The Great Smaug

[campfire]

After leaving the mill we headed up the road to Hungarian Falls. Several falls are clustered together here. Today we looked at two of them. This one is constrained by a dam while onlookers are constrained by a fence.








Just upstream of the dam sits this gem.





I like the quiet stillness found in this small valley.



This area used to have at least two railroads crossing the (much taller) gorge downstream of here. Here you can see old rails fashioned into something of a gate. Looks like it used to span Dover creek. Perhaps straining the debris so it doesn't reach the dam?





The water level was low enough to allow us to cross over and check out the falls more closely.



The trail to the falls is a pretty hike.



And then we stopped by the waterfront for lunch. A new restaurant is coming in beside Roy's.



We also caught the lift bridge raising to make way for a sailboat.

 

[campfire]

After saying goodbye to the bridge we headed back home. Windshield time.







Keweenaw Bay.











Looking toward L'Anse.



The rest of the road seems routine by now. Pictures no longer required...

 

[campfire]

Mechanical summary of UPO 2020:

The truck ran perfectly for 585 miles. Zero issues aside from the starter motor issue I've chased all summer (occasionally spinning the motor without engaging the bendix). I expected to add a gallon of oil on this trip, and I wound up adding zero. Dipstick shows I'm down less than half of one quart. So I managed to eliminate the oil leaks, for now.





The only concerning thing is pressure in the radiator. Sometimes (not always), the radiator retains pressure long after the engine has cooled off. Here is a clip from the day after the trip, when the truck was thoroughly cold. It's been doing this on and off for a couple of years at least.

View attachment 20200811_170530.mp4

Most of the time it's fine. It's never impacted the engine's performance. I'd never even notice if I wasn't routinely checking all my fluids. And yet...it's still not right.

Otherwise, the rest of the summer passed without any mechanical issues. I'll call that a win.

 

[mrk5]

I really like this picture.

 

[campfire]

I really like this picture.

View attachment 379764

Thanks. As dumb as it sounds, we see so many gazillions of trees that they seem routine. I don't even take many pictures these days. The trees all blur together in my mind.

Thanks for reminding me how blessed we are to see this stuff every day.

We are blessed.

 

[mrk5]

Yeah, that forest is totally different from what we have here.

 

[Blue85]

After leaving the mill we headed up the road to Hungarian Falls. Several falls are clustered together here. Today we looked at two of them.

The falls this sight is famous for is a short stroll downstream from the dam. Drops 80 some feet IIRC, making it one of the tallest in the UP.

Zero issues aside from the starter motor issue I've chased all summer (occasionally spinning the motor without engaging the bendix).

Here's a diagram of what I was speaking of in person. Prevents the spinning problem while providing strong starts and making the starter last. Just keep the factory wiring (or better) from battery to starter. Then add something like 8AWG from solenoid to S terminal.

 

[campfire]

The falls this sight is famous for is a short stroll downstream from the dam. Drops 80 some feet IIRC, making it one of the tallest in the UP.

We'll get there someday...

 

[campfire]

Here's a diagram of what I was speaking of in person. Prevents the spinning problem while providing strong starts and making the starter last. Just keep the factory wiring (or better) from battery to starter. Then add something like 8AWG from solenoid to S terminal.View attachment 379850

I already bought such a relay with plans to install it. And then I bought a fancier aftermarket starter in the hope of finding better reliability. Then I waited for them to ship here. Then I tried to install said starter and found it occupies the same space as my exhaust pipe.

So now I'm waiting again for a new stock-style starter to arrive, and I'll put it back to stock configuration. Plus a relay, of course.


But that's getting ahead of the story...

 

[campfire]

After hibernating through the winter I pulled this truck back out of the barn in the spring time. It putzed around town for a few weeks with no new issues. I sometimes had to engage the starter 2 or 3 times (same as before), but the radiator wasn't building pressure anymore. After accumulating a couple hundred miles I hit up Luke for a scouting run. He was in the middle of moving to the copper country, which made it a logical place to adventure.

We packed the truck and headed out first thing Saturday morning. Starter motor won't engage. I crank it once. I crank it five times. I crank it ten times. It's not engaging.

It eventually engages and I hit the road wondering what would have changed in the couple of days the truck had been sitting. It had spun out prior to this, but never more than a few times. Something was different now. But why let yet another starter motor issue hinder a good expedition?

