and breaking trail to a lake a mile away.
We skied, too
About 10 miles from Tom's Lake by way of car is Bruno's Run. This trail is designed specifically for hiking in the summer and snowshoeing in the winter. At Moccasin Lake off Highway 13, just north of the Forest Glenn store, is the trailhead for this majestic
9-mile circular path that meanders over rolling hills and through the picturesque forest.
Only a short distance away lay the McKeever Hills cross-country ski trail. So we strapped on the skis and completed the nearly 6-mile circle. The snow was light and deep with a lot of exciting ups and downs resulting in a few face-first falls.
Early that evening, I stepped outside the cabin. I peered in to see my lit kerosene lantern sitting on one of the tables. From a short distance
away, the cabin window glowed with a golden brilliance that brought to mind a Terry Redlin print.
At about 4 in the morning, I awoke to answer nature's call. As I stood outside in the night, I took in the beauty of this magnificent forest. In the moonlight the tall trees cast shadows across smooth satin. I stood in awe until a chill took hold. I returned to the cabin, added fuel to our dying fire and crawled back into my sleeping bag.
Today, Ely Potato Chips no longer exists.
The restaurant on Highway 13, its spicy chili and the older couple who made it, are gone. Scout camp, blueberry-picking with my family and all my remarkable boyhood experiences are little more than glimmers of memory. Yet the sight of all that snow brings it all back.
Author Thomas Wolf wrote, "You can't go home again." If home is defined as a place and its people unchanged over time, he was correct. Such places cease to exist. But Wolf was mistaken if home is a place that
has changed only slightly so as to trigger one's memories some 40 years later. The Hiawatha Forest its lakes, rivers, trees, wildlife, snow and even the magnificent highway are all unchanged.
For information and a rental permit application for Tom's Lake Cabin, contact the Hiawatha National Forest Manistique Ranger District Office at 906/341-5666. The cabin costs $35 a night.
Jim Joque is coordinator of disability services and an adventure education instructor at the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, teaching courses in camping, backpacking and snowshoeing. He also serves as the education director for the United States Snowshoe Association.
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