Ohio Trail Fest- Saturday

  Last day of the Trail Fest in Ohio. Started with a hike to two locations of interest within the park. There was also a good place to get a picture of the actual reservoir- Salt Fork Lake.

We walked to a shelf cave called Hosak's Cave that has a little waterfall flowing over the top. Well, it's not TOO small- probably 25 feet high.

The other place is Stone House. This was built in 1840 and belonged to one family until it was sold to the state when the reservoir was built in the 1960s. It's made from blocks of local sandstone.

In the afternoon, I attended a workshop about the American Chestnut that was very interesting. I learned some stuff. Then I got in on the second half of another workshop about land protection.

Next up, the Buckeye Trail recognized those who finished hiking the entire 1440 miles of that trail this year.

And I gave a short presentation about the Long-Distance Hiker Recognition program for the North Country Trail.

Then we finally had dinner! Tacos and stuff. After that was the actual awards program. Organizations such as the NCTA and BTA depend strongly on volunteers and giving them recognition is a big part of keeping that morale up. One thing the BTA does is to give out scholarships. You may remember that I stayed with a family in the Dayton area on my big hike.

Their oldest daughter, Oakley, won one of the scholarships!

It has been a whirlwind of activity. Nearly everyone knows me, and I do nonstop talking, hugging, joking, and answering questions at these events. Great stuff, but exhausting.

Now, I'm going to bed!

Miles walked in 2026: 323.8

See Ohio Trail Fest-Friday

Ohio Trail Fest- Friday

 Started the day with the longest hike that is offered. It was about 7.75 miles total with 5.25 of them being Buckeye/North Country Trail, and the rest a connection to loop back to the cars. It was hilly, muddy, humid and buggy. Perfect! There was a pretty good sized group, but I didn't get any pictures that show how many.

We took a snack break at one point where there were fewer bugs. The two younger women were our hike leaders. And Juki the pup.

I had a lot of trouble identifying where exactly we were. I didn't realize the BT maps weren't installed on this phone. (They are now.) But I think this is Salt Fork Creek.

One couple that was on the hike were Kim and Bob Rosatti from New York. Bob is the volunteer who has taken over Mary Coffin's role in trying to complete trail through the Adirondacks. Between him and Will Brazill- the NY/VT Regional Trail coordinator that Bill and I met last year things are really coming together.

In the afternoon, I attended one of the workshops on some Ohio history. I didn't know that Salt Fork State Park is the largest SP in Ohio.

Then I had to finish my presentation for tomorrow on the Long-Distance Hiker program. Got that done!

Nice short talk by Mary Mertz the Director of the Ohio State Parks. She really supports the Buckeye and North Country Trails.

After dinner, they showed an award-winning movie called Ohio- Wild at Heart that was really beautiful and worthy of awards.

There was a campfire after that with Bigfoot stories. I skipped that. I'm pretty overwhelmed with people stuff. All good, but I think I'm at my limit for the day. Back in the tent.

Milies walked in 2026: 319.8
NCT miles hiked in 2026: 128

See Arrived at Salt Fork

Spirit of the Woods Hike- September 2026

 I missed the August hike because I was at a vendor event. Today, we had about 35 hikers! Huge group, but they get spread out pretty quickly due to different hiking speeds.

Except for a hike at the Trail Fest, this was my last chance to get in a good workout. Four of us quickly moved to the front of the pack. Roxy (L) is a regular, Barb (C), and Amber (R) were first timers with our group. We had some good talks about trail stuff.

This was at 96th St, which is our chapter's southern boundary. But I wanted to go farther before turning around. I think others did too, but I went on alone, because I knew I was probably going the longest distance of anyone.

I went until I hit where an old logging RR crosses the trail before I turned around. I had told the hike leader not to worry about waiting for me to return since I was going farther, but the guy (one of our Dans) who was sweep (the person who stays at the end and makes sure we don't lose anyone) did stay and I met up with him on the way back. That was actually very nice, because we hadn't had a good talk for quite a while. We have quite a bit in common.

I like this little grouping of mushrooms. No clue what they are.

Our chapter has added a couple of structural items on this section this year. One is the other trail register. I've talked about it, and showed pictures the day we installed the northern one. This just proves we have the other one. It's beside the Ed Chappel boardwalk and deck which was built 2009-2011.

