Pine Valley Pathway Group Hike

 
Only two people came to the hike today, but that turned out to be great because although both of these people have come on hikes before, I didn't know either one of them very well. This gave us a good chance to get acquainted.



We ended up hiking about 7.5 miles, which was enough for all of use, since the day really heated up. First day that hot here, and it tires you out.

I did take a bearing on that hump (which doesn't show well in this picture), and it just has to be Briar Hill. This is the highest point in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, at 1706 feet. I've been up it once, but it's all wooded and you can't see much. But I think it's very cool that I can now locate it from several other places.


Just off the top of the ridge where I took the bearing you get a much better view of it.



This would be a better picture if I hadn't made half a shadow, but it's Krigia vriginica, Dwarf Dandelion, which is native.



And the lupine has opened up. It was only in bud when I was there on Monday.



We took a break and had a snack on the shore of Lost Lake, as beautiful today as it was on Monday- blue skies are responsible for that.



One more nifty encounter- a bright garter snake.


In other news: I did a couple of errands after I got home, but with the heat, this was pretty much enough.

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Pine Valley Preview

 
I'm leading a hike on Friday at Pine Valley Pathway, but I haven't been there in a while, so I thought I'd better check it out to make sure there haven't been any big changes. The plan was to hike 9 miles, but I think I did about 10, because there was one odd trail turn I forgot about, so I did some backtracking.

The centerpiece of the area is a tiny kettle hole called Lost Lake. (There must be one of those in every county in Michigan). But it is gorgeous when the sky is blue, which it should be on Friday!



Most of the trail markers are the regular DNR trapezoids, but there are still a few of these old "footprints" left. I like them. Looks like a porcupine does too.



On the northernmost loop there's been some logging which has opened up a nice vista. See that ridge in the distance?



Let me bring that in for you. See the hump in that ridge?



I'll be doggoned! I'm pretty sure that's Briar Hill again. Now that I've got its shape in my head, and paid attention to the fact that it really sits up from the surrounding landscape, I can't stop seeing it. It would be about 15 miles away, and that seems reasonable for that ridge. Here's the line on a topo map. I'll take a compass Friday and get a bearing on it to be more sure.



The air was alive with medium-sized brown dragonflies. They would zoom by at my shoulder level or a little lower, and then perch down low on sticks and things near the ground. I caught one in focus. I'm no dragonfly expert, but I think this is a Common Baskettail. The pattern isn't quite right, but the behavior and the time of year are correct. Also, the fuzzy thorax, and the little bit of darker color where the hind wings join the body. Another new dragonfly for me!



There's a nice wetland you can see on the last loop I took. It's at the edge of Syers Lake. I went closer to take a picture. Do you see anything interesting?



There's a bald eagle coming right at me!



He (it's big- so probably she) perched in a tree, and I got a picture, but there are too many pine needles in the way. But look at that foot!



On the way home in the car I may have seen the same eagle, and much more closely, but I couldn't get a picture while driving. It and a crow were getting an early dinner on a road killed deer. They were actually sharing.

In other news: I wrote in the morning, and then did this hike. Now I'm fed and clean and hope to do a little bit of bookwork yet tonight.

Pine Valley Pathway, 10 miles, Lake County, Michigan, Pere Marquette State Forest
Pine Valley Pathway

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Spirit of the Woods Hike April 2015

 
I'll save the interesting pix from yesterday for another day. (It will be worth waiting) Today was the Spirit of the Woods hike at Pine Valley Pathway. There were five of us, and we hiked 7.3 miles. Everyone had about the same pace, and agreed on the length, so that worked out really well. We took the loop that led around Lost Lake, and then one additional loop that introduced a few hills.



The snow was mostly gone from the trail. Just a few icy patches to negotiate carefully, but it wasn't bad. Lost Lake is down in a little hollow at the middle of the State Forest. You can camp anywhere, but a couple of cleared areas exist that people use often enough to show a fire ring and flat area that works for a tent.





The sun was occasionally warm on our shoulders. It was a great day.



Now I need to go to bed.

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Silvery

 
Worked most of the day. Tired. We are supposed to get freezing rain, sleet, other nasties tomorrow. Meanwhile, it's too icy to have much fun outside. I don't even have any pictures from today. Tried to find the energy to do something artsy. Rose almost inspired me. Well, she did inspire me, but I ran out of energy.

So I bring you some silvery icy pictures from other days in the past month or so that never made it on the blog.

Leaves frozen under a skim of ice on the cemetery creek.



Just two different areas of a frozen puddle on the shoulder of the road. Always something beautiful to be found!





Finally, a picture I took while hiking at Pine Valley, but there were so many beautiful shots that day, I never showed you this one.



I think an early bedtime is going to work for me!

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White and Black

 
The day here was white and horizontal outside. There was a nasty wind that kept me inside. I did manage to tear myself away from the game to get some other things done. This has to happen more, soon.

So, I went back to my hike at Pine Valley Pathway, a month ago, because there are more pictures from that walk that I really liked, and wanted to show you.

I want to know if you prefer your fungus white...



... or black?



Or white and black?



If I moved my head rapidly, I could make it switch like a flip cartoon.

I really should feel guilty for spending so much time playing the TrainStation game... but I don't (quite).

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Fire and Ice

 
Just a couple more pictures from my hike on Tuesday. The late afternoon sun put some fire into the treetops.



But the parking lot proves how cold it was. Love those big long ice crystals, though.



If you want to read more about my hike, try Hike at Pine Valley Pathway

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Spirit of the Woods Snowshoeing at Pine Valley

 
Today was the monthly hike for the Spirit of the Woods trail club. Once again, there were only three of us. But Ellen has become a world traveler, gone to the other side of the globe. This time it was Loren, Dave, and me (with two dogs, Corky and Maggie).



The day was pretty cold, but sunny, making everything beautiful. We were all bundled up well enough, so that was no problem. Destination? Pine Valley Pathway. It really looks different in the snow. I was glad someone had been down the trail ahead of us. A few more markers might be in order in unbroken snow.



The dogs had enough sense to walk in our tracks, rather than flounder through fresh snow. We went 3.4 miles, which was plenty. Part of the way was well-broken, but another part had only one old ski track to follow, so that was more difficult. It took us just under two hours.



And what does one do after a chilly, strenuous hike, and a nice lunch?



I'm loving some nice winter!

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Last Day of Green / Best Local Finds of 2011

 
Late in 2011 I found two trails in our local area (I call this the four counties around me) that I'd never known about before. They are Pine Valley Pathway and Ludington State Park from Piney Ridge Road to Hamlin Dam. You've seen hikes on them:



Hiking at Pine Valley Pathway
Hiking at Pine Valley Pathway Part 3
Pine Valley Pathway Again
Finding Inspiration Point
A New Trail To...

Today, Maggie and I did a little hike on the North Country Trail. It was almost 50 degrees, and I just couldn't stay inside. Brown woods, more snow there than at my house. I enjoyed every minute of the walk, but it was hard to find interesting things to picture. I liked this green moss, though. No ID... I haven't taken on mosses yet.



It's supposed to start rain/snow tonight, and be all snow by tomorrow afternoon, with maybe 10 inches accumulation. We'll see!

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