Hikes with Loren

  Loren and I are going to try to hike once a week for the forseeable future. Last week we were at Ludington State Park. Today we went to the North Country Trail. This is my adopted section so we did some maintenance too. I had done a really good job in the spring, so most of what we did was just clip or flip some small brush.

This is the section that begins on an old rail bed. I always like how this looks. Dogs Corky (white) and Koa (black) hiked along too.

The rail berm was built up through a bottomland hardwood swamp. The water level is fairly low now, It looks inviting to me, but I'm a swamp stomper.

The temperature was just above freezing when we started, and long ice crystals were forming. The ice looked very thin, but Koa walked on it without falling through.

Because the water was so high this spring, this area which floods slightly most years stayed wet much longer. A great patch of sphagnum moss took over. It's still spongy, but I think you could walk on it. I tested the edges, but didn't go to the middle.

Witch Hazel is a tree that blooms in the fall. I love the clusters of subtle yellow flowers.

This was pretty interesting. I should have tried to figure out what kind of tree this was, but I didn't. The beetle galleries are crazy! They look like some ancient decoration. You can sometimes ID the beetle/tree by the patterns of the galleries. But I don't know this one.

This was the one thing we had to report that we couldn't deal with. Someone who is a certified sawyer will come and take care of this fallen tree. Corky and Koa just like to climb. We hiked 6 miles.

I know that's enough pictures, but the sunset was violet! That doesn't happen too often, so I had to grab it in pixels.

North Country Trail miles for 2020 is at 243

In other news: I mailed some books, and worked on the editing jobs.

North Country Trail, Lake County, Michigan. Freesoil TH to Koenig Rd and back. 6 miles

See Another Loop at Ludington State Park