Copper Harbor mountain biking Michigan's Upper Peninsula

The seven page layout of the article in Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine.

Recent Work: Traverse magazine, "flow", Copper Harbor mountain biking feature

Over the course of 2011 I had the pleasure of spending nearly two weeks in the Copper Harbor area up at the tippity top of the Keweenaw Peninsula working on a couple of articles and a variety of shoots, some personal and some for clients.

During this time I hooked up with Sam Raymond and the crew of Keweenaw Adventure Company and Aaron Rogers and the crew from the Copper Harbor Trails Club to ride some of the new trails they've been building and the world has been loving over the past few years. Wow.

This article ensued.

You can read it on mynorth.com, the website of Traverse, Northern Michigan's magazine. Enjoy the article, enjoy riding in The Harbor and enjoy the fact that good things come to people who bust their butts making them happen.

Aaron Peterson is an outdoor writer and photographer offering editorial and commercial assignment photography, stock photography and fine art prints from Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the Lake Superior regions of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada.

Recent Work-Interview with Outside editor

Here's a Q&A interview I did with the executive editor of Outside magazine. It ran in the March issue of Traverse magazine.

Sea kayakers, Lovers Leap arch, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

When I saw the Upper Peninsula included in Outside’s annual editors' choice list I did two things: 1) pinched myself 2) got the mag’s executive editor Sam Moulton on the horn to see what was up with the U.P. lovefest.

The Feb. 2012 issue has your annual editors’ choice list called the “perfect things.” This year there are 63 of them, with the U.P. at #46. How the hell did we get in there?

Personally I’m a big fan of the Upper Midwest. I grew up in Wisconsin and spent a lot of time rucking around the U.P. We took father-son ski trips to the Hurley area and our dads would let us drink a bit. Growing up, the U.P. was always the spot I was going on an adventure. There’s actually a large contingent of Upper Midwesterners at the magazine. We have staff from North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The list is things we agree on, and the U.P. was one of them.

 

Many of the entries have brief descriptions of what they are, but the U.P. doesn’t. It’s just listed “46. The U.P.” Why the mystery?

We originally had an explanation of about 50-60 words, but then cut it. We figured those in the know don’t need it explained. The U.P. has that whole Jim Harrison thing going on, the really raw, real wilderness feel, some economic depression—but with a good spirit.

 What do you say to those in the know who might be peeved that the nation’s leading active-lifestyle magazine broke the vow of secrecy on the general awesomeness of the U.P.? You kissed and told man.

I don’t’ think there’ll be that many, but I guess I’d refer them to a map and remind them the U.P. is still physically a long way away from just about anything. I don’t’ think their trails will get crowded any time soon.

 The February issue also featured the comeback story of Olympian hottie Lolo Jones (#42) wearing some sort of bondage swimsuit thing on the cover. Was the U.P. ever considered for the cover, and if so, what would that image have been?

[Laughing] Not really, no. But scenics do surprisingly well on the cover, so I guess some sort of scenic like sea kayaking at Pictured Rocks or mountain biking on an incredibly flowy trail.

 The only other region specifically mentioned in the list was British Columbia (#31), known for it’s insane biking, skiing, paddling and overall outdoor wonderfulness. Can the U.P. ever be recognized as a travel destination like that?

I think so, on one level. The landscape is one of a kind, it’s off the beaten path and there’s Lake Superior—an ocean masquerading as a lake. The potential is there, but there needs to be the continued investment of money in things like trail building, and then the infrastructure that follows. Coffee shops, bike-friendly hotels, etc.

Golden moment on Copper Harbor's "The Flow" mountain bike trail

Aaron Peterson is a writer and photographer covering active travel in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the Lake Superior region. Check out the website for more photography photos pictures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior.

Wednesday Waterfall: Spray Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Spray Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising in Michigan's Central Upper Peninsula.

            Remote Spray Creek bubbles up somewhere in the middle of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, meanders through miles of maple and beech forest—then flies foam-first over a 50-foot cliff into Lake Superior. Seeing the creek upstream, you’d never guess the little guy had it in him to become one of the most dramatic waterfalls in the region.

            Due to it’s remote location and precipitous drop, visitors to Spray Falls will have to decide ahead of time how they’d like to view it: from land, or from water. Each gives an amazing perspective and a good workout (3 miles by foot, 12 miles by float). Either way, you can contemplate gravity and the world’s largest lake in peace, because the park’s tour boats usually turn around a couple miles short of this fascinating feature. Scan the water at the base of the falls for the rusting remnants of a boiler from an 1856 shipwreck.

