Nights 2 and 3 are at Van Riper State Park in Michigan's upper peninsula. As the guide book says this is a great place because you can travel 12 miles north, hike all day in the McCormick Wilderness and go back to the conveniences of a modern campground. That's just what we did.
This was the McCormick family retreat from 1916 to 1987. Think Cyrus McCormick, the inventor of the McCormick reaper and founder of International Harvester, another example that no company lasts forever. It must have been a real undertaking to head up from Chicago to the UP in the 20's and somehow traverse the last few miles that we hiked. This was their great camp and what a camp it was. Dining facilities, servant's quarters and the power plant were on the shore of White Deer Lake. There was a ferry over to a nearby island where there were the 5 sleeping cabins along with the living room cabin. All of this except for the foundations were removed by the Forest Service and the grounds are slowly reverting back to nature.
Our hike was about 7 miles and a lesson in how the land heals itself. This country was all logged about a 100 years ago; it is slowly but surely reverting to its original condition. It is a federal wilderness, no wheeled vehicles. Not even portage carts as the sign on the bridge says. Thanks Aldo Leopold. Thanks Bob Marshall.
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