Mostly Confidence Camp Prep

The day began with taking Tara back to the trail fairly early in the morning. No rain- hooray!

But the entire rest of the day was getting ready for Confidence Camp. I had to hustle back from dropping off Tara because Doug was coming to make sure we have a driveable lane back to the campsite. Mostly that meant getting rid of autumn olive. (Now, this method is efficient!)

I had a very minimal amount of work that I thought would accomplish what I needed. Doug said, "I'm your equipment guy! If I come over, I'm doing it right."

And he did, of course. He pretty much created a nice clear packed lane.

It continues back through the trees,

and ends up at the open space where we will set up the campsite. Mostly for access to deliver the porta-potty, but I'll need to drive back there to deliver the picnic tables and other gear. We have the use of a four-wheeler for the week which we will use to bring meals out from the house.

A man and his toy.

Then in the afternoon, Cathy and I went out to explore a section of National Forest where the final field exercise of Confidence Camp will be held. I needed to be sure it was going to work well. I'd selected it from a forest map based on some requirements I wanted, and it's not perfect, but it's close by and will do the job. I've already scouted out the other location where we will do a field exercise.

Between going to the woods and walking out to the campsite four times, I walked a fair amount.

Miles walked in 2026: 152.4

Some old roads in the National Forest and out to Confidence Camp four times: 3.5 miles

See Two Picnic Tables

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

Bye-bye Bernie, Hello SPW

I put Bernie back on the trail today at 8 am. It's always fun having hikers here, and he's one I'm glad I got to know better.

From there, I went directly to the monthly Spirit of the Woods Chapter hike. There were 21 people and 3 dogs! (Not everyone made the group photo).

The best place to park to do this section is on Mac Road. That means there is a quarter mile to get to the off-road part of the trail. But it allowed me to get a photo of the group in motion.

I've shown you umpity pictures of the Big Sable River, but here's another. Naturally, it's one of the best features of this section of trail. This is the river that is dammed to form Hamlin Lake, and empties into Lake Michigan at Ludington State Park. But this is close to its source.

One of my personal botany goals is to try to sort out the identification of the various types of Pussytoes, Antennaria sp. At this time of year all you can see is the leaves, and really, that's the best way to separate the species anyway. Taxonomy has changed so much, my field guide book isn't helpful enough, so I went directly to the Michigan Herbarium web site. This is Antennaria howellii, Howell's Pussytoes. The leaves have a bulbous end with a point. All the local species have light blue-green fuzzy leaves, so you have to look at more subtle characteristics. This one is very common in Michigan.

About 7.5 miles on the NCT from Mac Road at 5 Mile Road to 3 Mile Road and Back.

In other news: I didn't sleep hardly at all last night. Who knows why? Just ridiculous. So I napped in the afternoon.

See I've Got Bernie

Bernie's Very Bad, Very Good Day, and More

Today was non-stop, but the important things happened. Bernie was here all day. We spent the morning talking about things he should know concerning the trail in Vermont and the Adirondacks.

The reason for the title is that the afternoon was very good in that Bernie got some much needed dental work done. The bad part is that he has to deal with the pain of that and antibiotics on the trail, etc. Because you know he's not going to take any more time off. Hopefully, the pain of the dental work will be much less than the pain he's already been dealing with on the trail. He called every dentist in the county, and did find one that would see him.

While he was doing that, I took a little walk in Ludington. There is a little urban loop that goes along the marina and the channel. Here's the marina.

The Badger, the carferry, is sadly sitting in port. The rest of the sailing season is cancelled. The "apron," which is part of the dock, not the boat, collapsed and the removal and rebuilding is going to take months. Without that part, vehicles can not be loaded onto the ferry. You can see a crane already working behind her.

Kayakers were taking advantage of the protection of the breakwall to enjoy some time on Lake Michigan.

This is a relatively new addition to the Mason County Sculpture Trail. This is an actual propeller from the Badger that was damaged in ice. The date is not given, but it was many years ago when the ferries sailed year-round. You can see the big chunk missing from one of the blades.

When Bernie was released, we went shopping so he could get medication and supplies. We arrived home in time for a downpour! It only lasted for about a half hour. Southwest salad and corn bread for dinner.

