McCormick Wilderness - Day 364

  After another 90-minute drive in the dark (this one by Sue) to deliver us to a remote starting location, I revisited the waterfall there. Bill and Sue had not yet seen it, so they did get a tiny reward. We arrived a little later than the other day, so the color in the picture is better. It's the same waterfall as two days go.

But this time I hiked west. Before long, we entered the McCormick Wilderness and crossed this small creek that had been all muddied up by someone. Very recently, too. The splashed mud was still fresh.

Can you guess who made that mess? A moose.

In fact, we saw lots and lots of evidence of moose activity in the easten half of the McCormick. This picture may not look like much, but it's a spot where a moose had slept. There was a nearby pile of poop- the freshest I've ever seen. It wasn't steaming, but it hadn't been there long.

The other thing I didn't remember about the McCormick was how many huge rock formations there are. This is just one of many.

We found another moose bed, and there were tracks all over the place, often using the trail as a relatively easy path through the woods. This is definitely the largest moose track I've ever seen. I wouldn't say it was the size of a dinner plate, but a nice dessert plate size. And you can see the marks from the dewclaws. When these are visible, it usually indicates a big, heavy individual. Probably this was made by a big bull moose.

So, what was it like going through the McCormick? The eastern half has not been cleared since that first heavy snowfall they had in October. We had to use Avenza a lot in there because of the number of trees that were down. We'd find a piece of treadway, but then it would disapear under a pile of trees, and we couldn't find it on the other side. Remember, no blazes are allowed in the wilderness. There were a lot of rocky hills and flooded places in the valleys. We just spent a lot of time working our way around all these obstacles and trying to stay aligned with the trail line on the Avenza app. It was easy to tell when we were in the treadway. The section gets enough use that there was a slight depression, and the trail opening was clear of small shrubs.

The western half has been cleared since the storm. It was easy to follow the treadway, I think we checked Avenza maybe twice in those 3 miles. There were also fewer steep hills in that half.

One fun feature that I wasn't aware of before is that the trail goes right by the high point of Marquette County. It was an easy walk to get to the top. We had to go! This is my 6th Michigan County high point. The hill itself has no name.

Bill said, "Overall, I thought this day was pretty easy." Joan said, "Are you kidding? I would call it strenuous." I really struggle with climbing over so many fallen trees that are crotch high.(Or, alternatively, to walk around them with hidden holes under the snow where branches are trapped.) It took us 7 hours to hike the 8 miles. In the early afternoon it started to snow/sleet/rain with the emphasis on rain. But we made it to the western trailhead of the McCormick, our intended goal.

I've now successfully closed the 20-mile gap between the above point and Red Road that required the long difficult drives to remote trailheads. It took me 3 days instead of the two I'd hoped. It is taking a lot of resources and time to hike very few miles. The weather may be horrible tomorrow. The forecasters can't seem to agree. However, I'm beat. We need to reorganize the plans again (AGAIN!) and re-think this. If I can't even make 10 miles a day, perhaps I need to take a seasonal break. There are still about 100 miles west of here that I skipped, and they are getting dumped on again tonight.

I'm taking a rest day tomorrow.

Miles today: 7.9. Total miles so far: 4177.9.

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Locating Yourself in the Landscape

 
Maps. I love maps. I love having maps in my head. I love trying to place myself in long vistas, imagining how early peoples located themselves in relationship to natural features.

For example... at one vista from the trail on Saturday, I tried to determine what that white "scar" is in the middle of the view. I'm pretty sure it's actually the sand road leading down to Harvey Bridge where I started hiking that day.



Here's the really fun one. Remember how I keep finding views of Briar Hill, the highest point in the Lower Peninsula (1706 feet). Got it again!

The lump just right of center in this picture is Briar Hill from the north, and the little pimple left of it is the confusingly named Briar Ski Hill (1314 feet). Both are near Mesick, MI.



Here is another view. In this longer shot, Briar Ski Hill is hidden in the ridges in front of Briar Hill. The other pimple to the left (east) has to be an unnamed hill that is over near Silver Creek at 1251 feet. But this does show how these peaks stand out from the mostly consistent level of the far ridge. In this picture, Briar Hill (the big one) is about 8 miles away.



In both cases, I took a compass bearing just to be sure I wasn't trying to see something that really wasn't what I wanted it to be. But when I checked on a bigger map at home, I was right.

Now that you also know what to look for, you can spot those distinctive prominences in several of the other pictures from the last couple of days.

In other news: I worked on projects of mine all day long. I finished the jigsaw puzzle. I made potato-leek soup for supper with some leeks I brought home from my hike. Life is good.

