Spirit of the Woods Hike- April 2026

The monthly hike for April had to be tweaked twice! The plan was for Silver Creek Pathway (not NCT), last week, but it's been mostly underwater for weeks. Still underwater this weekend. So we went north from Timber Creek again.

Even with all the changes, we had about 25 people and three dogs show up.

Most of the group did 6 miles or fewer (to 8th St and back). My goal was to do 8 miles again. One other hiker, Eric, wanted to go farther too, so we did! Notice the NCT emblem with black around the central star. That is a really old sticker and it still looks good. I can't even remember when that was changed to have a lighter color. Before 2005 for sure.

So, this is the section I hike ALL THE TIME, and the woods isn't turning green yet, so I struggle to get photos of anything remotely new. But Eric and I went north of 8th St, and then we decided to bushwhack over to the Ward Hills Fire Tower site. That is a favorite place of mine to visit.

Here's the foundation for the keeper's house, again.

And the view west from the top of the hill (toward Scottville and Ludington). The trees are all grown up, and the only times you get any view at all is when there are no leaves.

It warmed up nicely by mid-day, and we ended up in shirtsleeves. The sun at least made the green moss glow.

We did a total of 8.2 miles. I feel pretty good, but didn't get a lot more done this afternoon.

Miles walked in 2026: 137.2
NCT Hike 100 Challenge 2026: 39.1

North Country Trail, Lake Co. Michigan, north 3.5 miles, then bushwhack to Ward Hills Fire Tower site, back to NCT via road, back on NCT to Timber Creek. NCT 6.5 miles, other 1.7 miles. Overall elevation range 360 feet.

See Eight Miles for Spring

8, with Day Pack

  I looked at the weather for the rest of the week and decided today was the day for a hike to stretch my endurance. I have to be up to 10 miles with a real pack by June.

Where should I go? I'm generally tired of the closest section of NCT to me. However, I chose it, and managed to find something new to do.

Went to Timber Creek and hiked north. One thing I knew for sure, there is more elevation change there than it seems like, if you go beyond 8th St, so it's a pretty good workout. A little sun makes even the brown woods look good. Mostly, it was cloudy.

This is a really common type of moss here. Maybe I've now identified it. Red-stemmed feathermoss, or Schreber's big red stem moss, Pleurozium schreberi. Wikipedia makes it sound like it's only found in the far north, but the Forest Service website puts it almost everywhere in the NE US.

This is another I see a lot of, and it's getting all sexy for spring showing off its sporophytes. Juniper Haircap Moss, Polytrichum juniperus. It has another funky stage in the reproductive cycle. I'll have to start watching for that.

This was fun. It's some polypore fungus of the shelf/bracket type, but I can't tell which one. From the top, it looks like horse hooves, or shelves. The log was fallen, so the "top" of the fungus is from the lower right.

So, how do I know it's a polypore? The underside has many (poly) pores!

I walked 4 miles out, and started back just a few yards so I could find somewhere nice to sit and eat my lunch. Not only was this stump the right height, it had artistic character!

My little project of interest was to try to track the elevation change better on this section. Previously, all I'd done is subtract the low point from the high. That is 1122-791 feet = 331 feet. But that doesn't take into account the ups and downs along the way. Today, I tried to mark in Avenza the tops of all the ridges. I had previously counted 8, but today I marked 7. I guess one has to make choices as to what are just undulations, and what are really ridges.

Anyway, where I turned around is 92 feet lower than the high point. Then the trail drops from the high point to 921 which is 201 feet lower than the high point. Then it wanders up and down over small ridges till it's back to the 791 feet at Timber Creek.

I think I can safely say I climbed and descended a total of about 600 feet. Maybe next time, I'll track it in FarOut which will do an elevation profile. Thing is, it's not too accurate because it doesn't sample often enough.

I'll close with one of my most often pictured scenes from this section, but I always think it' cool. The light is always oddly filtered through this red pine plantation so that it almost always looks red and hazy.

I did a little bit of work, but the hike took the biggest chunk of the day.

Miles hiked in 2025: 73.9. NCT Hike 100: 22.5

North Country Trail, Lake County, Michigan, US 10 (Timber Creek) north to Forest Road 6419 and back. 8 miles

See Familiar- Endurance Edition

Mostly Mossy

 The weather was wonderful again. I couldn't stay inside!

Went for a walk on the North Country Trail. South of where it crosses the Pere Marquette River. Look at sun and reflections on December 30!