Iron Mountain has a new mural up. Kinda neat.



We stop for a bathroom break in Crystal Falls and the starter does the same dance. I crawled under and rotated the flywheel to verify that I wasn't dealing with a broken tooth (teeth are fine). I cycled it for about 20 minutes before it finally engaged and we hit the road again. At this point I've decided I'm definitely rewiring the solenoids when I get home. Or on the side of the road, if this keeps happening.

But we're moving again.

We motor on up to Keweenaw Bay. Our first glimpse of Lake Superior.







We meander across the bridge towards our meeting point.



Climbing the grade up to Quincy.



More North. Luke's in a Northern mood today...







The Keweenaw snow depth thermometer shows how much snow has fallen in this year (it changes after each snowfall).



I knew it had been a mild winter, but I was surprised to find it was a mere hair above the all-time record low.



We meet Luke in Central. Near the center of the Keweenaw. Very creative naming, eh? Having seen my starter fail twice already, I opt to park further up the hill to be sure I can pop the clutch.





We enjoy a roadside lunch and then our small convoy moves out. Yes, I pop the clutch. I have no desire to beat on the poor starter. I know I'll be needing it again soon.

Next stop...adventure!

 

[campfire]

We hit a trail heading away from Central and towards Gitche Gumee. Luke lead since he had a specific route in mind. We (conversely) were in whimsical mode. Today the destination didn't matter so much as the journey.







The trail was an easy enough ride, rewarding us with the frequent color changes that I so enjoy.





I could tell rain had recently visited this area, but it was gone by this point.



Found a trail that ended at a dirt berm. Not gonna open that route back up without an excavator.



My block heater cord came loose, too.



Interesting shed doors.



A small reminder that we're surrounded by swampy regions.



And the end of the road, where the land turns into water.



Superior!

 

[Big Ray]

thanks for posting! I do so enjoy your trip reports...

 

[campfire]

thanks for posting! I do so enjoy your trip reports...

Thanks, Medium Ray! I'm a bit bummed that we only had one good offroading trip this year. But the good news for you is that this trip report is only half done.

 

[campfire]

Back at the shoreline, Luke peeled off to attend to some other business. We decided to hit up Hungarian Falls alone.

Still not trusting my starter, I parked on a steep section of the hill.



Notice the steeply eroded bank at the side of the road. This area still bears the scars from the Fathers Day Flood of 2018.



It's still a pretty walk to the upper falls.



The dam is fenced off.



But the rest of the area is open for exploration.







We like to climb down into this cove. Sit and watch the water. It's a peaceful place, and one I'm sure we'll visit again.

 

[imiceman44]

Back at the shoreline, Luke peeled off to attend to some other business. We decided to hit up Hungarian Falls alone.

Still not trusting my starter, I parked on a steep section of the hill.

View attachment 400926

Notice the steeply eroded bank at the side of the road. This area still bears the scars from the Fathers Day Flood of 2018.

View attachment 400927

It's still a pretty walk to the upper falls.

View attachment 400930

The dam is fenced off.

View attachment 400937

But the rest of the area is open for exploration.

View attachment 400934

View attachment 400936

View attachment 400933

We like to climb down into this cove. Sit and watch the water. It's a peaceful place, and one I'm sure we'll visit again.

View attachment 400938

A little tidbit, sitting next to crashing water is soothing because of the ions created that positively impact all creatures.
It's physical not just emotional

 

[campfire]

Luke was still occupied, so we putzed around Centennial for a bit.



This is Centennial No. 6 shafthouse.





This pile of sticks is what's left of the "doghouse" Centennial No. 3 shafthouse.



Here's a stock photo of what it looked like a few years ago. Must have been a really big dog to need such a tall house.

 

[Blue85]

We decided to hit up Hungarian Falls alone.

Did you make it downstream a little further to see the big falls? Your resting place is the middle falls, which I also really like. The lower is over 50', but with all the forest it's difficult to get a good view of it. This was a stop on UPO 2018, but I think you guys were too busy with the little ones to get all the way up to the lower/middle falls. The gorge itself is pretty scenic, even down by the bridges. I'm pretty sure I've still never made it to the upper falls, which are upstream of the dam and little lake. Regardless, it's like an enchanted forest in there - great to visit. There's so many place like that in the area - practically just off the highway and you have no idea of the gems until you wander in. Come by next spring/summer and we'll go to the 120' falls - it's like 10 minutes from these falls (but unquestionably hazardous for small children).

