Route: Porcupine Mountains Loop (MI)

Location
Michigan, US
Distance
26.2 mi
Vertical Gain
3,780 m
Description

Submitted by Joe Kallo:

The Porcupine Mountains Traverse is a ~26mi, gnarly, technical, loop which crosses most of the tallest peaks in the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, combining several of the park’s trails. Expect lots of mud, hemlock roots, and rock. Approximately 6 miles of the loop are on the ridge overlooking Lake of the Clouds valley with magnificent views of the Lake of the Clouds, Lake Superior, and all the peaks the route crosses. The first/last 4.5 miles of the loop are on the Escarpment Trail, a frequently airy ridge with 300’ vert a mile. Don’t neglect to climb the tower on Summit Peak for one of the best views on the loop.

GPS Track

Comments

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Hey All, I'm heading up to camp with my family in the Porkies Saturday through Wednesday. I'm planning to take a stab at the FKT, but with Randy dropping the time over 2 hours I'm much more intimidated at having a shot at it. Even if I don't get the FKT, spending multiple hours exploring the park sounds really cool so I'm pretty stoked to go and give it a whirl sometime this weekend or early next week. I don't have a live link or anything fancy but will post my time via my GPS upon completion. 

Hey jlindstrom727! I hope you have a great adventure! The trail is stunningly beautiful (at times) and can be super technical. When we did it, there were several miles of shoe sucking mucky mud, and lots of regular slippy mud too. I was really grateful to have my trekking poles (which I almost didn't bring).  

I'm looking forward to hearing how to goes for you and what you think of the route.

Take care!

Allison

 

Hello all,

Gonna give a go at the men's FKT not sure if it will happen or not, but seems like a fun challenge. Cheers!

-Neil Olson

I will also be joining Neil, running the same route but not running together. Excited to check out the porcupine wilderness area! Joanna 

Ericka Olin & I are planning to run this route this weekend. We will attempt to set a supported FKT and look forward to seeing the Porcupine Mts. Thanks to Joe and Allison for creating this route!

Alison Liewen and myself will (independently) attempt the unsupported female and male FKTs either tomorrow or Friday. We're so excited to try this awesome loop!

I’m planning an unsupported FKT attempt this Saturday, May 29. Looking forward to a great day’s adventure in the Porkies!

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Gretchen Metsa and I will be attempting the unsupported mixed-team FKT on 9/30/21. Â