Old Baldy and Green Point Hikes

 
Today was a hike with the Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the NCTA. We chose to go somewhere other than on the North Country Trail for a change. We used to do this a lot, but the past few years we've stuck to the NCT because of the 100 mile challenge. But we wanted to see something different again. We went north and hiked two trails at Arcadia Dunes. I thought I had hiked all of those in July 2017, but somehow I missed Green Point, so that one was new to me.

Here's our group picture. It's taken at almost the exact spot of the fourth picture down in the post linked below. Different season! We did a three-mile loop at Old Baldy. (Of course there are many bare dunes along the Lake Michigan shore nicknamed Old Baldy, but this is the one at Arcadia Dunes Nature Preserve.)



Out on the bluff at the top of the dune, you look down to the lake. It's a lot farther than it looks in this picture!



This is the view to the north.



It's early April. We have to take our green where we can find it. This is a club moss, probably Northern Ground Cedar, They used to all be in the Lycopodiums, but now there are new genera. Diphasiastrum complanatum



And probably shining fir moss, Huperzia lucidula



Then we drove a few miles north to hike a two-mile loop at Green Point. This trail has three overlooks above Lake Michigan. Since the day was gray and misty (but we didn't really get wet), the views are sort of magical. This one is looking south with the big lake on the right and Lower Herring Lake off on the left.



At the third overlook there are stairs so you can go down to lake level. Here's the view north toward Frankfort.



I just liked this picture of the bluffs. Looks wild.



The best green on that trail was some moss on a lumpy tree.



and I liked this fungus growing on a dead tree.



Fun day!

There is no other news. This really took all day. After I got home and cleaned up I've just been taking it easy and looking up a few odds and ends.

Arcadia Dunes, Old Baldy loop 3 miles, and Arcadia Dunes, Green Point loop 2 miles, Banzie County, Michigan

	See Arcadia Dunes
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Arcadia Dunes- 3 More Trails and a Freebie

 
My goal for the day was to hike the rest of the trails at Arcadia Dunes. That was three more loops for a total of about 8.5 miles.

As I was driving back to the area from my campsite, I realized that the ridge ahead of me is the glacial moraine on which the Dry Hill and Camp Arcadia loops are perched. You can see what a long ridge of a hill it is.



First I went back to the same trailhead as yesterday on St. Pierre Road. But this time I took the Camp Arcadia Loop to the southwest. This is a much flatter loop, about 3.5 miles. Still almost all wooded and makes a nice easy hike for those who aren't interested in ten hilly miles on the trail I did yesterday. It gets its name from the volunteers who helped build it from the Lutheran Camp Arcadia.



The wildflower that was blooming everywhere was wild onion. Here's my best shot.



Finished that trail by 10:30. Had a snack and drove the few miles to the Old Baldy trailhead. Keep in mind that just about every large open dune on the west coast of Michigan is named Old Baldy. This is the one at Arcadia Dunes in the C.S. Mott Nature Preserve.

This trail has two nested loops, and by doing a zig-zag pattern I hiked all but 0.1 mile in this system. I expected this to be a lot of open meadow, sand in the sun, and generally hot and not as nice except for the lake. Wrong. It's almost all forested except for the final approach to the dune.

The preserve is trying to keep people restricted to certain paths to protect the dune.



The view at the end is pure Michigan. I took a lot of pictures, but chose this one to show you. It really should have a series, because you can't tell from this picture that there is a very steep 380-foot drop to the surface of the lake. Climbing down and up is not recommended. I took one picture of a small boat and people down on the beach. They look like toys.



And, I got to fulfill one of my lifetime plant quests. I saw the federally endangered Pitcher's Thistle in bloom. It only grows on the shores of the Great Lakes.



The biggest downside of this trail was that it had quite a lot of poison ivy. But I washed my legs when I got back to the car. About 4 miles for this trail. I should mention that one section is a nice accessible trail out to an overlook at the lake that was in good condition, and not all in blazing sun like many accessible trails are. Bicycling is not recommended on the Old Baldy loop because the soil is sandy and fragile.

