CANOEING IN THE LAND OF THE WHITE PINE. 



A. S. HAWKS. 



In this era of wonderful achievements, 

 good railroading, by annihilating distances 

 has opened to us in Northern Michigan a 

 region comparatively unexplored. It was 

 originally one of the greatest lumber dis 

 tricts in the country, but when the lumber- 

 men, having exhausted its wooded resources 

 forsook it and pushed farther North, they 

 little dreamed they left behind a land so 

 rich in the abundance of natural resources 

 as to astonish the uninformed. There is no 

 better farming land in the world than this 

 section, newly denuded as it is of its once 

 magnificent pine forests, and the oppor- 

 tunities there awaiting farmer, laborer, 

 business man and manufacturer are unex- 

 celled anywhere. Moreover, the many 

 beautiful streams that cross and recross 

 Northern Michigan make it a veritable para- 

 dise for the sportsman and the rest seeker. 



In planning a canoe trip the first thing to 

 consider is accessibility, and there is no place 

 more easily reached than this. You also 

 want the route to lie away from the haunts 

 of men as far as possible, yet so near to 

 civilization that your canoe may be carried 

 by rail to your starting point ; and this com- 

 bination is not to be found everywhere. 



Although Michigan's day of lumbering on 

 a big scale is past and the land looker's 

 job is gone, there is still some of her arbor- 

 eal glory left in the form of considerable 

 hard wood. It lies North of Alpena and 

 from there to Mackinaw. Consequently all 

 of the streams suitable for canoeing are 

 used at certain times of the year for run- 

 ning logs and it would be well for canoeists 

 to understand that the drive is supnosed to 

 be over by the middle of June. Still, they 

 should be sure that the streams are in con- 

 dition before they start down, for a meet- 

 ing with a mile or 2 of jams might not be 

 pleasant, especially if one be limited for 

 time. The station agents at the towns on 

 the railways which intersect the upper coun- 

 ties of the State will be found willing to 

 give canoeists information on this subject. 



These rivers are picturesque in the ex- 

 treme and although there are portions with 

 low-lying, even marshy banks, the greater 

 part are banked by sandy slopes that aver- 

 age at least 30 feet in height. They are all 

 remarkably free from falls and rapids and 

 in but a few places is it necessary to make 

 a carry, or portage, and that only around 

 a dam. Where man has destroyed the 

 original forest, Nature has done her noblest 

 to cover the defect with a second growth 

 of low timbers ; the result is beautiful and 

 picturesque, inviting to both artist and pho- 

 tographer. 



The many winding Au Sable river, the 

 one time haunt of the gamy grayling, offers 

 one of the most accessible canoeing trips of 

 the State. One who has but limited time 

 at his disposal may there find complete re- 

 laxation from business life and its cares. 

 He can reach the starting point easily, and 

 at the end be within reach of the railway. 

 He can lazily paddle along by day, resting, 

 dreaming, breathing life giving air, and by 

 night sleeping with "the stars ashining over- 

 head." He can catch each morning enough 

 trout to supply his need for the day, mak- 

 ing the pleasure of the catch all the keener 

 by stopping short of satiety. Camping 

 places are to be found anywhere that fancy 

 may incline one to stop when night falls. 



The outfit for an ordinary camping trip 

 is all that is necessary, excepting the canoe. 

 This should be of cedar or any light wood 

 and for a party of 2 with their outfit should 

 weigh about 60 pounds. If decked over 2 

 feet or so at bow and stern it will be found 

 more convenient for stowing away articles. 

 It can be taken by rail to Grayling in Craw- 

 ford county, and there the stock of provis- 

 ions can be secured. This river rambles 

 along 300 miles to its outlet in Lake Huron 

 at Oscoda. There train can be taken for 

 home with strength in one's limbs, health 

 in the body and so, of course, hope in the 

 heart. 



A short drive from Rose City, Ogemaw 

 county, would reach the headwaters of the 

 Au Gres and Rifle rivers which offer fine 

 opportunities for canoe trips and incidentally 

 some good trout fishing, coming out in one 

 case at Omer and in the other at Au Gres 

 on Saginaw bay. This section and that of 

 the Au Sable were originally the home of 

 the grayling, but brook trout and rainbow 

 trout have taken their place. Pigeon river 

 and Black river, in the extreme North of 

 Michigan, have still some grayling, but the 

 fish is practically extinct. This is greatly 

 to be deplored, for there was no finer sport 

 than casting a fly for this p-amy fish. As 

 Michigan has lost her timber the climate 

 has changed and as the grayling never 

 thrives in rivers subject to great changes 

 in temperature the species is disappearing. 



A canoe can be taken from Ossineke, Al- 

 pena county, about 12 miles over good roads 

 to the outlet of Hubbard lake, thence down 

 the South branch of Thunder Bay river to 

 its junction with the main stream, and then 

 down to Alpena. This forms a short but 

 interesting trip, with a fairly straight 

 course through a fine farming country and 

 besides the trout fishing is excellent. 



Penetrating still farther North, the canoe- 



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