            Location: Take H-58 about 20 miles west of Munising to the Little Beaver Lake campground area, park in the backpacker’s trailhead lot and hike north over forested dunes to the park’s Lakeshore Trail on Lake Superior. Go west on the Lakeshore Trail to reach the falls. It’s a moderate three-mile hike (6 miles roundtrip).

            Bonus: Trade your boots in for a kayak and paddle the Pictured Rocks shoreline to see Spray Falls from lake level. Talk to Northern Waters Adventures or Paddling Michigan for help getting there.

Aaron Peterson is a writer and photographer covering active travel in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the Lake Superior region. Check out the website for more photography photos pictures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior.

Michigan Ice Fest article

Here's a link to a feature article I wrote and shot last year on the Michigan Ice Fest ice climbing gathering at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising Michigan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Michigan Ice Fest, ice climbing at Pictured Rocks in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Download the Michigan Ice Fest article and photos here.

Aaron Peterson is a writer and photographer covering active travel in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the Lake Superior region. Check out the website for more photography photos pictures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior.

Michigan Ice Fest!

It's Michigan Ice Fest week here in the Munising, Michigan area of the Central Upper Peninsula.

The secret is out, Munising boasts the Midwest's largest concentration of climbable ice and the good folks over at Michigan Ice Fest have been hosting one of the nation's oldest ice climbing festivals now for nearly 30 years. I've been shooting it for awhile too, here are some picks. Climb on.

Above a gap on The Curtains, ice climbing, Munising, Michigan.

Sydney's is where the free Michigan Ice Fest beer can be found

Yea, I like this one too; The Dryer Hose, ice climbing, Munising, Michigan, Pictured Rocks

Good things happen at Michigan Ice Fest.

Bad things can happen too, but nobody laughs out loud, and newbs still get free beer too.

Wednesday Waterfall: Miners Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Miners Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Miners Falls is on the Miners River in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising, Michigan in the Central Upper Peninsula.

The 40-foot falls spills over the sandstone lip of a canyon that was once the shoreline of Lake Superior, but today is a few miles inland.

To access the falls take H58 east from Munising to the Miners Castle access road then watch for the falls trailhead road on your right. The walk to the falls takes about 15 minutes and ends at a platform above the canyon, looking down on the falls.

Despite the snowy image above, winter access to the falls is very limited as the access roads are not plowed for several miles. Snowmobile access is permitted however.

Also don't bother fishing the Miners River. No fish here. Nope. None. Move along. Trout? Never heard of them.

Aaron Peterson is a photographer and writer based near Marquette and Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  For more of his work visit www.aaronpeterson.net

Recent Work-Marquette Michigan feature in Lakeland Boating

Check out the February issue of Lakeland Boating magazine for my 12-page feature on Marquette Michigan, the place I'm lucky enough to call home.

Lakeland Boating is based in Chicago, has a circulation of about 40,000 subscribers and covers inland and Great Lakes sailing and power boating in the Great Lakes region. I had no idea how popular it was in Marquette until the article came out and every boat owner in the region sent me an email. That was very cool. Freelancing is a solitary lifestyle and it's good to hear from readers, so thanks to all of you.

You can download a PDF of the article off my site by clicking the image below, then choosing "download original file" off the site page, or follow the link at the bottom of the page for a Google doc link.

Most travel writers have it easy. I've always found that inspiration comes freely when the scenery is changing every day. New places, new stories and new people offer the lens and the page a constant creative fresh start. Blank pages and blank pixels are vessels easily filled when in a new place. Plus, you don't have to worry about who you piss off when the article comes out, because you'll be long gone!

My career has been a strange brew. I'm a travel writer--but I mostly write about where I live, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the surrounding Lake Superior regions of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario. The cool thing about that, other than that it's an amazing place to work and play (and stretch the relatively meager bucks that come with this career :-)) is that I get to write about something I know and love intimately, not just a place I'm passing through or people I'll only know superficially, if at all.

The danger is in knowing too much about a place, which makes it difficult to decide what to include and what to leave out. Also, it's a constant exercise to think like someone visiting the area for the first time--to stay fresh. Marquette is a super cool town with a great history, but when you live here, eventually the ore docks that blow the minds of tourists become as common as the gulls trying to kill your picnic. Also, I have to live with the people I write about, which can make it tough to be honest and well liked, but so it goes.

WARNING GRATUITOUS BUT MOSTLY HARMLESS SEXUAL HUMOR AHEAD: Someone once told me that writing about your hometown is like making love with your spouse: It's important that you know each other well enough to get it right, but equally important to pretend you've just met so it stays interesting.

Read full Marquette Michigan feature article in Lakeland Boating here

 

Aaron Peterson is a photographer and writer based near Marquette and Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  For more of his work visit www.aaronpeterson.net