54 Weeks Later

  I did this same hike (plus a little more) 54 weeks ago. Today, Cathy hiked with me, and we did 9 miles. I loved the spring colors beginning to show along the Manistee River.

This view at the power line is always nice because it's unobstructed.

You can really see the trees coloring up in this one.

One of the neatest features along here is the glacial esker the trail follows for about a quarter mile. Very pointed and steep-sided.

Growing right on the side of it is Hoary Puccoon, Lithospermum canescens. (It might be Hairy Puccoon, but I think I can now tell them apart.) Had to do something of a gymnastic act to get this picture.

A little farther and we were at the beaver pond. It's pretty, but the beavers are playing havoc with the trail, of course.

Then into Leitch Bayou, still along the Manistee River, but now down closer to the water. It was a windy, windy day. Oddly enough the hike 54 weeks ago was also very windy. Sometimes, we really had to struggle against the wind, and in other places we hardly felt it. But the day warmed enough that I was hiking in shirt sleeves by the end.

A really big tree that had fallen across the trail had these interesting beetle galleries.

All together, we saw about 10 different wild flowers. Here is one more. Gaywings, Polygala paucifolia.

North Country Trail miles for 2021 is at 246. Cathy is at 45 miles.

North Country Trail, Manistee County, MI, Highbridge Rd. to Sawdust Hole and back, 9 miles.

In other news: I had a zoom meeting before we left, but haven't done anything significant after I got home.

See A Test Along the Manistee

When the Sky's Not Blue

  Took a hike with a small group today on the North Country Trail. Actually, this is my adopted section, but the group chose it, so I know it really well.

Loren came up with a great saying. "When the sky's not blue you have to make do with blue blazes." Hey, I think it's perfect! The sun peeked out twice, but didn't stay. We can't complain. The temperature was extremely moderate for January. I was on my favorite trail.

There were six of us that met. (Do you like my new bright-green gloves? I'm less likely to lose these, I think.)

We hiked 2.5 miles out (to the next road) and then hiked back for a total of 5 miles. The snow was pretty well packed down, and that turned out to be a really comfortable length (for me anyway).

I've showed you this exact same tree before, but I'm pretty fascinated by it. These are beetle galleries, and last time I said I didn't know what kind of beetle. But this time I looked at the kind of tree, which really helps with the identification. It's a dead pine. I'm pretty sure it's a white pine, but it's marginally possible it's a jack pine. Anyway, these were made by some kind of pine bark beetle. Most galleries have a specific pattern that helps you identify the beetle that made it. I've showed you some elm galleries before, and they are distinctive. These just look like decorative carvings. Which is a characteristic of the pine bark beetles.

In other news: Well, I didn't really get into gear. I finished a jigsaw puzzle, and <eyeroll> started another one. This one was easier than I expected it to be. Those are candies and flowers if you can't tell. And it was only 550 pieces. Easy.

Hike 100 Challenge for 2021 is at 9 miles.

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI, Freesoil Trailhead north 2.5 miles and back.

See Hikes with Loren

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