Baltimore, Michigan, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | III-IV+ (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Avg. Gradient | 46 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 116 fpm |
Quick Facts:
Location: midway between Rockland and Bruce Crossing, 18 miles SSW of Ontonagon, MI.
Shuttle Length: 4.3 miles. (See details in "Directions" Tab.)
Character: A couple short falls, bedrock slides, and undercuts.
Put-in is approximately 959' elevation.
Confluence is approximately 713' elevation.
Thus total elevation change (Baltimore only) is approximately 246'.
Take-out is approximately 661' elevation.
Thus total elevation change (full run) is approximately 298' (for overall gradient of 32
FPM).
The first two miles of this reach are a quietwater access paddle with very little gradient.
Things start picking up as one approaches "Creamy Peanut Butter Falls", a
vertical drop of about 10'. A short distance downstream, Okundekun Falls, a 20' vertical
which, while possibly runnable, should be considered a portage, river left. (It mostly lands hard
on rock.)
The fun part of the Baltimore begins below Okundekun Falls with a mix of slides and boulder
drops. The geology gets very interesting here as well. This is a unique river in the U.P. with a
river bottom of smooth sandstone forming the midwest version of slick-rock. In fact, the canyon
section below makes for some great mountain biking in the summer. "Let us
Pray" begins the action directly below the Okundekun falls footbridge. There are a
number of class II and III rapids on the way to "Cyclops", where the river
splits around a small rock island and drops about 12' with a slide on each side of the
island.
The river continues its slick-rock class II-III rapids until you take a 90 degree bend to the
left and see remains of an ancient swinging footbridge. Take a breather on river right at the old
footbridge for a mandatory scout. The canyon below is an awesome spectacle.
This is the most challenging section of the river, class IV+ at lower flows pushing into class V
territory when higher. Undercut boulders and shorelines (generally scarce in the Midwest) abound
on this stretch. It starts out with low angle slide sequences, gradually steepening further in.
The crux comes with a medium angle slide of about 15' just above where the river makes a hard
turn right. The river is deflected hard right with an inconvenient boulder on the outside of the
bend, then drops off another, slightly steeper slide of about 12' ("The Mass Has
Ended"). This sequence can be portaged river right.
The fun is far from over because below the major drop lies a 200 yard section of sloping
sandstone bedrock ("Go In Peace") in a canyon which makes for a long,
squirrelly, low angle slide. There are boulders scattered at random on the surface of this
bedrock making a slalom course of sorts. Wood is likely to be trapped between boulders, so plan
your route carefully here. Be sure to bring your bike back here in the summer for an excellent
ride. Gradient gradually slackens below here until the confluence with the M.Br.Ontonagon is
reached.
The paddle out on the M.Br.Ontonagon adds 3.9 miles of low gradient paddling (~13 FPM) to this
run, and consists of moving water interspersed with a few light rockbed rapids.
Before you change out of your paddling gear, be sure to have a look at Sandstone Creek about 1/2
mile south of the take out, roadside along HWY 45. If you find it boatable, it will be a great
'capper' to your day!
Cited gauge is M.Br.Ontonagon, of which this river is a tributary. (You'll take out at the gauge location.) Unfortunately, the Ontonagon is highly dam regulated, and this gauge is located below the confluence of the E.Br.Ontonagon as well. Thus this gauge is only a rough indicator. Look for better than 1000 cfs on the M.Br. gauge for starters.
Paddlers measure down from the underside of the bridge-deck (at the put-in) on the donwstream river left side. 12' down is the minimum and 4' down is too high. The max is somewhere between, but this reach hasn't been run enough to confidently set that value. We welcome paddler input (via the "Comments" tab) to help fine-tune the relatively sane 'maximum' for this run.
This reach is flashy and may rise and fall rapidly. A more accurate onsite judgement may be had by hiking 1.4 miles in to Okundekun Falls via the North Country Trail from a marked Hwy 45 parking area.
Since many of the slides are fairly broad (in relation to the rest of the reach) this does not make a good low water run. Conversely, the regular bedrock slides create some scary holes when it is high. This duality, combined with the flashy nature of this stream, makes it difficult to catch at a "good" water level. Those who do will find the effort worthwhile.
| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore [MI] |
Creamy Peanut Butter Falls
|
high | Thomas O'Keefe | |
| 3y297d08h02m | Baltimore River [MI] |
Log in The Mass Has Ended
|
10'-3" | Mike Croak |
| 8y309d16h02m | Baltimore [MI] |
Below "Mass has ended"
|
10' 4 | Mark Mastalski |
| > 10 years | Baltimore [MI] |
Creamy Peanut Butter Falls
|
n/a | Thomas O'Keefe |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 | Creamy Peanut Butter Falls | III+ |  |
| 2.6 | O Kun De Kun Falls | IV |  |
| 2.7 | Let Us Pray | II+ | |
| 3.4 | Cyclops | III+ | |
| 4.7 | Mass Has Ended | IV+ | |
| 4.8 | Go In Peace | II+ | |
| 5.3 | Possible egress? | N/A | |
| 5.9 | Confluence with M.Br.Ontonagon | N/A | |
| 9.0 | Confluence of M.Br+E.Br.Ontonagon | N/A |
You'd have to ask one of the old-guard 'Hoofers' (UW-Madison outing club) about the origin of the name. This is a short, sweet ledge/falls.
Possibly runnable, but mostly lands hard on shallow rock. Recommended portage.
The nearby Michigan community of Mass provides inspiration for names of many of the rapids on this run. This one is a boulder-garden.
After a 90 degree bend to the left you'll see remains of an ancient swinging footbridge. Take-out river right at the old footbridge for a mandatory scout. The canyon below is an awesome spectacle.
Undercut boulders and shorelines (generally scarce in the Midwest) abound on this stretch. It starts out with low angle slide sequences, gradually steepening further in. The crux comes with a medium angle slide of about 15' just above where the river makes a hard turn right. The river is deflected hard right with an inconvenient boulder on the outside of the bend, then drops off another, slightly steeper slide of about 12' ("The Mass Has Ended"). This sequence can be portaged river right.
Low angle slide and boulder garden for the final good gradient on the run.
Maps show a road of some sort heading near the river. We have no present awareness whether this road is gated, private, or if it can be used as an alternate take-out to eliminate the long (mostly flat-but-flowing) paddle out for this run.
The East Branch has a fine (rather tamer) run.
reach
state
reachlink
Hwy.45 to M Br Ontonagon to Hwy.45 (5.9 + 3.3 miles), Baltimore Michigan, US (mobile)
User Comments
canyon. The riverbed is very different creating unique rapids, strange side-curling waves, and low
head dam type of ledges. It is worth your time and will be a memorable day. We had to walk two
stretches due to high water lines that made it very tough whitewater. I think we wimped out on the
first section we walked, but the canyon proper section turned into true class V+ after making a
dogleg right turn. There were also some death logs crossing the river in here too, so its just the
whitewater that is worrisome. Edit