Hogback Mountain is a small rocky peak amongst the Huron Mountains north of Marquette. It was one of my favorite dayhikes during my years in nearby Negaunee. The trail begins off County Road 550 just north of the Sugarloaf Mountian parking area. The 3-mile roundtrip passes some of the areas finest scenery. Come on along...
Trailhead Parking Area - One of the trails to Hogback Mtn starts at this parking area, across from the access road to the Little Presque Isle area, off County Road 550.
Starting the Hike - The trail is quite wide as it leaves the parking area. During the summer it is a dirt road.
Between the Pines - The trail soon leaves the road and quickly narrows as it winds between the pines.
Hogback Mountain - About halfway into the hike some rocks just off the trail to the left give you a view of what is ahead. The summit is just over 1200 feet above sea level, or about 500 vertical feet above where I'm standing here.
Abandoned Railroad Grade - The trail crosses this abandoned rail grade at about the halfway point to the summit.
Blowdowns - Just past the railroad grade the trail skirts the edge of a marsh, ducking and weaving around old blowdowns.
Tracks in the Snow - The usefulness of snowshoes is demonstrated here. The snow is a good 2-3 feet deep in the woods here and it would be quite difficult to go off-trail like this without them.
The Terrain gets Steeper - The second half of the hike involves a number of rather steep climbs as you can see a bit in this photo.
Snow and Pines
Up the Cliffs - This shot taken as I stood on the trail gives you a better idea of the steep grade we were climing as we neared the summit.
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