Pinkerton Creek Trail

The Pinkerton Creek Trail is located in the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park on the shores of Lake Superior in the upper pennisula of Michigan. The 60,000 acre park is one of the few large wilderness areas in the midwestern United States. This is bear country and encounters are possible. Every trailhead explains the dangers to hikers and campers so we took our pepper spray. The trail starts out sloping downhill and was quite muddy after several hours of steady rain. The park service had installed raised wooden plank boardwalks that carried you and your Jack Russell Terriers over most of the extremely muddy areas. Of course Nitro refused to use them and trompted directly through the mud. After traveling through mature hardwood and conifer forests for a mile you reach Pinkerton Creek which is easily crossed on a nice wooden bridge. A large bench makes this a great place for a drink of water. The creek is very rocky and has a slow steady flow making it just right for a Jack Russell Terrier to cool off.

The hike continues through the forest with occasional wooden plank boardwalks to assist you over the muddy spots. The rain had completely stopped and the sun was trying to pop out as we reached the Little Carp River. The river was 120 feet below as the trail followed its path to Lake Superior. This was the most pleasurable section of the trail connecting to the Lake Superior Trail that is part of the North Country Trail. The North Country Trail travels 3,200 miles from New York to North Dakota. We followed the North Country Trail for 1/4 mile to a bridge that crossed the Little Carp River. We ate lunch on the bridge while the JRT's played in the river and forest. The Little Carp River flows into Lake Superior about fifty yards from the bridge. This is an excellent 6.5 mile hike from the trailhead to the bridge and back. We never saw bears, timberwolves, or any other wilderness beasts. The Jack Russell Terriers were tired and muddy, and the hike required about four hours to complete including lunch. There are plenty of hikes in the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park and some are very difficult, but the Pinkerton Creek Trail was one of the easier ones.