All the mosses were glowing in the sun. I really just haven't worked at learning the mosses.

This one seemed odd, but very cute. It's growing up around the bases of these two saplings in a helical manner. It makes them look like little Christmas trees.

This patch may have two different kinds.

And is this the same as one of the ones in the picture above, only a bright yellow green instead of darker green?

This is mostly a lichen, but it's growing on top of a patch of moss!

I did some editing and made some phone calls, but then I went for my walk.

Miles hiked in 2024: 547.7. NCT miles hiked in 2024: 168.5

North Country Trail. Lake Co, MI. Upper Branch Bridge to 40th St and back. 3 miles

See Promises of Green

Serious Railroad Sniffing

 I had to go to Fountain this morning, halfway to my section of trail anyway. The ground is still dry, and this morning, also frozen (18 degrees) which turned out to be a good thing. Exploring that railroad berm just called to me. This is the picture I showed you on Thursday. On this picture the RR is yellow and the trail is blue.



My sense is that it's a spur of the Manistee & Luther RR, which operated from 1885-1913, for only 28 years. This seems short, but it was actually the longest operating line of R.G. Peters (local folks have probably seen interpretive signs about his railroads at Nordhouse Dunes). But I haven't actually connected it up yet. If it is, this spur does not show on the only map of the M&L route that I have. I've recreated parts of that map here, so you can see it in relation to the trail.

The yellow lines are the known M&L routes. It's a fact that it followed 9-Mile Road from Eastlake, all the way beyond 9-Mile Bridge, and then at some point left the road and continued south of Dublin and farther east to Hoxeyville, the eastern terminus of the main branch. This route even shows on old topo maps.

The southern route crossed the Little Manistee River (seems to be west of the current 9-Mile Bridge, but I'm not positive about that because the map I have has a line about a quarter of a mile wide), angled southeast, and at Koenig Rd (FR 5331, Dead Horse Marsh Rd) split again. One branch angled ENE along what is now the aforementioned road, and also continued SE. This branch includes the lovely shaded rail bed just north of the Freesoil trailhead that I often show you pictures of (MI-836.5ish). This is the branch that may have actually reached Luther.

The purple line is what I found today.

So, what I did today was park on Tyndall Rd near where the known berm crosses the trail. Then I began bushwhacking. I knew that section might be hard to spot. I'd tried before. No dice. I wandered around without finding it and made my way to the known place where it crosses the trail. First picture above. Then I followed that berm.

It quickly disappeared. More wandering. Then I found it! Some sections were in cuts.

Other parts were clear berms.

It was places like this that I am glad the ground was frozen today. Here I could not walk on the berm because that is where the trees have grown, so I had to stay down beside it where I'll bet it's pretty wet at some times of the year.

In other places, where the rails were laid at grade you could hardly tell where it had been. (straight ahead)

Another piece made me glad it was dry and frozen. The route was overgrown with leatherleaf- a sure sign that there is water very near the surface.

Also plenty of sphagnum moss there- also a wetland species.

I continued northeast and then it turned slightly to the north and "ended" at a dirt road which I think is now private. I'm pretty sure that road was the old rail bed. My guess is that it continued north until it hit the middle route before that route crossed the Little Manistee River.

Then I turned around and followed it back to the trail crossing. I did manage to find the route that entire distance on the way back although it does become very unclear where I had lost it outward bound. So, how do you find an old rail bed? You've seen the cuts and berms. You know that railroads have to be close to level. You know that they can't make sudden turns. Here's another clue, and it helped me find that missing piece. The beds were made level by digging "borrow pits" along the way to get fill dirt. Even though this was built 150 years ago, you can still see a lot of those pits. I've circled a couple here in pink. But which clearish space is the rail bed? Yellow or purple? It was the purple one. I was aided by knowing the spot where I was headed, and I could also see some pits on the far side.

When I got back to the trail, I tried to continue south. I hadn't had much luck before, but those times it was summer and there was a lot of undergrowth. I was able to follow it today. I only went as far as my car. I need to go back one more time and make sure it connects with that southern line (the part that goes through the swamp). Then I'll be sure this was a Manistee and Luther spur. The M&L was a narrow-gage road (the rails were 3 feet apart) and hastily built. It was known for having lots of derailments and accidents. And yet, 112 years after the last rail car rode this route, I am able to follow its path through the woods!

Where it crosses the trail is near MI-835.5 What I walked today is in blue here. (Sorry about the inconsistent colors)

Here is my Avenza track. I only walked about 3.3 miles, but remember I was semi-bushwhacking at best when I was on the route, and fully bushwhacking when I lost it and had to find it again. Unique miles followed on the railroad berm was about 1.5.