Also added in 2026 are two of these little bridges with turnpike approaches over seasonally wet (and sometimes with running water) areas. You can look at these and just know that Pete built them. They are perfect.

There will be one more work project in this area this year, to put on the rest of the traction strips. Today was a good test of those because there was some heavy rain in the night and the wood was slimy. We put one strip in the center of every other 2x6 decking board. It is possible to slip with this spacing, especially if you have small feet. But if you are careful to get either the ball or heel of your shoe on a strip they are great. The Forest Service is again providing these for us. They are expensive, but they will last much better than any other option. I'll miss that work day, and the October hike.

I've done a few things to get ready since getting home, but I figured with a long hike, I'd be pretty tired.

Miles walked in 2026: 312
NCT miles walked in 2026: 122.7

North Country Trail from Jenks Rd TH to RR grade south of 96th St and back. Lake and Newaygo Counties, MI. NCT 4 miles each way, extra to get to car because parking was really full! 0.8 mile. Total 8.8 miles.

See Spirit of the Woods Hike - July 2026

Modern Dentistry Is Amazing!

 Today I had the tooth that could be saved fixed. What they did today used to take a couple of months. This took 2 hours!

The blue line points to the screw-on nut that is keeping the dental implant covered until I can afford to get that tooth made.

The black line points to the crown they did today. I know... best tooth in my mouth, right?

It used to be that you had to get the rot drilled out of the tooth and filled. Then they would take an impression. That would be sent to the lab. In about a month a temporary crown came back and that would be fitted, trying to fashion it so that your bite wouldn't be altered. Then it would go back to the lab again. The final crown would come in another month, and it might be really good or not. And it was usuallly gold. I have a couple of those.

Of course, I had a lot of crowns on my front teeth before the partial plate was made. If you missed the whole long, sad dental saga of my life, and care, you can click the link. The point is, I've been subjected to a lot of bad dentisry, and some good but still brutal dentistry over the last 69 years. This was quite different.

They do almost none of that anymore, except drill and fill the bad tooth if needed. It was needed. But the filling material is some newer product that they squeeze in with something like a pastry bag. No more scooping and tamping until they think the crevices are filled.

Then...and this is the best... no more impressions that make you gag. The tech uses a small, hand-held 3-D scanner and just keeps waving it around inside your mouth until the computer builds an accurate picture of your teeth and gums.

This is that part of my lower jaw with the cover on the implant post (the round thing). The white part is the dentist's first go at computer-generating the crown. There was a previous view without the crown that tells the computer how to make it fit on the old tooth. The purple is just like you remember... it's where the tooth is going to hit the upper teeth, so he took a little bit off that.

They also do a scan with your mouth closed, so they can get the accurate bite. And the details of my partial plate are rendered quite accurately.

A machine grinds the shape of the cap out of a block of lithium disilicate. Then they check that for proper fit and decent bite. At this point, the crown is very fragile.

But, it's actually a type of porcelain. So then in goes into a kiln for about 20 minutes and comes out hard and perfect. One last fitting, glue it on, and out the door. I think this is the only crown I've ever had made that didn't mess with the bite. And no restrictions- I can eat and chew as desired right away.

Basically, not painful at all. They use a numbing jelly before they inject the... whatever it is. I'm sure it's not novacaine any more. It had all worn off by about 1 pm, and the only consequence was a tiny bit of a headache.

I am in awe of the speed, efficiency, technology, and painlessness of the entire process.

As a reminder, this is part 3 of a 4-part, expensive project.
1. Remove broken molar- last fall
2. Replace that hole with an implant- over the winter
3. Crown on the rotten tooth next to that one- today
4. Crown on the implant- as soon as I can save enough money.

I am blogging early today because I have a meeting later, and I'm going to take a short walk on the way to it. Most of what I did today was dentist and prep for the meeting.

Later:
Miles walked in 2026: 303.2
NCT miles walked in 2026: 114.7

North Country Trail, Lake Co, MI. North from 40th St for 1.25 miles and back. 2.5 hot, humid miles.

See Scouting Out the Dental Landscape

Hiking with Kate

 Today, I got to take a hike with the brand new Executive Director of the North Country Trail Association. She is spending time visiting with a few of us "old f*rts" who have been around long enough to see a lot of things happen with the trail. Her name is Kate Hagner.

