The Blog Plan for the Arrowhead Hike

I wanted to post this the day that I leave, but I need to get the link to this post for the subsequent scheduled posts, so I will need to do it now, making a double post for today.

I'm so tickled that many of you, my blogging friends, want to "come along" on this hike with us. So I have scheduled a post for each day that I'm gone. There is only one place along the way where I may be able to do a live post, otherwise this will all be things I know in advance. However, I have previously scouted this area in a car, and in 2003 took a Volunteer Vacation on the Kek to see what it was like. With that information and pictures, I've created something to show you each day. Here is our itinerary, just for the hiking days. There is a fair amount of travel time and two days to get a car spotted at the west end and our supply boxes placed.

Date	Start	End	Hiking miles
Sat, May 9	Judge Magney State Park	Hazel Campsite	8.8
Sun, May 10	Hazel Campsite	Woodland Caribou Campsite	9.3
Mon, May 11	Woodland Caribou Campsite	Swamp River	9.1
Tue, May 12	Swamp River	Pigeon River	7.8
Wed, May 13	Pigeon River	Pine Lake	12.5
Thu, May 14	Pine Lake	Pine Lake (day off)	0.0
Fri, May 15	Pine Lake	Clearwater	8.2
Sat, May 16	Clearwater	Rose Cliffs	9.8
Sun, May 17	Rose Cliffs	Topper Lake	10.6
Mon, May 18	Topper Lake	Gunflint Lodge	9.1
Tue, May 19	Gunflint Lodge	Gunflint Lodge (day off)	0.0
Wed, May 20	Gunflint Lodge	Bingschick Lake	10.1
Thu, May 21	Bingschick Lake	Agamok	8.5
Fri, May 22	Agamok	Strup Lake	8.5
Sat, May 23	Strup Lake	Drumstick Lake	9.0
Sun, May 24	Drumstick Lake	Fernberg Road	8.5

Don't the words themselves just send a thrill through your bones? Clearwater? Rose Cliffs? Agamok? I've been planning this hike since 2004, and now, in just a few days it's going to happen!

There are four of us going. Marie and I, longtime hiking buddies, and two other veteran hikers, Ed and Lyle. This gives us a nice safety margin in case of trouble. There is currently a thru-hiker on the NCT, and he just came from the west. He found the snow still so deep that the trail was impassible, and he bailed out, to come back later. We are hopeful that the 10-day time lag between his attempt and ours will clear the snow. But you can read about his experiences at Nimblewill's Journal, scroll down to April 22.

This is a wild and dangerous area for hikers, and we are not taking this expedition lightly! Today I am also thinking more about this issue since the man who is currently missing on the Appalachian Trail Ken Knight is one step away from a personal acquaintance. I have emailed him, and I do know some of the people who have gone to help search for him. Even experienced hikers make mistakes. We are going to try NOT to make any serious ones.

So each day's scheduled post will link back to here in order for anyone who stumbles into the middle to be able to get oriented, if they so desire.

See Arrowhead 2009 Hike Route

No Bird in the Apple Tree

 


I've been chasing that silly Flicker around the back yard for days! Every time I see it I have to run get the camera, and by the time I get ready it's gone! So here's a picture of where the Flicker was just a few minutes ago. Do you like it? I was quite surprised to discover that it really is quite a nice picture on its own merits. I like the softness of the colors and the lack of depth. This was taken yesterday... remember, it was pouring rain?

But I can't leave well enough alone. So first I adjusted the color to bring out more details, and got my next surprise. It almost looks like the tree is ready to bloom. Well, it's not, but this is a nice picture too!



Then I just wanted to play. Here's something a bit eerie, yet still realistic. This is the posterize effect.



Forget realistic, let's just go for interesting. This one is contours. I really like this!



And finally, my favorite. This one is the topography effect. I can't even really explain why I like it best. I like the contrast between the sections, I like the colors. I like the hints of lines and motion.



So, there's no bird in the tree, but there is a link to a scavenger hunt. Canucklehead is hosting a scavenger hunt, and this is one click in the path to the prize.

And finally, tomorrow will be a contest right here for a free 125x125 ad for the next month. Last month, Julia won and got a link for Our Simple Life. It will only be open till Monday night because I'll have to wrap it up and post the link before we leave for the hike. So check back to play.

Hike Planning Report

Filled the dehydrator, packaged a lot of food. Full report tomorrow. Hiked 1.5 miles with 45 pounds. It doesn't feel good, but it feels less awful than a couple of days ago.

	See (Late) Winter Rainbows II for another color exercise See Philadelphia Flower Show 2009 - 1 for lots of color
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Fun and Frustration

 



It was an interesting day. I still have non-hiking things to do, and I tried to finish them up today. But it was "one of those days." I can't afford any more of those, and still be ready to leave Tuesday morning.

