This low area on the trail is a favorite of mine. I love the canopy of hemlocks.
About two and a half years ago, a microburst of wind flattened all the trees in this area. It used to be dense forest, just like you now see at the edges. Timber salvage was done but the area is still very bare. Since this happened in another area along our trail about ten years ago, I can tell you that it will probably start filling back in after another couple of years.
My route today included both off-road trail and roadwalk. This is just a tree along Wingleton Road. I'm a total sucker for bare branches against blue sky!
We have to cross the Pere Marquette River on the road bridge. This is the view downstream.
Then we pop back into the woods, and the trail follows the bank of the river for a short distance.
When I got home and looked at this picture I had to chuckle. This is a set of steps that take you up to the top of the bluff along the river. I wanted to tell you that they are made from logs cabled together and laid down the sandy hill. This is a pretty good construction technique in sand because the steps just "float" on the surface. They never get washed out. But what it looks like is some sort of ziggurat! You can't see that the river is on the left. You can't tell that the valley on the right also climbs up to the top of the bluff. It sort of looks as if this is a really stupid route- why climb that hill when you can just walk around it? Anyway... you can't walk around the hill. You must go up!
About a mile into this section of trail, all human tracks ended. Right here, there hadn't even been deer or squirrels using the trail. It was just me and the trees!
There is a small unnamed creek on this section that I always enjoy visiting. It's just a hidden gem in the woods. Today, I tried to get a picture from a different angle than usual. You can just see the bridge through the trees.
After this, there was another 3/4 mile or so, which included another stretch of road, to get to the north end of Bowman Semi-Primitive Area. I put a foot on the trail, off the road, just to say I'd connected, and turned around.
Total miles today: 10.5; NCT Hike 100 Challenge 2021: 57 miles.
In other news: Not much. I finished reading a book and attended a virtual book festival this evening. More to come all month. I am participating as both a reader and an author.
 | See February 2020 Hike |
2 comments:
You're logging a lot of miles this year for hiking. I wish I had your energy. That's an interesting set of steps.
Hi Ann- I have been! Gotta get my exercise.
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