Albert, Bruno, Cuthbert, Dexter, Ernest, Franklin

  Monica and I hiked together today. You know I love silly trail games and she taught me a new one. We took turns naming the toads we saw alphabetically. We saw 6 of them and arbitrarily decided they were all boys. I did A,C,E. Monica did B,D,F. This is Franklin. Can you see him? I think Albert was the largest.

We went from 96th St to Highbanks Lake and back on the North Country Trail. That's a really pretty stretch, and I wanted to see what the small wetlands looked like at this time of year. The answer is that there is water, but it's not as clear and extensive as in the spring. No surprise there.

And, I learned a new plant- so this makes it a STELLAR day. This is Swamp Thistle, Cirsium muticum. This is a really attractive thistle, and it's not as prickly as many of the common species. The calyx is blue-tinged with an interesting pattern. Can't believe I did not know this one.

We also caught Rattlesnake Weed in bloom, Hieracium venosum. It's just a kind of hawkweed, and its best feature is the maroon veins in the leaves. But I rarely catch one flowering, so now you have it.

Highbanks is always a pretty destination. Today was no exception. I usually prefer my water blue, but the silvery color today made the water really stand out from the trees.

Did we have a good time? We sure did. Ten miles.

North Country Trail miles for 2021 is at 370.

In other news: I worked a bit on the trailer. Monica helped me do one thing! Not much sleep last night- who knows why? Tomorrow- full steam ahead.

North Country Trail, Newaygo County, 96th St to Highbanks Lake and back, 10 miles

See Hiking with Denali

Hiking with Denali

  I worked really hard all week so I could play all day today without feeling guilty. And that's just what I did!

Denali and I headed south on the North Country Trail. We worked it out so she could "slack-pack." That means she did not have to carry her full backpack for most of the day.

This is a particularly attractive group of Gaywings, aka Fringed Polygala.

I don't want to tell you exactly where she is, but you've seen this tree before. However, please notice (fresh wood chips) that the beavers are actively working on taking it down. They are just obsessed with this big tree!

We ate lunch with a nice view. Not quite enough sun yet to color the water, but it did get nicer in the afternoon.

Wild strawberries in bloom already. Spring is on a mission now.

I love how the understory is greening up- this is mostly Vaccinium pallidum, hillside blueberry, beneath the red pines. It's so wonderful to have a colorful world again! Especially one with a blue blaze on a tree.

And finally, we had to say farewell for this trip. You can conclude from our head coverings that the air remained chilly, but it was a nice temperature for hiking. She shouldered her full pack and hiked on.

We'll definitely be staying in touch. We have a lot in common and really hit it off. We both had a blast. I loved being able to help another hiker- so many people helped me.

So at 6 miles, I turned around and hiked back to my car. Then I drove her pack around to the last road crossing before she was going to stop for the night. And I walked out to meet her and back to the car again. I walked a total of 15 miles, and I'm not the least bit stiff or sore! Yippie!

North Country Trail, Newaygo County, MI. 96th St south past Highbanks Lake and back. Then north from Pierce Drive 1.5 miles and back

Tomorrow, I'll probably show you more from today- there are some pretty pictures from after the sun came out. I even did a favorite thing coming home- just followed my nose on back roads. I may have seen a couple of new ones. Definitely some I haven't been on often.

North Country Trail miles for 2021 is at 261.

See Dinner with Denali See Not Seen for Five Years

Not Seen for Five Years

  OK, it's only four and a half, technically, but it was 2016 the last time I walked these miles of the North Country Trail. It was October on that little backpacking excursion. Things look much different in March! I really wanted to see some piece of trail that I haven't visited so recently. This filled the requirement.

The theme of the hike was water features.

I took this hike yesterday afternnon, but am sharing it today because I wanted to post about bell choir yesterday. I suspect this beautiful wetland is barely wet in the fall. The reddish shrubs are leatherleaf, which will tolerate standing water but not all year round. This is right on the line between Lake and Newaygo Counties. (The road is not exactly on the county line, so there is a tiny bit of trail at the north end of this hike that is actually Lake County.)

A little farther south, we have a freshwater marsh with a different color palette. This one probably has open water all year. The reeds and hummocky grasses suggest that.

The trail actually snakes through a very large area of wetlands. I'm sure this one has open water year round. Two reasons- the standing dead trees...

and evidence that it gets continual help in maintaining the water level from the beavers. Gotta say, though, that when the beavers do fell this tree, I doubt they are going to be able to move it very far unless the water gets a lot higher!

The banks of Cedar Creek are still all brown, except for a slight flush of red on the red-osier dogwood. On the hike linked below, I stopped here to filter water.

Next up in the gallery of wetlands is a bottomland hardwood swamp, much maligned in literature as spooky places. I just think they are beautiful.

And my destination: Highbank Lake. There is a campground about a half mile off trail, but I did not go there. I ate a snack and turned around.

This made my total hike 10 miles, which was plenty for not getting started hiking until after 1 pm. No problem with time, though. I made it back to the car before 5. The temperature hovered above 60- I hiked in shirtsleeves. Obviously the sun and sky were delivering blue water. It was quite awesome. Living the dream!

North Coutry Trail miles for 2021 is at 127.

North Country Trail, Newaygo County, MI, 96th St to Highbank Lake and back. 10 miles total

In other news: It's all other news today, since this was yesterday! I painted for 4.5 hours, did a 4-mile road walk with Cathy, and now I'm doing editing. Oh, also took books to the PO to mail.

See 2016 Short Backpacking Trip