Porcupine Mountains Backpacking | Porkies Grand Tour Days 3-4

Day 3, 4:30 am. The alarm clock goes off and I quickly sit up to begin packing down the inside of my tent. I can tell the others have awoke as I can see their red headlamp lights through my tent walls. I head out to the bear pole to grab down our food bags and set them over by the firepit where we would have breakfast and coffee. That morning we hit the trail just after 6 giving us a little under 2 hours before the sun would begin to climb above the horizon - the goal, make it to the top of Summit Peak for sunrise. After taking that last sip of coffee, we hit the trail with our headlamps lighting the way. Our first glimpse of dawn twilight came in an opening where we crossed a boardwalk over a marshy area, the full moon looming in the sky behind us. Finally, the trail loops out towards the Summit Peak parking area, immediately curves away from the lot and begins climbing. Close to the first lookout there is a long set of stairs. We were surprised there was no one present at the first viewing platform, so we spent about 15 minutes there taking pictures and soaking up the views. Then we began the second stretch of the climb up to the top of the peak. We did it, we made it the top of the Summit Peak tower just in time to watch the sun rise and best of all? We were the only ones there. We would descending down off the peak and head toward the next climb, first making our way past Mirror Lake. The next stretch brought us through another marshy area with a long stretch of narrow boardwalks. Before we knew it, Government Peak came into view and we began climbing. At the top of the peak, we found the remains of what used to be a tower. Big cement slabs in a rectangle with what looked like the base of a stoop. There was also a campsite at the peak, and this where we decided to drop our packs, pop the boots off and take a lunch break. The next opportunity for filtering would be in a few miles when we would come across the carp river inlet and Trap Falls. We made a stop to enjoy the falls and filter from it. Given the uncertainty of what water would be like once we reached camp, we camelled up for the next couple of miles to ensure we'd have water. After passing several more cascades and another fall, we came to GP1. It was a unique campsite in that it was wide open, flat, and the elevation was tiered, so much so that we began referring to the levels by "attic, upstairs, downstairs and the basement - with the basement being the narrow flat stretch down by the creek, downstairs was our campsite, upstairs was the other GP site and bear pole, and the "attic" was where we gathered an abundance of firewood. This was a great campsite, but I was so tired. I set up my hammock and took a deep nap. When I woke, Mike had already began gathering wood, so I got up and helped. We had a great night sitting by the fire sipping cocktails, eating dinner. We knew the next day would be tricky, once you make the climb up to Cuyahoga Peak, there is no good access to water. Thankfully, it was a short hike to ES1, the campsite on the Escarpment Trail overlooking the valley and Lake of the Clouds. Our strategy was get camp set up, and then two of us would continue to Lake of the Clouds to fetch water. That morning we were able to relax and have a slower roll packing up and enjoying breakfast. After coffee and a morning fire we hit the trail. While only just over 3 miles from GP1 to ES1, it truly felt much longer. But at last we made it. We dropped our packs and soaked up the incredible view of the valley, the fall color painted across the vista. After setting up camp and a shelter for cooking under later Mike and I loaded our empty packs with our rain gear as well as our filters and water bladders. It was a climb down off Cuyahoga and back up Cloud Peak. We kept on pace knowing a storm was brewing to the West and would start closing in by the evening, though we still made time to take pictures and awe at the incredible views and the iconic Lake of the Clouds. We made our way back to camp and began cooking diner. The wind began ripping and pulled stake from our tarp shelter and flung it about 14'. We decided it would be best to just take down the tarp so it didn't get damaged by wind. It was a bit unnerving watching my tent poles flex in the strong gusts despite being tucked back behind shrubbery and trees. None of us slept well that night. What would the next day hold for us? Would weather become more favorable? Timestamps- Skip Intro 00:43 Hit the Trail Day 3 01:10 Climb up Summit Peak 02:33 First Viewing Platform 03:21 Observation Tower 04:33 Intermission/Top of Tower 05:35 Mirror Lake 08:36 Climb up Govt Peak 09:26 Top of Govt Peak 10:00 Trap Falls Water Stop 11:40 Arrive at GP1 Camp 13:09 Intermission/ Next Morning 15:51 Hitting the Trail Day 4 16:49 Climbing Cuyahoga Peak 18:45 Arrive at ES1 Camp 21:11 Water Fetch at LotC 22:37 Stormy Night 24:46 Music: Acoustic Guitar Birthday PAPA