Loren, Loda, Hardcore Legend

Loren and I went to Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary this afternoon to scout out some plans for the Spriit of the Woods National Trails Day event.

It was raining most of the time, so we didn't do much walking. Probably under a mile, so I guess it doesn't count. Here's Loda Lake. It's flooded so far up the boat launch, I couldn't even get close enough to show more of the open water.

Loda is the name of the Indian Princess who was daughter of Chief Pokagon. The lake was previously just another Bass lake, but was renamed in the early 1900s.

We did walk as far as the poison sumac, Toxicodendron vernix. I wanted to get a picture of the bark and buds. Here's the bark. You can be 100% sure I didn't touch it. I've never yet tangled with that one, and my hope is to avoid doing so for the rest of my life.

We also scouted out some other roads with trail crossings, trying to plan some NCT miles in addition to the event at Loda Lake. This is the trail crossing of 7 Mile Road in Newaygo County. In the rain, even the browns look rich, and the green moss helps.

We had a blast, but that was not the end of the adventure! Coming home (still raining) there was a hiker in Baldwin. He looked like a long-distance hiker with a pack and poles, head down walking in the rain. When we passed, I said, "I think that was Chris!"

I knew he was somewhere on the trail in West Michigan, but didn't really know where. There are no towns for resupply near the trail in our entire 80 miles, but Baldwin is the closest. Also, I'd never met him in person, so I wasn't really sure. It took us a few minutes to decide to turn around and check and offer to take him back to the trail.

It was Chris! That is Chris Hillier, hiking legend. 3X for the AT, has also done the PCT, and assorted other hikes. He's hardcore! He would not let me take him to my house for the night. He had already booked an overnight room. he would not even let us take him to the motel!

But I got to meet him.

I did manage to get a fair amount done on various things before Loren and I left to go scouting.

All in all, a very fun day!

See Practically Perfect

Spirit of the Woods Hike- April 2026

The monthly hike for April had to be tweaked twice! The plan was for Silver Creek Pathway (not NCT), last week, but it's been mostly underwater for weeks. Still underwater this weekend. So we went north from Timber Creek again.

Even with all the changes, we had about 25 people and three dogs show up.

Most of the group did 6 miles or fewer (to 8th St and back). My goal was to do 8 miles again. One other hiker, Eric, wanted to go farther too, so we did! Notice the NCT emblem with black around the central star. That is a really old sticker and it still looks good. I can't even remember when that was changed to have a lighter color. Before 2005 for sure.

So, this is the section I hike ALL THE TIME, and the woods isn't turning green yet, so I struggle to get photos of anything remotely new. But Eric and I went north of 8th St, and then we decided to bushwhack over to the Ward Hills Fire Tower site. That is a favorite place of mine to visit.

Here's the foundation for the keeper's house, again.

And the view west from the top of the hill (toward Scottville and Ludington). The trees are all grown up, and the only times you get any view at all is when there are no leaves.

It warmed up nicely by mid-day, and we ended up in shirtsleeves. The sun at least made the green moss glow.

We did a total of 8.2 miles. I feel pretty good, but didn't get a lot more done this afternoon.

Miles walked in 2026: 137.2
NCT Hike 100 Challenge 2026: 39.1

North Country Trail, Lake Co. Michigan, north 3.5 miles, then bushwhack to Ward Hills Fire Tower site, back to NCT via road, back on NCT to Timber Creek. NCT 6.5 miles, other 1.7 miles. Overall elevation range 360 feet.

See Eight Miles for Spring

A Returning Regular

I looked out the kitchen window and saw two pale shapes on the ground. Couldn't decide what they were.

Before I got back with the camera, one of them was gone. But the other was still there. What is it?

Did you know? It's a flicker. This is a woodpecker, but one that spends most of its time on the ground. This is a male- note the black moustache. It was probably a pair, but the female flew away.

Lots more flicker info through the link below if you want. I really love the way they look. And you can't see the yellow undersides of the wing feathers here, but it's stunning when they show it off.

I hunkered down and worked hard today. Got stuff done on all current projects. Did errands. Silver star for me (I should be doing a couple other things too, so no gold).

See Northern Flicker

More Rock Garden Surprises

I'm going to start right out with the big, big surprise. You might remember that I managed to dig up the pasqueflower that came up in the yard and move it back to the rock garden. Took me two years. I marked it in 2024, but then it died back and I couldn't find it, but I got it last year.

I had originally purchased three varieties of pasqueflower, Pulsatilla vulgaris: the common purple one, one called 'Papavera' which has a variety of colors, and 'Rubra' with red flowers. Well! The one I rescued from the yard is one of the two that isn't purple! I'm guessing 'Rubra,' but will see if all the flowers are red. Big smile from me, either way!

And the regular purple one is blooming now too.

Now back to more about the 'Gold Nugget' Sempervivum. Patch 2 is still really red. Picture from a different angle.

And the other patch (1) that wasn't red before is getting a deeper color.

And here is the status of the space that I was really hoping would come back after winter. This is the 'Black' Sempervivum with the Lewisia at 4 and 9 o'clock. All alive! I was pretty confident of the Sempervivum, but I've killed Lewisia before, so that was a concern.

I edited, I worked on all my projects (although not enough on the taxes), I cleaned up the yard a little, blah, blah

In disappointing news, I could be the owner of the 'Topaz Jazz' Heuchera. For $30. That's not going to happen Ha! I need to be saving to finish my dental work.

See TRock Garden Surprise

Eight Miles at Bowman

Got in a good hike with Cathy and here is the selfie to prove it!.

We had planned to hike in the warmer part of the day, but then I found out I had a meeting right after lunch, so we went earlier. Temperature was hovering right at 32° and it snowed on us for a while. But it did warm up a bit before we finished.

The red morning sky really didn't live up to its reputation. I don't think a few snow flurries counts for much in the way of storming. But it was very pretty.

My goal was to walk eight miles. We started at the north parking area and walked south for four miles on the NCT. I usually do the loop, half of which is not NCT, but I wanted miles that would count for Hike 100 today. This took us south of 56th St for an additional mile. Then we had a snack and turned back.

Bowman Lake is one of my favorite places on our trail. It's a glacial kettle lake. Looks a little hazy with the snow flurries.

This is a sight you don't really see in the summer. This is the ridge of hills on the northeast side of the Pere Marquette River, across the river from where we were.

Then we ran into a trail crew! Jack was out cutting downed trees, and Sue and Kathy were swamping for him. Dumb me, I didn't take a picture of them working. We had been thinking that the trail was pretty clear without too many things to step over, but now it's completely clear between 56th and 40th Streets!

We moved one of their vehicles for them so they wouldn't have to backtrack, and I made it to my meeting on time.

I'm trying to stretch my mileages. We did the full eight, and my hips and knees were a little stiff but OK. And I was tired, but I did manage to work on a few things in the afternoon. I wasn't totally done in. Elevation max and min were only 125 feet apart, but there were numerous ups and downs, so this was a good workout.

Miles walked in 2026: 129.0
Hike 100 Challenge 2026: 32.6

North Country Trail, Lake Co. Michigan, 40th St south four miles and back for 8 total.

See Bowman Lake 2024