I Kidnapped Chris

Very little went the way I expected it to today, but it was all great!

I'd just gotten started on my morning work routine when hiker Chris contacted me. His plans had changed too, and he needed to get to Cadillac. So, I went to get him off the trail.

But then, I decided to kidnap him and bring him back to my house.

I worked him so hard that when I took him back to Cadillac we needed the hanidicap spot!

I'm just kidding. Sort of. Actually, I did ask him if he'd help me with some heavy work. Here was the result.

It doesn't look like much except a bare spot, right? That's good. There was still an awful lot of earth to move where the snowplow had scraped up rolls of dirt on the grass. I really wasn't thinking I could get that all cleaned up alone before the grass got too long, but the two of us together got everything smoothed down enough that I'll be able to run the mower without scalping all that dirt.

Meanwhile, I was trying to get Chris a ride from Cadillac to Kalkaska tomorrow. Due to all the flooding he's going to have to skip a whole section of trail. Glen, from our Spirit of the Woods Chapter, is on the Trail Angel list, and he doesn't live too far from Cadillac. So he agreed to do that.

Then, Glen reminded me that we'd been talking for quite a while about about him giving me a tour of the little museum in Tustin where he lives. So after I dropped Chris off at the motel, I went to the musuem. You'll see a lot more of that another day because it was very nice.

But then Glen and Diana invited me to their house for dinner. I said yes.

Glen is the President of their historical society. He's also now our chapter Vice-President. And his hobby is carving birds and fans from a single piece of wood. I had no idea you could make really large ones! I saw quite a few he's made over the years, and one his father made (you'll see that another day). But here is one of his large ones. (His grandfather also made them, and Glen's teaching his grandchildren!)

Also, since I was driving up north, I scooted around and got the plastic recycling collected to drop off on the way.

I'm happy, full of good food, and beat!

See Loren, Loda, Hardcore Hiker

My Fantasy World

Found another fantasy map. Definitely an island with one access road. It has small peninsulas with cliffs jutting over the mainland on the right. Maybe the dark areas are swamps (I'll have to explore them) and I also see an ancient forest line. I think I'll just disappear into that world for while.

Maybe this is another island where things have begun to green up. Or maybe it's just an old dry turkeytail fungus with moss growing on it.

The red pines were wet from all the recent rain. It really makes them RED.

And another fungus that I've learned the name of. This is Crowded Parchment fungus, Stereum complicatum. It's supposed to be very common, although I don't think I see it as often as I see turkeytail.

So, what was I doing in the woods yet another day in a row? I shuttled Chris back to the trail this morning, and then walked with him a short way before turning around. I really need to get some work done here! But we had a great visit- getting acquainted a bit.

You know in my fantasy, I would have just kept walking.

But I did come home, and I got a lot done. Serious editing, some work on the lawn. A few more things are starting to bloom. The Tete-a-tete daffodils in the rock garden are looking good. I walked around all my garden spaces to see what's happening. Stay tuned.

Miles walked in 2026- 141.2
NCT Hike 100 Challenge- 43.1

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI. North from Timber Creek (AGAIN), 2 miles and back.

See A Great Day

Loren, Loda, Hardcore Legend

Loren and I went to Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary this afternoon to scout out some plans for the Spriit of the Woods National Trails Day event.

It was raining most of the time, so we didn't do much walking. Probably under a mile, so I guess it doesn't count. Here's Loda Lake. It's flooded so far up the boat launch, I couldn't even get close enough to show more of the open water.

Loda is the name of the Indian Princess who was daughter of Chief Pokagon. The lake was previously just another Bass lake, but was renamed in the early 1900s.

We did walk as far as the poison sumac, Toxicodendron vernix. I wanted to get a picture of the bark and buds. Here's the bark. You can be 100% sure I didn't touch it. I've never yet tangled with that one, and my hope is to avoid doing so for the rest of my life.

We also scouted out some other roads with trail crossings, trying to plan some NCT miles in addition to the event at Loda Lake. This is the trail crossing of 7 Mile Road in Newaygo County. In the rain, even the browns look rich, and the green moss helps.

We had a blast, but that was not the end of the adventure! Coming home (still raining) there was a hiker in Baldwin. He looked like a long-distance hiker with a pack and poles, head down walking in the rain. When we passed, I said, "I think that was Chris!"

I knew he was somewhere on the trail in West Michigan, but didn't really know where. There are no towns for resupply near the trail in our entire 80 miles, but Baldwin is the closest. Also, I'd never met him in person, so I wasn't really sure. It took us a few minutes to decide to turn around and check and offer to take him back to the trail.

It was Chris! That is Chris Hillier, hiking legend. 3X for the AT, has also done the PCT, and assorted other hikes. He's hardcore! He would not let me take him to my house for the night. He had already booked an overnight room. he would not even let us take him to the motel!

But I got to meet him.

I did manage to get a fair amount done on various things before Loren and I left to go scouting.

All in all, a very fun day!

See Practically Perfect