Hiking the Wonders Down Under — Ground

Some Back-Ground, Please

From 800 C.E., Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was inhabited by a variety of nomadic indigenous tribes who spent summers in the region to fish, hunt, and collect berries. The native people were aware of the copper deposits located in the territory. At least 7,000 years ago, they mined copper in shallow pits and fabricated tools, trade items, and weapons from copper. Relics containing copper originating in the Keweenaw Peninsula have been found throughout the North American continent.
They were also frequent visitors to a large copper boulder found along the banks of the Ontonagon River. Now called the Ontonagon Boulder, this specimen is not the largest piece of native copper ever found, but it is probably the most famous. The boulder is owned by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and resides in Washington, D.C. There have been many disputes over the ownership of the boulder, but it remains with the Smithsonian.
In the 1840s, copper and iron deposits were located by European explorers who dreamed of the wealth these resources would bring. By the 1860s, the U.P. provided 90% of all U.S. copper. In the 1870s, the region was the nation’s largest supplier of iron ore. The burgeoning country depended on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to provide the copper and iron that built the nation and helped to fuel expansion.
The Keweenaw Peninsula, located at the northernmost portion of the Upper Peninsula, was Ground Zero for rich copper. Mines sprouted up throughout the area and mining companies did all they could to attract workers. Cornish immigrants with mining experience were some of the first to come to the area, followed by the Irish, German, French Canadian, Swedish, Italians, and Finns. All have left their ethnic identity on the area. By the early 20th Century, 75% of the U.P.’s population were foreign-born.

The gleaming minerals that attracted investors, miners, entrepreneurs, and laborers to the area fueled dreams of riches and prosperity, and the Copper Country is once again offering people the opportunity to share in this mining heritage. The Keweenaw National Historical Park (KNHP) was established in 1992 to commemorate the history of copper mining in the region. A collection of 23 sites work together to tell the story of the people, machines, and mines that created the once-thriving copper industry. Check out: nps.gov/kewe.

Ground-Zero Visting

There are several opportunities to get up close and personal with copper mining history at locations that offer a first-hand glimpse of the life of a miner. The Adventure Mine in Greenland, Michigan, offers a variety of mine tour options. The mine was in operation from 1850 to 1920 and includes 100 surface acres and an extensive underground network of shafts and tunnels. While in operation, the mine provided 11 million tons of native copper. Deposits of silver and copper are still present today and can be seen during the mine tours.
Matthew Portfleet has owned the Adventure Mine and all mine facilities since 2014 and is a faculty member at Michigan Technical University (MTU). At MTU, Portfleet teaches drilling, blasting, and mine safety. He also provides training on industrial mine safety for corporations and their employees. Since mines and bats often go together, he also designs and constructs bat-friendly enclosers for abandoned mine openings in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and Michigan DNR.
According to Portfleet, the goal of the Adventure Mine is to provide a history of the mine and copper mining while adding an element of adventure. There are three levels of tours offered at the mine. The Prospector Tour lasts approximately 1.5 hours and is the least demanding of the tours. This tour is open to people of all ages. It does require walking over uneven and rough ground. Each visitor is issued a headlamp and helmet for safety. This tour includes some of the largest rooms in the mine and visitors can see shafts traveling to other levels. Closed-toe shoes and a jacket are recommended for all tours. The mine is a constant 48 degrees all year long.

The Miner’s Tour is 2 to 3 hours long, depending on the interest level of the group. Anyone on the tour must be 12 years or older. This tour includes the Prospector Tour, but once that portion is complete, the adventure begins. All participants are issued a helmet, headlamp, rappelling equipment, safety harness, and safety training. Rappelling experience is not necessary, but participants should be in good physical health, able to negotiate uneven and steep terrain, and be willing to get wet and muddy.
To reach some of the oldest and most unique areas of the mine, participants must rappel 80 feet to lower areas. This requires using the rappel and crawling through tight areas to access the second part of the tour. Once the rappel is done, visitors have a choice of finishing the tour by traversing a swinging bridge over a 30-foot chasm or sliding down the traditional ten-foot slide. Either method leads you over a steep slope connecting the second level to the third.
The ultimate Adventure Mine Tour is the Captain’s Tour. This 5 to 6-hour journey takes visitors on a comprehensive tour that reaches the first and second levels of the mine. Many of these areas have recently been dewatered and feature rails, timbers, carts, and other mining artifacts left in place over 100 years ago. To ensure this tour’s participant safety, there is a strictly enforced age limit of 13 and over, all those participating must be in good physical shape, and be able to walk for 40 minutes or more over two miles on uneven and sloped trails that may have loose rock. Before the tour, all participants must complete training exercises and be approved by staff before the tour leaves. There is some rappelling during this tour, and each participant will be issued safety gear and be required to carry a backpack weighing ten pounds for the entire tour. There is a maximum of six members per tour and a minimum of two per tour. Two guides accompany each tour. As with all Adventure Mine tours, no mineral or artifact collecting is allowed during the tour.
The Adventure Mine season runs from late May to October. Tours operate seven days a week during the summer season and can be booked in advance via the mine’s website. Advanced booking is recommended to assure visitors can participate in the desired tour at the desired date and time. Check out tour scheduling details and more at: adventureminetours.com.