One of the strangest and most humorous events from Loretta's arrival is that we have twin cars. Supposedly hers is 2012 and mine is 2013, but we can only find a couple of minor differences. The body and lights are exactly the same. They are the same color. Usually there are at least changes in the taillights from year to year. But unless one of us has a faulty title, they are not the same year. We both have NCT stickers. It's really weird. We've each gone out and momentarily thought we were in the wrong car!

So that's a total mish-mash of stuff from today. But that's how the day was. Bernie thinks he's going to be good-to-go to hike a full day tomorrow!

See Long Distance Hikers

Blind Courage

I am home and in resting mode for today. I'm tired, but not totally wiped like I was when I came home in December. I did do one small task that had to be completed before the end of April and also went to the store to get the fixings for salad.

I've been thinking as I near the end of this hike, about other hikers who inspired me. Bill Irwin comes readily to mind. He was the first blind hiker to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, which he did in 1990. He died in 2014.

His story is even more remarkable than his blindness. He became blind as a result of a medical condition, but he says that ironically, he was never able to see until he became blind. His personal life was in shambles and he was an alcoholic. Then he had an encounter with the God of the Bible.

A few years later he became convinced that God was telling him to hike the Appalachian Trail. He was never a hiker when he had sight, and couldn't believe that this was what he was being asked to do. But he finally agreed.

There is a 20-minute video called Amazing Grace that is worth watching. It's been re-recorded from a VCR tape, so you'll have to forgive the quality of some sections. Amazing Grace

Although the video is entitled "Amazing Grace," it contains a song written for/about Bill called "Maker of Mountains." I have sung that to myself many a day on this hike so far. Here's the chorus: When your mountains are many, and you stumble and fall, blind eyes can see His glory, deaf ears can hear His call. When your way seems dark and dreary, and your back's against the wall, look to the Maker of mountains and Master over all."

But here's the kicker. Bill always said that the point of his hike was NOT what you might expect, "If I can do this, you can do it too."

What he wanted people to see was, "God will take care of me, no matter how weak I am."

In 1995, at the first NCTA Conference I ever attended, Bill Irwin was one of the speakers. Not only did I get to meet Bill and have him sign his books to me, but his guide dog, Orient, was also there. Orient had been retired from working, but was still Bill's companion. I wish I had pictures, but I didn't have a camera with me at that event.

As I near the end of my current hike, I want to be sure to say that although I am humbled by how many times people call me "amazing," I am not. I am stubborn- I've only quit a couple of major projects in my life. But stubbornness can be a liability as much as it can be an asset. I have not had the assurance that this hike was something God specifically wanted me to do. But it looks as though he is allowing me to finish a second time. There could still be a major catastrophe, but with only about two weeks of hiking days left, the chances are lower than they were 16 months ago when I started out.

I just want to say, don't look so much to me as inspiration (although I'm happy to have encouraged many of you in your dreams), but do look to the Maker of mountains.

See Tales from the Manistee River Loop

A Long Distance Hiker I Never Met

  No pictures of interest from today. I wrote all morning, and then spent six hours on another project. It's still not done. What I'm working on is a revised web site for the people who have hiked long distances on the North Country Trail.

We have one legendary person, Sue Lockwood, who hiked 2800 miles of the trail with Ed Talone. (Ed was the second person to hike the entire trail.) I never met Sue before she died. In fact, I didn't really know what she looked like. It's almost a joke, that this was the only picture most of us involved with the North Country Trail had ever seen. She's on the left, with Ed on the right, at the entrance to Lake Sakakawea State Park in North Dakota where the trail has its western terminus.

I knew that Sue hiked with some severe limitations. She was legally blind, and suffered from kidney failure. Her brother, Gordon, traveled with them in a van with a portable dialysis machine. She needed to be hooked up four times a day!

I stole this picture from an article that Ed wrote about Sue. This is the two of them on the NCT in 1994.

Sue died in 2007. She hiked thousands of miles. It was her passion. Here's a link to the article Ed wrote, called A Hiker Like Anyone Else, which was how Sue described herself.

I also have discovered that Gordon wrote a book about her called Accepting the Challenge. This will be my reading material when I head to bed very shortly since I could get it instantly as an ebook.

And that covers today!