We could have met over coffee, but how much better to take a hike together!

We went to Sterling Marsh so I could show her the massive boardwalk project our chapter did a few years ago. There's a bit of open water.

Just proof that we made it all the way to the beginning of the 13 boardwalks. Yes, each one is numbered.

She signed our fairly new trail register! I'm thrilled to see that about 4 pages of entries have already been made.

We talked the whole way about hopes and dreams for the trail. I'm afraid I did more of the talking. I guess that was kind of the purpose, but still... I could have shut up and done more listening. Nevertheless, I got to tell her my personal hot buttons on trail issues, so I feel valued. Her head must be spinning as she does this with a whole bunch of trail people.

Best nature find- A tooth fungus.

At first, I didn't think that's what it was because I didn't see the teeth. The edges are smooth. But they are hiding back in there!

We did about 3.5 miles. She got to see the Ed Chappel boardwalk and a very pretty section of trail. And listen to me- what a treat! Ha (I really did talk too much but hopefully she'll forgive me.)

Miles walked in 2026: 290.7
Miles on the NCT in 2026: 112.2
Onekama Challenge: 102.5- complete!

North Country Trail, Lake Co, Michigan, Jenks TH south 1.75 miles and back.

See NCTA Introduces New Executive Director

10 Miles = Hike 100 Challenge

 It took a little longer than last year, but I finished the 2026 Hike 100 Challenge today. It wasn't planned, but it seems fitting that I accomplished it at the place the trail is closest to my house.

I pulled this off with a ten-mile hike on the North Country Trail today. In fact, it's the first ten-mile hike I've done this year. I needed to accomplish one for sure before I commit to my hopeful hike this fall.

Well, I did it. And I did it in 88% humidity. The temperature was decent, but I was soaking wet when I got home and not because it rained. It WAS supposed to rain, but it didn't. My knees and hips are tired, but not impossibly painful, and the joints didn't seize up like concrete after I got home.

Two nice finds on the trail. This is a group of Inky Cap mushrooms.

Best find of all was a really large blue racer. They aren't endangered, but they are becoming more rare.

Here's a closer look at his head. He was right beside the trail, but he let me pass.

I didn't do much else today. I figured the long hike would be enough. It took me just over 3.5 hours. I did take one snack break, so that was pretty close to a 3 mile/hour pace. I chose the route on purpose because it has decent elevation change. Not sure about all the ups and downs in between, but overall, I climbed 260 feet from beginning to turnaroud. If I'd been willing to make it an 11-mile hike I could have climbed another 130 feet. Maybe another day. That's a fair amount of elevation change for around here, so even though it's such a familiar hike to me, it's a good workout.

Miles walked in 2026: 287.2
Hike 100 Challenge 2026: 108.7= Complete
Onekama Challenge: 99.0 miles! I'll complete that tomorrow.

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI. Wingleton Rd to 8th St and back. 10 miles

See 2025 Hike 100

Vince Smith Connections

Today was SO amazing!

Over and over, you've seen pictures of the Vince Smith Memorial Bridge that carries the North Country Trail over the Big Sable River. You might remember that the Forest Service and our trail chapter took out the old wooden bridge and replaced it with a fiberglass reinforced polymer bridge. That was in 2016. (The Forest Service wanted a bridge that didn't have footers in the river.)

The question of the day is, "Who was Vince Smith?" The answer, as we knew it, is that he was a key volunteer with the North Country Trail Association in the early days, before we were a chapter. We knew he spent a lot of time working on trail in the Manistee National Forest, and that the bridge had been named in his memory after he died of cancer. There was an article about him in the North Country Trail Association Newsletter (it wasn't even called the North Star yet) after he died, with a very useless, grainy picture.

The chapter had one tenuous connection. One of our charter members, Gordie Wilkes, had worked with Vince on the trail before he passed away.

Today, I got to meet his daughter Maureen (Mo), and nephew Craig, and their spouses. Here are Mo and Toby, Robin and Craig, on the end of the new bridge with the refurbished sign showing as well.

We got Mo and Craig down on the level with the sign.

Mo has sent me some newspaper articles, and this picture of Vince taken from the Ann Arbor News in 1991 is the best we've ever seen.

