McCormick Wilderness Backpacking Adventure

Join us to explore hidden gems deep in the McCormick Wilderness that few people get to see. We'll be backpacking and bushwhacking off-trail for about 5 miles each day, and camping near water each night.

Registration fees will be donated to the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, which protects the Yellow Dog River that we will be exploring and maintains the entry and parking area that we will use for this trip. Discounted registrations are not available for this event, and refunds will be given on request up to 1 week prior to the event.

Space is Limited!

Due to the sensitive nature of this wilderness area we have limited capacity for this trip. Tickets will go on sale as follows:

• April 2 - Attendees of our Backpacking Smart and Light class (highly recommended!)
• April 9 - Current paid guild members
• April 16 - General public if space is still available

The McCormick Wilderness covers about 17,000 acres of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and most people enter from the south gate, following the maintained trail to White Deer Lake as Fortune Bay Expedition Team did in 2018. But the north entrance provides access to two amazing waterfalls, as well as thousands of acres of trackless woods and hidden lakes that few people explore.

Only 5 miles a day, isn't that too easy? This ain't the North Country Trail, or any other trail for that matter. 5 miles of bushwhacking can feel like 10 or more miles of trail walking. Much of it is open woods but there will be challenging terrain, streams to cross, waterfalls to explore, hills to climb etc. We also want time to enjoy the scenery, and there will be plenty of opportunities to explore further from our campsites.

The hike officially begins at 9AM on June 6, but we will most likely rendezvous the afternoon of June 5 and camp together with our vehicles before the hike. We will send out more info by email, and meet to discuss all the details about a week before the event.