Home-Ground Fun

The Quincy Mine Hoist Association owns and operates the Quincy Mine and related properties. The mine’s Number 2 Shaft House still dominates the Houghton/Hancock skyline. Quincy Mine was called “Old Reliable” for the longevity of the mine, in operation from 1846 to 1945, and the quality of the ore deposits. The complex serves as a museum featuring artifacts, interpretive displays, and an operational model railroad that details the Quincy Mining Company and Stamp Mill facilities.
The organization offers an above-ground tour as well as the full tour, which takes visitors below ground. All tours are guided and fully accessible. The underground tour lasts approximately 2 hours 15 minutes and involves walking 2,000 feet across uneven ground. Visitors will see the number 5 shaft, still containing early mine cars on rails. The large mine opening developed in the 1850s gives visitors a glimpse of water filling the lower levels of the mine and examples of manual and pneumatic drilling equipment. This portion of the tour gives visitors an appreciation of the difficulty of working underground.
The Nordberg Steam Hoist at the Quincy Mine is the largest steam-powered hoist engine in the world. Built in 1920, the hoist made expansion of the Number 2 shaft to 92 levels deep. The building housing the hoist is one of the largest reinforced concrete buildings ever built and does not contain any interior supporting columns.
Another unique feature of the Quincy Mine is the Cog Wheel Tram still operating on the site. Originally used to transport ore to the Quincy Smelter located on the waterfront in Hancock, the tram was modified in 1997 with a new passenger car that transports visitors. A tram ride also provides a panoramic view of the Portage Canal, Houghton, and the lift bridge spanning the Portage Canal from Houghton to Hancock.

Planning to go Under-Ground

The Quincy Mine season runs from April to October. (So, it’s not too late!) In October, they partner with the MTU Visual and Performing Arts Department to offer the Haunted Mine experience. The Association also provides limited winter tours and other special events. More information can be obtained at quincymine.com.
If you want to try your hand at prospecting, the Caledonia Mining Company near Mass City, MI, is ripe for the picking. They offer visitors the opportunity to explore rock piles for quartz, calcite, feldspar, epidote, datolite, native copper, and silver. Experienced staff are on hand to help miners identify specimens found in the piles. Hand tools such as a fin hoe, hand rake, and bucket are provided as is running water. Visitors are encouraged to bring a metal detector if they have one and a bucket to carry their discoveries home. It is also helpful to have safety goggles, gloves, closed-toe shoes, and appropriate weather gear.
Prospecting takes place rain or shine. Each tour runs from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There are a variety of pile sizes to collect: the family pile is three cubic yards and will keep a family busy for four hours. The single-person pile can be searched by one or two adults. The Tailings pile is made up of waste rock from the mining process and still may hold treasures. A special datolite pile gives prospectors the opportunity to find the elusive and desirable cauliflower-shaped datolite nodules. Datolite is only found in the U.P. and some parts of northwestern Wisconsin and can come in a variety of colors. The most common colors are red, pink, and white, but exotics such as blue, yellow, and green can also be found.
Piles are available for booking on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday during the season, which runs to mid-October. The mine’s website offers booking and also features information on the mine and minerals found in the U.P. Check out caledoniamine.com.
Although copper mining is no longer the industry it once was in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Adventure Mine, Quincy Mine, and Caledonia Mining Company still offer visitors the chance to capture a bit of mining adventure today, and to take your hiking uniquely underground!