Off the grid is where I love to be, and the Cobre Lake Trail certainly seemed to qualify. Located just north of Mississagi Provincial Park which in turn is north of Elliot Lake, the lake sits on the edge of the vast, nearly uninhabited Ontario North Woods. Twelve kilometers, or 7.5 miles, in length, the Cobre Lake Trail passes no less than a half dozen lakes, pushes through a dazzling variety of forest types, across bare rock outcrops, along sandy beaches, and to the open summit of Mt. Belvedere with its expansive views. If that wasn't enough the color season was making an early arrival so the colors were surprisingly vivid in spots. I had a feeling ahead of time this would be a hike to remember, and boy oh boy, was it ever...as always, enjoy!
Mileage Hiked: 7.5 miles
Trailhead Temp: 51'F
Min. Elevation: 1,280'
Max Elevation: 1,740'
Mileage Hiked: 7.5 miles
Trailhead Temp: 51'F
Min. Elevation: 1,280'
Max Elevation: 1,740'
Heading into the backcountry on Highway 546 the colors really started popping...quite early this year to my great enjoyment! Also, it wasn't far from here I had my first wildlife encounter of the trip...coming over a curving hill I had to hit the brakes quickly to avoid a crossing Black Bear...very cool!
The road crosses the Little White River twice on its way north...this is the southern of the two crossings...
Looking downstream from the Little White River bridge...
Looking upstream from the Little White River bridge...
Highway 546 meets with Highway 639 a couple miles north of the trailhead...I'd be turning south on 639 here...
The view north along Hwy. 639 from the access road...a good sign of things to come for sure!
Turning onto the access road...
The access road is about a mile long and quite rough, despite its tame appearance here...
Cobre Lake swings into view from the parking area...
Cobre Lake Panorama - My hike would begin by climbing Mt. Belvedere, high hill to the left. About 7-miles later I'd end up emerging from the woods in the shallow valley to the right of center...
The trailhead...starting out...
The second trailhead sign...
About a quarter mile from the trailhead I hit the beginning of the loop...the guide said to stay right and save the views from Belvedere to the end. I headed left figuring the lighting would be better from the top earlier in the day...
Mt. Belvedere is located less than a mile from the trailhead so the trail wastes no time starting to climb...
A small, unnamed lake which sits about halfway up the side of Mt. Belvedere...
Towards the top, the trail gets downright rugged...
The previously pictured ledges allowed some views to open up behind me...
Reaching the top of the ridge...wow...
This was the panorama from the first viewpoint atop Mt. Belvedere...man, I love this!
I found out later this pretty valley to the west contains the Little White River, which I had followed up here...
A closer look back down to Cobre Lake...
Looking north...cool to think there's only one major paved road north of me ON THE ENTIRE CONTINENT!
Another look at Cobre Lake from Belvedere...
For the most part the summit is quite wooded offering just teasing views like this...
Another quick view looking south-ish...the lake in the center is Blue Sky Lake which I'd be visiting in about four miles...
A sunny clearing marks the true summit of Mt. Belvedere...
Tenfish Lake from the summit...the reason I love the Algoma District so much? Can you see any human development in ANY of the pictures in this album?!
Mt. Belvedere Summit Panorama - looking south and east...I'd eventually be following the far shore of Tenfish Lake in the middle before crossing the ridge to the right a couple miles later...the route started looking quite long at this point...
Cobre Lake...
The summit register atop Mt. Belvedere...time to make my mark...
Looks like the hiking season is over, or so most people think...lots of signatures from early September but mine was the first in over a week...
Just before dropping off the north side of Mt. Belvedere there's one more ledge to enjoy...once again Cobre Lake is visible, just, with another larger lake to the south which I believe to be Flack Lake within Mississagi Provincial Park...
Heading down Mt. Belvedere bathed in yellow...
A cool little outcrop I passed about halfway down Belvedere...it seemed I was descending a lot farther than I climbed...
Another small pond on Mt. Belvedere...it seemed like every little depression in this area was filled with a body of water...
A large stand of spruce and fir gave this section of forest a real boreal feel, though the true boreal woods is another hundred miles north...
Arriving at the southern tip of Lake Vasseau...I had seen pictures of this spot during my trip planning...suddenly arriving in the same spot was quite surreal...
Lake Vasseau Panorama - The ruggedly beautiful cove at the southern tip of the lake...
I decided to explore the nearby cliffs to see if I could get a better view of the lake...I love how the lakeshore is so forested despite the bare rock...how do the trees stay standing?
Like all the lakes here, Lake Vasseau is almost unnaturally clear because of the springs that feed it...
The trail hops the creek at the foot of the lake on a narrow 'bridge' of logs, just visible here in the bottom center...
Now heading south and east towards Tenfish Lake the forest changed again...now being dominated by scruffy-looking Jackpine...
This is a typical bit of trail between Lake Vasseau and Tenfish. The bare rock made for some very enjoyable and fast hiking as well as some of the most unique surroundings of the entire trail...
Jackpine Stand Panorama...the trail crosses yet another open, rocky stand of Jackpine...
