Sturgeon, W.Br. (Houghton)

Located a twenty-four mile drive west from the popular L'Anse area, this West Branch Sturgeon (one of four in all of Michigan, three in the U.P.), is more akin to the streams of the Ontonagon watershed to the west. In the mile and a half that contains most of the whitewater in this reach, the river flows over a sandstone bedrock bottom featuring a series of slides and ledges. The slab streambed creates velocities greater than one may expect at this gradient and there are very few eddies as the river snakes its way through the woods.

Newberry Road dead-ends at the site of a former bridge over the West Branch. The latter part of this road does not see much usage, so expect road conditions to be poor in early season. At the end of the road, just east of the old bridge site is an unusual shrine to (or perhaps grave of?) 'Joe the Plumb'. This is marked by a wooden cross on which a spigot has been installed. The cross is decorated with a deer skull, and a number of bones lie about the base, along with a 3 wood golf club and a beer stein from the FBI. Curious to say the least.

The river appears quite benign at the start, meandering through the forest with snags in the stream at several points. After about a mile of paddling, the river widens a little and accelerates into the first drop, Hogger Falls. The next stretch is pretty much continuous. As with all the drops here, if you wish to scout, look well downstream and get out as soon as you see the horizon line. Eddies are limited (or non-existent) in the approaches to many of the drops, so exit may require paddling to the bank and grabbing a tree. Hogger Falls is a slide of about 8'-10' into a small, mossy grotto under an overhanging cliff face. The drop can be run just about anywhere, with a higher angle drop river right and a lower angle slide river left.

From this grotto, the river turns hard to the left and takes off into the woods again.

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