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Teeny's First Overnight - Day 2

 
Day two was warmer, although it still felt raw enough that I kept a jacket on until about the last hour. I'm going to start with the very last picture I took before arriving back at the car. The sun had just come out. This is the same place where I took the picture that was the first on yesterday's post. However, the sunshine makes the view across Leitch Bayou come alive.



The trailing arbutus finally got its act together and agreed to open! Such a delicate little blossom.



Here's another lycopodium. I saw three kinds on this hike. This one is Shining Clubmoss, Lycopodium lucidulum. There are two that look something like this, with downward pointing leaves, but this one is shiny. It looks like it's made of plastic.



This was a neat surprise for day 2, because I hadn't noticed it poking through on the first day. I saw two clumps of this. It's Lousewort or Wood Betony. Leaves can be this beautiful maroon or dark green. And the flowers can be either yellow or maroon. The leaves will get much larger, of course, about 6-8" long.



I see this every once in a while, but now I know what to call it. I haven't really gotten into studying mosses. But I believe this is Common Fern Moss, Thuidium delicatulum. At any rate, it's nifty looking.



On this piece of trail, the views across the Manistee River are always hiding behind branches. It's really hard to get a clear view of anything. However, I did find one place where you can really see the twin peaks of Caberfae Ski Resort. And the lingering snow on the slopes verifies that's what it is. They are about 7 miles away. I have hiked here on late winter afternoons when you could see the lights for night skiing. Then you can really identify it!

You can also see Briar Hill, the highest point in the Lower Peninsula, but I could not find a single place where you could get a clear shot of it through the branches. I'll have to keep hunting. Now that I know what to look for, I keep seeing it from "everywhere." This is the third place.



And this is a nifty find, sort of hiding in plain sight. I'd noticed it before, but then I was with a group. This time, I got up there (only a few feet off the trail, but above it, so it's easy to miss). This is the foundations for the Red Bridge Fire Tower. I haven't yet found any more information about it, except that it existed.



There are 10 good hills in this section. The biggest one climbs about 200 feet. There is one picture I regret not taking. And this is the time of year you'd need to do it. Makes me want to go back before the leaves come out. On a lot of those hills, moss has grown on the vertical part of where the trail is benched into the hill, so as you wind in and out of the crenelated bluffs you can see the green line of the trail tracking and climbing or falling around the head the valley ahead of you. The grade is quite uniform. I'm really impressed with the planning and execution of the trail building accomplished here. A lot of people don't like this side of the loop- the Manistee River Trail is on the other side of the river. There are more open views of the river, to be sure. But I like this side just as much. It's very quiet. The hills are a challenge. The valleys and folds of the sandy hills are pretty amazing. Some of them seem steeper than one might expect of their natural "angle of repose." There are old roads that wander through the valleys. I like to wonder who built those and what was their use.

Teeny did great- She didn't rub any raw spots. I did get a tiny "stich" in my left supraspinatus muscle. I think this can be cured by me getting in better shape. Since I had plenty of time, I made myself take a longer lunch break and read a chapter in the book I had with me. That was a good idea. I usually take a short rest (5-7 minutes) every hour. Marie and I have found this to be a great way to keep from over-taxing joints and muscles. I'm trying to stretch the walks out to 1.5 hours. Each of these two days I did 3 walks of 1.5 hours, and then two of one hour or less in the afternoon as I got more tired. I'm satisfied with my stamina in this regard.

Anyway... I had a great time. I met 6 hikers in the two days. I'm sure there are more over the weekend. This is a very popular section.

Total NCT Miles in 2020 - 168

In other news: Today I worked mostly on some of my many projects.

North Country Trail, Manistee County, Michigan, Sawdust Hole to Eddington Creek and back, 28 miles

See Teeny's First Overnight - Day 1

Oceana County Adventure

 
Loretta and I went out to just find an adventure today, with a little less walking. First I took her to the high point of Oceana County. The view from there was great, not hazy. This is looking east



Then we went to walk the short loop around Gale's Pond.




The marsh full of heavy-headed cattails was visually interesting.





Now, for the big find of the day for me. Drum roll... I've been trying to catch this orchid in bloom for years! I keep finding just the leaves, or the seed pods later in the summer. Today I found it in bloom. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Goodyeara pubescens. Here's the whole plant. Notice the interesting leaves.


And the flower head. This makes it a preeeemo botany day!


Caught an interesting angle on a common whitetail dragonfly.



Then, I quick checked another short trail (Loretta had enough walking, but she didn't mind waiting while I did the other loop), and we got a yummy dinner at the Big Hart Brewing Company in Hart.

The car needed to understand more about dirt roads so we wandered toward home on one of my favorites, 88th Avenue. Sadly, they've closed the bridge over the Pentwater River on it. You used to be able to drive through.



A wonderful afternoon!

In other news: I wrote in the morning, and did a few other odds and ends.

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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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