See Long Distance Hikers

Truth is Stranger

  Today I was hiking a section of the North Country Trail. I was on a small piece of sidewalk that connects a couple of prettier segments. A woman came up to me and asked my name. Well! It turns out that she is Gail "Chosen" Lowe, who has hiked the entire North Country Trail. This is still a pretty small group (only 19 people). She thought she recognized me. It took me a minute to recognize her. We hadn't actually met before, and last I knew she did not live in Battle Creek, so I was very surprised. She picked me up at the end of my hike to take me back to my car, and also treated me to dessert and a cold drink. Trail magic! The temperatures today were wonderful, and most of the trail was lovely. I started where I ended on Thursday, at the Ott Biological Preserve. Next was a bit more on the Calhoun County Trailway, where a four-legged hiker was sharing the space with me. Then the short sidewalk connection, including a bridge over the rail yard of the Canadian National line. That is where Gail spotted me. Very shortly after that the trail joins the Battle Creek Linear Pathway which winds through the city along the Kalamazoo River. Except that it's a lot of miles of pavement, this is mostly a beautiful walk. One really neat sculpture commemorates the Underground Railroad. On one side of the wall are the people walking away from the south toward freedom. As they are passing through the "secret" door, they enter the north and meet those who will help them along the way. Gail is going to spot me again tomorrow, so I'll not only be able to finish Calhoun County, but I'll get a start on Kalamazoo County.

Total NCT miles hiked in 2020: 226

North Country Trail, Ott Biological Preserve to Battle Creek Bedford Road parking, 8 miles

See Four NCT End to Enders See Meet James See Luke Jordan See Dan & Ruth Dorrough

We Found Another Long-Distance Hiker

 
While we were eating our hamburgers in Mesick yesterday after our hike, another man came in with a backpack. It turns out he's also beginning a hike of the North Country Trail. His trail name is Sir Dickspatcher. A couple of us talked with him for quite a long time.



And I just want to share a couple more pictures from yesterday. This is the "pond," a lake really, formed by the Hodenpyl Dam where we began our walk. We walked away from the water, although we've hiked beside it some times. This view isn't from the trail, but from a roadside rest area.



This is a really funny burl. Looks like the tree decided to try to grow a crop of potatoes.



Today has been more normal. I wrote in the morning and then worked on various projects and jobs all afternoon. Walked to the post office and bank. There really need to be some more normal days here, but the next two aren't going to qualify!

	See Spirit of the Woods Hike
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A Day on the Trail with Annie

 
Last night, good friend Sue spotted my car and then took Annie and me to Bowman Lake. Annie is doing what she's calling a "half-thru" hike of the North Country Trail- the western 2400 miles.

Today I had the chance to walk with her. We camped at Bowman Lake. I'll show you pictures of Annie on the trail today and wildlife/flower/other pictures tomorrow.

Here's where we started. I won't tell you where we ended until tomorrow, just to preserve Annie's privacy.





The plan was ambitious. Annie wants to begin to lengthen her mileages, and I certainly hadn't walked this far in a day this year (or for a while), but we were up for the challenge. We took a nice break beside the creek with no name north of 40th St.



The banks of the Pere Marquette River are always a lovely spot, and the sun even came out for us after a gray and cloudy start.



The big blowdown I showed you in January, caused by a microburst, has been salvaged. Quite a difference from the way it looked before. This will grow up and not look bad at all in a few years.



We had made things a little easier for ourselves by stashing a gallon of water in a dry section of trail. Picked that up after lunch.



We were both slowing down a bit in the late afternoon, but took time to walk a few extra feet to look at this beaver flooding. I've never seen the water this high at that spot.



So... we walked 17 miles. My pack wasn't at full weight, but I did have to carry most of my basic equipment because we camped out. My legs still seem to work although I'm a bit stiff. We'll see how I am tomorrow. I have to be functional, so there will be Vitamin I if necessary (ibuprofen for my non-hiking friends.)

So, we reached my car. I filled Annie's water bottles again and then stashed another jug where she's planning to camp tomorrow. That actually generated a bit of one of my favorite activities- exploring new roads. I made a wrong turn getting to that location and saw (if you can believe it) some Mason County Roads I've never been on!

Now I'm home and clean and fed. Annie is out in her tent- probably fed, but not clean till her next day off! Best wishes to her and may she find many more trail angels. I'm sure she will. The North Country Trail Community is great.

Hike 100 Challenge = 64 miles

North Country Trail from Bowman Lake to McCarthy Lake, Lake County, Michigan

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