Back to the car and ate some lunch. About 12:30.

Next part of the quest was to find Pete's Woods Trail, which was on the east side of the preserve. I had my doubts because I know the road the trailhead was supposed to be on. Seasonal, and definitely on the low end of that spectrum. Well, the trail was a nice 1.5 miles up and around the top of a hill and then back down. Interesting changes in topography without being too strenuous, and the spring wildflowers are supposed to be excellent. It was definitely different from the others.

But the biggest challenge was indeed the road. Puddles clear across the road (not my favorite because you can't tell how deep they are) and 8-inch deep loose sand ruts. My Subaru had no issues, but I think not every car would like that trip.

It wasn't a place where pictures can really show the trail features. This shot maybe captures some of the rolling topography. Pete was the farmer who owned this land until the 1970s.



So, my "official" quest was done. But I knew there was a tiny nature loop I'd never seen that was only a couple of miles out of my way. Since this is still more than an hour from home, I decided I was up for just a little bit more walking so I could see it.

This loop is called Misty Acres, in the Borwell Nature Preserve (incidentally also managed by the Grand Traverse Nature Conservancy- the same as all the Arcadia Dunes trails). The loop is indeed tiny, under a mile, but it was a very nice walk. This is a fairly new preserve, and they are still inventorying the plants and features. There may be more public access in the future.

My pictures are crappy with too much dappled sun, but half of the loop is along a steep ravine with a creek at the bottom that flows into the Betsie River. At the north end of the loop you can get glimpses of the river through the trees.

Best picture there is some bright little mushrooms. Total miles for the day, about 9.5.



Home, car unloaded, clean, ate a big salad. A great weekend, but I think I'm going to bed early to try to rest up a bit to face work tomorrow!

C.S. Mott Nature Preserve, Arcadia Dunes, Old Baldy Trail, Camp Arcadia Trail, Pete's Woods Trail, Borwell Nature Preserve, Misty Acres Nature Trail

(BP -3 and counting)

	See Arcadia Dunes- Dry Hill Trail
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Arcadia Dunes- Dry Hill Trail

 
I'm off having an adventure at Arcadia Dunes, also known as the Mott Nature Preserve. Today I hiked the longest trail, called Dry Hill. About 10 miles. It gets its name because it's a glacial moraine and is so high above the water table that early settlers could not dig shallow wells and find water.



With that information, I expected a xeric forest like most of the Manistee where I hike. Not so! The woods was exceedingly rich with wildflowers and I went nuts taking pictures. Maybe you'll see some of them this coming week, although a lot are of leaves and seed pods and other mundane things. A few might be blog-worthy. Tonight I'll just hit the highlights.

Almost immediately, I spotted the rare Crested Wood Crane striding through an opening.(wink)



I thought this fungus might be unusual because of the way it seems to flow up the tree. There were several like this. Later, I decided it's just an Artist's Conk that is growing funny. I'll have to look in the books when I get home. But, as you know, identifying mushrooms may not be that simple.



This is really interesting, although common. I'm fascinated with slime molds. They are a category of organisms that aren't like anything else. Can't believe I've never put a picture of this on the blog before. This is the absolutely most often seen one, called scrambled egg slime. And this was a beauty.



After I finished my hike for the day I had to drive to a campground, because you can't camp in the nature preserve. On the way I stopped at tiny Glover's Lake just because it's pretty. This is my favorite shot. The pink is water smartweed in bloom.



Finally, this is such a trite picture, but I can't resist. I was setting up my tent, and lay down on the ground cloth to check how the "lie" was. When I looked up, this was my view. Pretty darn nice. Life is good.



More of the same tomorrow!

C.S. Mott Nature Preserve, Arcadia Dunes, Benzie County, MI, Dry Hill Trail

(BP -4 and counting)

	See Arcadia Bluffs
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