 

[campfire]

Did you make it downstream a little further to see the big falls? Your resting place is the middle falls, which I also really like. The lower is over 50', but with all the forest it's difficult to get a good view of it. This was a stop on UPO 2018, but I think you guys were too busy with the little ones to get all the way up to the lower/middle falls. The gorge itself is pretty scenic, even down by the bridges. I'm pretty sure I've still never made it to the upper falls, which are upstream of the dam and little lake. Regardless, it's like an enchanted forest in there - great to visit. There's so many place like that in the area - practically just off the highway and you have no idea of the gems until you wander in. Come by next spring/summer and we'll go to the 120' falls - it's like 10 minutes from these falls (but unquestionably hazardous for small children).

Nope. I've been above and below them, but I still haven't made it to the actual lower falls.

I didn't label the pictures well, but we went to both the middle and upper falls. The cove pictures at the end are of the upper falls (above the dam & lake). That spot definitely feels enchanted, in a good way. The ridge encircles the falls and you're just isolated from the rest of the world. The two earlier pictures are of the middle falls. That one isn't as enchanted, as it doesn't have the quiet cove.

By that point in the day the kids didn't feel like hiking much further. So we punted on the lower falls, for at least the third time.

And, yes, DH (or HD?) falls is also on our list. We were interested in hitting that on this trip, as a group. But SOMEONE decided he needed to take a day trip to Pelkie instead of having fun in the woods...

 

[campfire]

After seeing the falls we headed up to Clifton to spend the evening on top of the world.

Up there:



The 'normal' route was blocked by a freshly-dropped tree, so we came in a super-secret back way. Most of this trail is easily passable for 'MaugTruck:



But other sections can get a bit dicier:



I don't have any pictures of the bad sections, but we wound up aborting one trail segment due to deep ruts that likely would have high-centered my boat anchor of a rear axle. Overall it was a nice ride, if a little bit wet.



Tailings pile says we're getting closer...



Yay! I like this spot.



I still didn't trust my flaky starter. So, in typical form for this trip, I turned the truck around and parked at the steepest part of the trail to allow easy clutch-popping.





Sight seeing at the edge of the world. Also, the obligatory @AgDieseler cameo.



It had been 80 degrees today, but the forecast called for 40 degrees overnight. So all 5 of us opted to sleep inside the semi-insulated truck. It's tighter than I'd prefer, but it works.

We settled into bed and started dozing off. But within minutes I heard the low rumble of a V8 burbling slowly below us. Coming from the trail side of the cliff, rather than the highway side. Hmm. Luke & co were busy, so I wasn't expecting company, but the noise continued to grow steadily nearer. Soon I saw the silhouette of a K5 pulling into our spot. I hit the headlights to help him turn around:



Yes, the led lights look stupid. But they do work a lot better than the stock sealed beams ever did.

Turns out Luke & co weren't as busy as I had thought, and decided on a late-night visit. So the kids all piled out of bed () and we started up the campfire. And then, in typical Lake Superior fashion, the sky promptly turned to rain and our fair-weather friends decided to hastily vacate. So I dispersed the fledgling fire and we went back to bed again. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day, eh?

 

[campfire]

We woke up to this soggy soup of a morning. It's beautiful in its own way, but the lack of visibility isn't conducive to instagram pictures.



Camping out of the truck made packing up merely a matter of buckling up and turning the key. Super easy, except for the key-turning part. Yes, the failing starter refused to crank. No problem, we'll just coast down the hill, eh? No dice. I did not get enough speed built up to awaken this cold-blooded oil burner. It fired, but not...quite...enough to be useful.

I thought about dropping the starter and rewiring it right then and there. But the truck came to rest in the middle of a puddle (that hadn't been there when we parked), and I opted for the dryer, lazier option. Endlessly cycling the starter until it finally engaged.

Once we got moving, the rest of the ride was uneventful. The water level had risen overnight, but not enough to cause any traction issues.



And before long we were back at highway elevation.



Tailed this neat Chevy on the way back to town.







The rest of the day was just hanging out with Luke & co, we didn't get out wheeling again. When it came time to head home, I had another round of cycling the starter. Once I got home I reconfigured the starter to eliminate the issue, so it shouldn't recur (and it hasn't).