Five miles from the nearest road is not my choice of places to come across my first bear track of the trip...my pace likely quickened for a while after spotting this...
Breaking out onto the shore of Tenfish Lake...
Tenfish Lake Panorama - My intended lunch stop, the halfway point of my hike, would be on the opposite side of this 'little' lake...
A particularly serene bit of trail...
The terrain continued to be dominated by Jack and White Pine, with the trail bouncing back and forth inland from the lakeshore...
Inukshuk an me...there seems to be at least one of these guys along every trail in this region...a friendly sign to guide the way...
For much of its journey along the north shore of Tenfish Lake, the trail kept a thick screen of trees between the water and I...
Every once and a while I'd cut out onto the lakeshore to mark my progress...
Huge slabs of sloping rock disappear into the lake...
A rare open bit of shoreline along Tenfish Lake...I could just start to see the beach I'd be stopping at for lunch...this really got my stomach growling...
I knew I wouldn't make it through a hike without seeing 'ol Bulwinkle's tracks...I really wish I could see more than just footprints for a change...from a distance, that is...
Tall Red Pines over head means sand underfoot...my lunch beach can't be far now!
The sunny shore of Tenfish Lake's beach...lunchtime!
After driving and hiking across miles and miles of rugged, rocky terrain, it was quite strange to be sitting on a wide, sandy beach...I'd love to discover how this all got here!
Zooming in on Mt. Belvedere, across the lake...
Noting the time, I didn't spend as much time soaking up rays as I would have liked...I had four miles down but still four miles to go...if I ever winted to come back for longer it was nice to note a few pretty campsites along the waters edge...
If only I had some oars...
Once again following the moss-covered trail uphill, over the next ridge to what I hoped would be yet another beautiful lake...
It wasn't long until I broke out of the woods again at aptly-named Blue Sky Lake...now I only had to get to the other side...where were those boats when you need them?
Unlike Tenfish Lake, previously, the trail along Blue Sky Lake at times hung right over the water...
At the northeast corner of Blue Sky is this pretty marsh...being late in the day I thought my chances would be better to spot a moose having dinner, but alas, there were none...
Yet another bouncy log bridge takes me across the outlet stream of Blue Sky Lake...
One last look at Blue Sky before diving back into the woods...
I wasn't looking forward to this section of the trail. There was a full two miles of woods and rock to cover between Blue Sky Lake and my return to Cobre Lake...
My guide map denoted a 'glacial erratic' along the trail which I found kind of humerous considering the landscape in the area (like deer crossing signs in northern Michigan). As you can see though, this big guy certainly deserves its mark on a map...it must have been 20' high!
The low sun angle of the late afternoon gave the woods a creepy, shadowy feel at times...
Before the property around Cobre Lake was protected it was mined extensively for a number of minerals...here, about halfway between Blue Sky and Cobre Lakes is a shaft dug in the 50's in search of Copper...
Another look at the 1950's copper mine between Cobre and Blue Sky Lakes...no, I had no interest in going inside!
The understory was quite cluttered along this part of the hike...the colors were just coming out here, I bet in a few weeks this area will just glow with shades of gold...
A fallen giant...logging camps used to dot the landscape here, though a few old growth white pines still exist albiet not for much longer as this expired giant displays...
Another lost pine...with how thin the soils are around here I'm shocked that these trees survived long enough to attain such heights...
The late afternoon sun kept an otherwise monotonous forest hike quite enjoyable despite my tiring limbs...
This was one of only a couple surviving White Pines I could see along the trail, they lean quite dramatically due to their great height making the walk beneath them a bit unnerving...
No rest for the weary. The trail wasn't getting any smoother so I had to pay close attentoin not to roll any ankles as I was still a couple miles from the trailhead at this point...
Back to Cobre Lake at last!
Breaking out onto the sunny shore of Cobre Lake, though as par for the hike on the wrong side of the lake...there was still a ways to go!
I only have to get over there...
Cobre Lake Panorama - Put the two prevoius shots together and you get this! Looking across to the end from the southeast corner of Cobre Lake...
One of the few reamaining signs of human habitation in the area, this old cabin from the copper mining era sits rotting along the trail near its junction at the east end of Cobre Lake...
Not much living space in there! I can only imagine what life must have been like out here a hundred years ago!
This trail just wasn't gonna ease up on me...I imagined a nice, level lakeside walk for the last mile or so and instead was greeted by this...
The cedar-choked north shore of Cobre Lake...beautiful...
Along Cobre Lake there were a number of places to stop, enjoy the view, and mark my progress...
Late afternoon has to be my favorite time in the woods...I love the lighting!
I should have made better time along the homestretch but places like this tend to slow one down a tad...
Sunny silence...my knees were aching but I was still regretting I'd soon be leaving...
Cobre Lake North Shore Panorama - Nearing the end, I took one last break to take it all in...
Fire in the canopy...blazing maples above me as I near the end of the loop...
A good sign you've had a good day out is when, even after 8 miles, the end of the trail disappointingly sneaks up on you...
Before driving away I sat by the lake for a while just winding down...life was certainly good on this day...
The setting sun lights up the hills along the Little White River, bidding me a fond farewell...
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