After visiting the bridge, we all hiked farther. Craig and Robin had their dogs Ila and Tanner with them. Here's Ila cooling off in the river. I guess I didn't get a picture of Tanner.

And we visited the "Blue Hole," a spring on the edge of the river.

Mo, Craig, the dogs and I hiked 6 miles on the trail plus the 0.3 to access the cars. Then we all went for ice cream at the Sweetfern Cafe.

This fills out a very incomplete story for me and our chapter that we've always wanted to know more about. I'll be writing an article for our chapter newsletter. And we had a great time!

Here is the original bridge the summer after our chapter formed. This is in 1999.

And here it is on one of our chapter hikes in 2015, the last year of the wooden bridge.

Miles walked in 2026: 263.8
Hike 100 Challenge: 98.7 (really close!)
Onekama Challenge: 75.6 (met the weekly goal)

North Country Trail, Lake Co., Michigan. South from 5-Mile Road, 3 miles out and back plus walk to car.

See Trail Adopter Training Day

Can You Guess Where I Went?

I'm working hard to stay on track with the goal I set for the Onekama Challenge. Today I hiked 7 miles. Can you tell where? If you are local and know the trail, you probably recognize this scene.

This remains one of my favorite local hikes. There is a loop, but today I did both directions on the North Country Trail part so that all the miles would count for Hike 100. This is Bowman Lake.

The lily pads were healthy and dragonflies were skittering around.

I found a Blue Jay feather. Nothing of interest was in bloom, but there will be in a couple weeks. We'll see if I get back there.

Tomorrow, unless something goes awry, I am meeting someone interesting for a hike, and this will complete the week-three goal for the challenge as well. So, tomorrow's post will probably include something quite new.

In other news: I edited and had a Zoom meeting in the morning.

Miles walked in 2026: 257.5
Hike 100 Challenge: 92.7
Onekama Challenge: 69.3

North Country Trail, Lake Co, Michigan, 40th St to 56th St and back. 7 miles.

See Taking MOWA to the Trail

Spirit of the Woods Hike- July 2026

Today's hike was on a section of trail that, somehow, the group has not hiked recently. It's hilly but very pretty.

Here's the group- 19 in the picture, one more showed up. Several people we hadn't seen for a while, and one person who took her very first North Country Trail hike today!

This section is mostly on the bluff high above the Manistee River. There aren't many view spots in the summer with all the leaves. And it's too hazy for the far bluff to show in the picture, but it's over there in the bright spot.

Not much blooming as far as flowers. Some tick trefoil, but my picture isn't in focus.

Several nice puddles of northern maidenhair fern- always one of my favorites. Adiantum pedatum

Parasitic plants were represented. Here is indian pipe, Monotropa uniflora. A small patch, but always interesting to find.

We also saw bear corn, Conipholis americana, and I thought I took a picture, but it's not on the SD card, so who knows what happened. Sort of looks like cream-colored pinecones growing out of the ground.

We did see a beautiful patch of one of the Clavaria fungi. Basically a coral fungus. The names have changed like crazy. I used to call this one Crowned clavaria because the ends of the stalks are divided into little "crowns," and its name then was Clavaria coronata. It seems to have changed more than once, and is now Artomyces pyxidatus.

Most everyone walked 6 miles total, and a few did shorter distances as they were able. Five of us went farther and did 7 NCT miles plus the little bit extra to get to the cars.

Miles walked in 2026: 203.5
Hike 100 challenge 2026: 69.75

North Country Trail, Manistee County, from Coates Highway south 3.5 miles and back plus roadwalk to cars. 7.4 miles.

Not a lot else happened today. We started early and got most of the hike done before the air heated up. My temperature/humidity internal sensors started giving off warning signals about a mile before I finished, but it wasn't too bad.

Here's a news flash! Despite the fact that we live on a major highway, Google can not seem to understand where we live. I had tried 7 times to get them to change it, including sending a picture of my driveway and mailbox on request, but they basically said that I don't know where I live.

I tried again a few days ago. Try #8. I got notice that my correction has been accepted! Amazing! Now we'll find out if that is real.

Some of the proof of my claim that they wouldn't change it. And at the bottom, this week, it was accepted. This has irked me to no end, and has resulted in several lost packages, so I'll be very happy if it's fixed.

See Spirit of the Woods- June 2026