Total miles hiked in 2024: 116.6 of which 23.7 is North Country Trail.

Bushwhacking a spur of the Manistee & Luther RR. About 3.3 miles

See Couldn't stay inside

Before the Rain

 This was before the rain. It is still before the rain. So far, precipitation is not happening, but the wind certainly picked up. It's blowing quite strongly out there!

Although I should have been working on the project (I did a little bit), there was no way I was staying inside when it was 58 degrees and the sky looked like this in February.

I did the same old, same old hike north from Timber Creek. It seems like I'm always hiking there, and trying to find some things to show you that I haven't before. However, I can't even find a post now with the same old things, so I'll show you some of them again.

For one thing, not unique to this section, is that today I can show you my shadow. This is a rare item in west Michigan in February.

I love this little dip where the trail runs along the edge of the bowl.

One thing I may not have mentioned before is that in the three miles of trail from Timber Creek to 8th St. you climb 200 feet (net- you go over 8 small ridges so there is more total gain). If I had gone one more mile, I would have added 125 more feet of elevation.

I really need to try to learn some of the mosses. Meanwhile, I'll just say they are green and pretty, and reproduce nicely!

This is the best historical feature of the section. The trail follows an old Lake County Railroad logging line for 0.35 miles.

I arrived home just as the wind started to pick up.

Tomorrow, I need to get serious about working on the project. I can't 100% finish this before next week because I have something on order, but I can get the mess out of the kitchen if I buckle down and keep working.

Bad news for the project is that I've found a new-to-me book series that I really like and is available on my library app.

Total miles hiked in 2024: 91.6 of which 13.7 is North Country Trail.

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI. Timber Creek TH to 8th St. and back. 6 miles

See Snowshoe Trail, No Snow

Best Photos of April 2022

Here are the best of the pictures I took from April 2022. Photo sorting is going slowly, but it's not a high priority at this point.

From April 2022, I've chosen what I think are the 10 best pictures to share. Things were starting to green up, but there was still a ton (or several) of mud. I hiked across Pennsylvania and into New York.

I am saying these pictures are "best," not because they necessarily tell the story best, but because I think they are simply the best actual photographs. I've left them full size, so you can click on them and see them larger. That always makes photos look better. Every single one is tweaked a bit to reduce the blah, flat look of low light sky.

I crossed Pennsylvania and was well into New York in April.

This is The Branch, in Pennsylvania, and it's one of my favorite pictures from the entire hike. Best seen larger. As usual for these photo posts I've left the photos full size so you can click on them.

Of course, there's still the occasional temporary return to winter. Hey, I crossed the Holimont ski slopes in NY on the last day they were open for the season. But this is not the ski area.

I was definitely looking for anything green by then. On a continuous hike, you have to take whatever season you get, but I sure don't care for the brown and gray months. Loved these hummocks of moss.

Maybe I love this moss that grows in tendrils across the rocks like a fern or hemlock boughs even more.

Creeks were starting to run full. This is Tracy Run (you may remember I had concerns crossing it, but made it safely). The challenge did not detract from its beauty.

This is just a wet meadow area at the end of a small pond. The old grasses are bent over, and it's all very subtle, but I like the textures and muted colors.

I left Pennsylvania walking along the Kinzua Reservoir. I love this picture despite the tree down across the trail. My "trail work" sensors get set off, but the rest of me can ignore it for the way this almost glows.

Although Pennsylvania is no slacker in the hill department, you get better views from many of the hills in New York. This is from the ridge above Hickory Hills campground, long-time supporters of the trail. In fact, I camped here on my first hike.

Some of the open-ness of the views is due to agricultural use. Last years cornstalks are often good for an artsy picture. Late afternoon or morning light would have been nicer, but hey. What I got was light at 1:30 in the afternoon. As I always say, I'm a photographer of opportunity not design.

And the layered shale of western NY is always good for patterns. This photo is almost an optical illusion. At first glance it looks like water in a rocky gorge. You may have to look at it larger to see this, but the far "wall" is not rock, but water. Just a study in patterns. This is in Excelsior Glen, very close to my hometown.

Do you think we'll have more colorful pictures for May? One day soon, we'll find out.

I couldn't sleep last night so did some extra work, then slept in, and edited when I got up. Productive, but probably not as fast as I should be making progress.

See Best Photos of March 2022