Hogback Mountain (3.0 miles; d=4.40)
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Hogback Mountain Hike Route Map
An approximate track of my hike up Hogback Mountain as depicted a la Google Earth...
Hogback Mountain Hike Route Map
An approximate track of my hike up Hogback Mountain...
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.
The trail is quite wide as it leaves the parking area. During the summer it is a dirt road.
The trail soon leaves the road and quickly narrows as it winds between the pines.
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.
The trail crosses this abandoned rail grade at about the halfway point to the summit.
Just past the railroad grade the trail skirts the edge of a marsh, ducking and weaving around old blowdowns.
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 second half of the hike involves a number of rather steep climbs as you can see a bit in this photo.
This shot taken as I stood on the trail gives you a better idea of the steep grade we were climbing as we neared the summit.
The only trail sign you'll find on the whole route is just a quarter mile from the summit. Its still a 200 foot vertical climb from this point however.
As you climb out of the trees you see for the first time how high you've climbed.
Looking east to Lake Superior just below Hogback's summit.
Looking east to the Marquette area's more well-known but shorter peak, Sugarloaf Mtn.
The summit rocks of Hogback Mountain.
Looking west towards the Negaunee Iron Range.
Looking west
Looking north-west towards the Huron Mountains.
owards the west end of Marquette.
The Presque Isle Power Plant and the Superior Dome are about the only two buildings you can clearly see from the summit.
In the winter the alternate route is whatever you make it. I like to head down off the west side of the summit, dropping into a narrow notch in the mountain filled with small birch trees. In the summer there is usually quite a bit of standing water here.
