I've Got Tara!

It was a very good day to NOT hike all day. I picked up long-distance hiker Tara at Timber Creek. The rain that was supposed to be over during the night hung on all day. She was very glad to come off the trail and get dried out, cleaned up, and get some new supplies. We also looked at maps.

We've been talking trail stuff all day. It's such fun! We eat very similarly, so getting things for meals was really easy. We've also been comparing how we eat on the trail. She's working on hiking all the National Scenic Trails, and my next Ludington Daily News column will tell more about her.

It was WET. She had this black oak leaf stuck on the rain cover of her pack. Very artistic.

A few of the wildflowers are trying to put on spring faces, but they were crying today. Here is Wood Anemone.

Spring Beauty was also hunkered down waiting for a drop of sun. Maybe tomorrow.

I did get to walk out and meet her on the trail. Got in 2.5 miles

Miles walked in 2026: 148.9
NCT Hike 100 Challenge: 45.6

NCT Lake County, Michigan, Timber Creek TH south and back. 2.5 miles.

See TI Kidnapped Chris

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

An Evening with Dale and Kathy

Om and I went to Newaygo tonight to hear Dale and Kathy Painter talk about their book- a memoir of a hiking life.

I've heard Dale speak before about one of his hikes (link below), but tonight's talk was more about the book. However, questions from the audience we more about the hiking.

It was great to have a little time to chat on a more personal level.

Just in case I haven't pushed it enough in other places, here is the book



I worked at shoveling out the mailbox, and puttered at things.

See Pacific Crest Trail Hiker

Fall Hike with Friends

I spotted a couple of hikers on the North Country Trail today, and then hiked with them a little way. On the right is Jane. She's got 1000 miles as an NCT Long Distance Hiker, and she just finished all of Michigan a couple of months ago.

On the left is Amy. Both of these ladies are from the Battle Creek area (Chief Noonday Chapter), but Amy had never hiked any of the NCT outside of their chapter miles. And today was her birthday! We are trying to give her a case of "blue blaze fever."

And how did we manage to get a picture that isn't a selfie? Just as we were posing, a backpacker, Korey, came along! He took the shot for us.

They started just a little south of our Chapter's section, so I got to see a piece I don't go to quite so often. I always like that.

Colors are starting. The woods isn't flaming yet, but I managed to catch some color.

Shots across more open areas of wetland always look good.

The red maples are starting to get serious.

I have no idea what kind of mushroom this is, but it was interesting.

I hiked in with them for about 2 miles and then turned around. It was only a tenth of a mile the other direction to Cedar Creek, which I also haven't seen for a while (like since Dec 2021 when I walked away from home to begin my long hike!), so I went there as well.

The weather was perfect, the hiking was easy, new friends and long-time friends. Life is good.

Oh yeah, and I did the usual other stuff.

Miles hiked in 2025: 383.7
Miles hiked on the NCT in 2025: 226.6

16-Mile Rd in Newaygo County on NCT, 2.1 miles out and then back

See Traction Treads

Old Hikers Never Die...

How would you finish that one-liner? You know, like "Old wrestlers never die, they just lose their grip," or "Old frogs never die, they just croak."

I was at a vendor even in Cadillac all day today. I did fairly well, and met a whole lot of new-to-me authors.

These two ladies were in the area from Virginia. The lady on the left, Karen, still leads short hikes on the Appalachian Trail and sometimes helps with trail work. She is my age.

The lady on the right, Ann (you can see her walker beside her) says she isn't hiking much any more, but... are you ready... she's 93!

It was 11 hours non-stop. I'm beat. All good.

Oh, the actual end of that joke? "Old hikers never die, they just trail away."

Speaking of other old hikers, Nimblewill Nomad who currently holds the record for the oldest thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail at 84, is going to support at friend who is 91 and is hoping to take the record away from him.

Pretty much, we just don't know how to stop.

See True Blue Gumby II

Meeting Tim and Tammy

 Today, I interviewed Tim and Tammy Martin who recently completed hiking the Appalachian Trail for the second time. Actually, I had met them long ago, but never really knew them very well. We spent 2.5 hours talking because it was more than an interview. We swaped hiking stories, and talked gear, and methods, and all that kind of stuff. It was a great time.

I'll be writing articles about their adventures.

After that, I went back to the School Forest with the goal of walking two miles. Guess what! I walked two and a half!

Best find was a poodle wearing a scarf.

And all this did not exhuast me. I came home and have done computer work alternately with reading.

Now, if I could just figure out how so many stink bugs are getting in the house!

See Building Stamina

Jennifer Pharr Davis

I have previously mentioned that Jennifer Pharr Davis is an acquaintance of mine. Link below (from 10! years ago) that mentions some of her accomplishments. I'm not sure I'm in the same league, to be calling her a friend. However, I did show you the picture of her speaking at our Celebration last week.



But, she did remember me. She also helped me pick Modestine, "Teeny," when I needed a new pack 3 years ago.

We got to visit a little bit at dinner at Celebration.

I want to take my hat off to her yet again, but this time, not for any feat of hiking (or hiking feet). Most keynote speakers just breeze in and out of conferences. She came a day early, ate with us, took one of the hikes on the NCT the next day to Jones Hill, and then ate dinner with us again just before her talk. That was great, by the way.

Here, she is checking out my End-to-End patches, the new ones and the old one.

I'm currently reading her book, The Pursuit of Endurance. It's an overview of what may motivate long-distance hikers and record-setters. It includes mini bios of a number of people she knows who do this kind of thing over and over. I am not anywhere near the same league as most of them, but I do understand a lot of what she is saying about what makes them tick, their lack of ability to articulate why they want to do these things, and the constant presence of pain as you fulfil goals that you've mentally embraced.

Today, I edited my brains out and also went to the grocery store. Omer came home from his travels. He says he's actually tired.

See Generations of Hikers

Time to Leave

The Celebration ended right after breakfast. A lot of people did one more thing in the area if they weren't pressed for time. Some people hiked a few more NCT miles either in Vermont or New York. I know of 6 people who made a point of hiking in the mile from the road to the eastern terminus at Maine Junction. (Vermont)

Marie and I walked up to Lookout Point on the camp property. This is a great view to the south, but the NCT is north of here, so I can't show you where that fits. This isn't from the highest point, but it includes a lake, so I liked it better.

Then we went to North Creek, which has just become an official Trail Town. The link below is the day I walked through there last year. Today, I studied the mosaic more carefully. It's a whole block long with many panels. I'll just show you the sun which I particularly like. There are a couple more pictures in the linked post. The artist said she might try to incorporate a blue blaze on a tree in it since they are now a Trail Town.

Then we walked across the Husdon River. The light was much nicer than the gray and rainy day I was there last year. This is where the trail crosses the river.

We sure enjoyed how the colors were turning. The reds were especially beautiful this year.

Before I completely leave the Celebration behind, I'll mention that last night's keynote speaker was Jennifer Pharr Davis, renowned hiker and all-around cool person. She came a day earlier so she could go on one of the hikes today on OUR trail. That is a quality "celebrity."

The Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the NCTA had 9 people at the Celebration! I think that's a record for us.

But, eventually, Marie and I had to say goodbye for now. She is already home and I am back at Dick and Darla's. I made one rest stop on the drive, at a crossing of West Canada Creek. The Adirondacks just keep giving their beauty.

Don't be surprised if I end up in the Daks again next summer on some volunteer project for the trail. I just feel like I have a tiger by the tail.

See Across the Hudson