I put Bernie back on the trail today at 8 am. It's always fun having hikers here, and he's one I'm glad I got to know better.
From there, I went directly to the monthly Spirit of the Woods Chapter hike. There were 21 people and 3 dogs! (Not everyone made the group photo).
The best place to park to do this section is on Mac Road. That means there is a quarter mile to get to the off-road part of the trail. But it allowed me to get a photo of the group in motion.
I've shown you umpity pictures of the Big Sable River, but here's another. Naturally, it's one of the best features of this section of trail. This is the river that is dammed to form Hamlin Lake, and empties into Lake Michigan at Ludington State Park. But this is close to its source.
One of my personal botany goals is to try to sort out the identification of the various types of Pussytoes, Antennaria sp. At this time of year all you can see is the leaves, and really, that's the best way to separate the species anyway. Taxonomy has changed so much, my field guide book isn't helpful enough, so I went directly to the Michigan Herbarium web site. This is Antennaria howellii, Howell's Pussytoes. The leaves have a bulbous end with a point. All the local species have light blue-green fuzzy leaves, so you have to look at more subtle characteristics. This one is very common in Michigan.
About 7.5 miles on the NCT from Mac Road at 5 Mile Road to 3 Mile Road and Back.
In other news: I didn't sleep hardly at all last night. Who knows why? Just ridiculous. So I napped in the afternoon.
 | See I've Got Bernie |
1 comment:
Sounds like a good day.
Not much sleep here last night. I'll drag through work then nap when I get home.
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