Anyway, I finished these two little bags last night, so that's positive. They will be gifts for the girls you met from Philadelphia. They were fun. I just took a lot of bright colors that I knew they would like and started crocheting. Their grandmother is my primary hiking buddy (she'll be here Sunday!)

As for the rest of the day... It poured- I mean POURED- all day, so no hiking. I suspect that we are going to get wet on the hike plenty of times, but I don't feel the need to get so soggy when I am home.

This morning, I had just finished one thing I needed to do when I got an email from someone who was coming to pick some other things up from me for the trail club. And I didn't have that done, so I had to scramble. Then I got an email that BIL was in the hospital so I tried to track that down because hubby was not home. While the guy was here picking up that stuff the phone rang, and it was the BIL, so I needed to talk to him for a while (he will be fine). I had just started packaging some food when another friend called who needed an ear for awhile. Finally at 5 pm I managed to spend an hour working on hike food.

Tomorrow... I have about an hour of work to do for pay. Then, no matter what, I have to switch to full-time hike prep.

Hike Planning Report

Filled the dehydrator and packaged a little more food

	See Irene's Afgan is Done for another crochet project See Look Where I Am for a visit with the girls the bags are for
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A Mystery in the Road

 



As Maggie and I were walking yesterday, this snake was sunning itself in the dirt road. Now, don't get squeamish and leave... snakes are really fantastic! And this is the first one I've seen this year.

So I went closer, and found myself quite mystified. There are only 17 kinds of snakes in Michigan, and I know most of them. Only one is poisonous, is rarely seen on this side of the state, wouldn't go sunning in the middle of a dirt road, and I know what it looks like anyway... this isn't that one (Massasauga). 16 non-venomous choices left.

Not a Green Snake (duh!). Not any of the 3 garter snakes, because they have linear stripes. 12 choices left.

Notice its long slim profile and small head. Very sleek looking! It was about 20 inches long. Sleek eliminates the Hog-nosed Snake (or puff adder), a truly ugly snake that looks poisonous, and it hopes really hard that you will think so! Size eliminates the two with red bellies, the Red-bellied Snake and Kirtland's Snake because they are both small, and um... have red bellies.

It's not a Northern Water Snake, although the banding is similar. But they have a much more blunt head and tail, are fatter, and are found in the water. They might venture out on a grassy bank, but not to the middle of a bare dry road.

Not a Milk Snake, they are really gorgeous with a brown and creamy pattern and a distinctive Y on the back of the neck. Not a ring-neck snake... no ring.

I contemplated the possibility of a Rat Snake. They have a faint patterning on their sides, but they are usually closer to black and also are thicker, not as slim.

I was running out of options! Actually, those were all the snakes I could think of, standing there in the road, without the snake book, and not remembering that I was counting down from 17. How many have I eliminated now? ... eleven.

So, I took these pictures, and told the snake that it was going to move out of the road. Almost all snakes in Michigan are in trouble... and many, many are killed in the roads. It wasn't happy with my decision. I used my stick to gently move it off to the side, but as you can see, it took umbrage and raised itself up in protest (no attempt to strike... it just wasn't happy). But it did head off to the grass.

When I got home and got out the book, boy did I feel stupid! Have you Michiganders figured it out yet? That slim shape is the biggest clue. It's a juvenile blue racer!

Now I already knew that they don't turn blue until they are a couple of years old, but I've never seen one this big that still had the juvenile patterns. The tiny baby ones are brown and white checkered! And blue racer fits with the jumpy temperament too. Blue racers can be trained to be calm with careful handling, but they tend to be jumpier than garter snakes.

I only feel so stupid because the blue racers are one of my favorite snakes. Here's a picture of a different adult sunning itself one summer day.

Note added April 2015: Since making this identification, I have found a young Northern Water Snake sunning itself in the middle of a dirt road. And I've learned how to really tell the difference, but you have to look at the belly, and there are no pictures of this snake's underparts. However, the ID may still be correct. If you look at the third picture, it looks likes the stripes don't continue unbroken around the body, but are breaking up into blotches. That would be consistent with the blue racer. Other than that... it could be the water snake Nerodia sipedon.

Hike Planning Report

Packaged some food. I have way too many non-hike responsibilities to finish... it's frustrating. Walked 2 miles with no pack. My knee was a little bit sore, so I walked fast instead of with the weight.

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Note on Entrecard Ads

I have decided that I will no longer accept paid ads on Entercard. I am unwilling to give Entrecard my Social Security number via a simple form. They insist that they need it to be given the opportunity to cash out what would certainly be less than $100 a year. I earn almost all of my income on line, and no other site has required my tax information until I break the $600/year limit. At that point they properly have asked for an IRS W-9 form. I have no objection to paid ads in theory, but I'm not going to help them earn money that I won't be earning any of.

See Concerning the Tax Number and Entrecard