NCT Solo Hike Part 2
Wandering Knight
It has been 9 years since I did a solo backpacking trip. That trip was my second Great Outdoors Challenge crossing of Socttland from Mallaig to Stonehaven. While that was a solo trip I probably met people every day and hiked with them at least some of the time. This hike on the North Country Trail would not only be solo but I expected it would be solitary except at major campgrounds. In this two-part series I travel from Mackinaw City, Michigan to Petowskey, Michigan. In some ways it proves to be a great trip; in other ways not so much. In part 2 I travel from Richard’s property near...
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NCT Summer Solo Backpacking Trip - Part 1
Wandering Knight
It has been 9 years since I did a solo backpacking trip. That trip was my second Great Outdoors Challenge crossing of Socttland from Mallaig to Stonehaven. While that was a solo trip I probably met people every day and hiked with them at least some of the time. This hike on the North Country Trail would not only be solo but I expected it would be solitary except at major campgrounds. In this two-part series I travel from Mackinaw City, Michigan to Petowskey, Michigan. In some ways it proves to be a great trip; in other ways not so much. In part 1 join me for the first 3 days of the hike from...
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A Visit to the Upper Peninsula - Tahquamenon Falls and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Wandering Knight
I hope you enjoy this audio journal. You can find a video that provides a slightly different glimpse of the trip . Lower Tahquamenon Falls. Even though it is cloudy you will always be impressed when you come here. --May 23 2019 at 15:25. Paradise, MI, United States Tahquamenon Falls. The Upper Falls are shown pouring themselves over the drop. While bugs can sometimes drive you nuts at this state park (not today) it is definitely a place worth visiting. --May 23 2019 at 17:11. Newberry, MI, United States This is Clark’s first...
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Great Lakes Hikes 2018 Gathering
Wandering Knight
During the weekend before the 1999 firearms deer season would commence a group of people, all members of the old yahoo Groups GreatLakesHikes group, would arrive at the Birch Grove Schoolhouse for the first annual GLH Gathering. It is now 2018 and last weekend we held the 20th annual GLH/North Country Trail Gathering. While some people have gone (including sadly one death of fondly remembered Dick Bolton) others have joined the gathering. Just three people, myself, Paul, and Julie, have been able to attend all 20. This year’s event was just as enjoyable as previous ones have been. Good food...
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Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Backpacking Trip May 2018
Wandering Knight
I do not know how many times I have backpacked the Lakeshore Trail in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore over the past couple of decades. I have gone in both directions many times. This year, with 13 other people many with little to no backpacking experience, I would travel the trail once again from Sand Point to Sable Falls. This is something of an annual trip over Memorial Day Weekend though I do not always get to attend. The trip would turn out to be a very fine one even with some trials and tribulations thrown in. We lucked out with the weather and everyone had a good time. The audio...
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44th Annual Wheatland Music Festival
Wandering Knight
I don't know how many Wheatland Music Festivals I have attended. I know many who have been going for decades. It is a a festival full of music, workshops, dance, and good times. You might not enjoy all the music that you can find but chances are good you will find something you will like. In this episode you will hear music from Bruce Moksly and the Mountain Drifters, Don Julen's Mr. Natural Project, Ruthie Foster, Session Americana, Lunasa, and Jayme Stone'sLomax Project. There was considerably more than just this.
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New Zealand: Waimangu Volcanic Valley
Wandering Knight
The Waimangu Volcanic Valley features numerous geothermal features. Mount Terawera erupted June 1886 destroying everything in the area and totally reshapedpp q the land. Lake Rotomahana grew 20 times in size and became North Island's deepest lake. The famed pink and white terraces vanished beneath the water or were destroyed. The world's largest hot pool, Fryingpan Lake, was born. Today a fantastic mixture of re-emergent flora and fauna combine with the landscape to create a stunning special place. More re photos and video coming
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New Zealand: The Coast to Coast Trail
Wandering Knight
The Coast to Coast Trail runs between Waitemata Harbor and Manukau Harbor in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is 10 miles long and does have some modest climbing , mostly up and then down Mt. Eden, the local high point. This is an urban walk but don't let that fool you. We saw a lot and were very pleased with this hike through neighborhoods and parks. Enjoy the audio diary. You can learn more about the trail in many places. Here is just one that includes a map.
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New Zealand: the first two days
Wandering Knight
We have now been in Auckland for two days. Our first day we spent wandering around town: visiting the harbor, walking through some parks including part of what might be the largest park in Auckland - Auckland Domains -and getting a sense of the city. Once you get off of the main streets things get quieter and there certainly are neighborhoods to be found. One thing that struck us is that the vast majority of the people we are seeing seem to be fairly young. I'm not sure how many of them are locals and how many of them are tourists, students from abroad, or workers from abroad but the general...
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Fall Paddle: Argo Pond to Barton Dam 2016
Wandering Knight
It is a partly sunny afternoon. The temperature is warm enough with just a hint of coolness in the modestly blowing breeze. It's the last day Argo Canoe Livery will be open this year and I am taking advantage of the fine afternoon for one last paddle to Barton Dam and back. This is an easy paddle of just under 4 miles round-trip. You don't really have anything to worry about on this stretch of the Huron River unless you somehow ignore the presence of the dams. While I am sure people can get hurt (I recall a woman did drown in this area years ago) it's hard to imagine. It's hard to imagine even...
info_outlineOver the last few years I've joined John Lawton and Andy Mytys and we've hiked portioned of the North Country Tail, the NCT, in Michigan. The NCT in Michigan runs for about 1,100 miles using paved roads, dirts roads, rails to trails, two-tracks, and actual hiking trails. For this hike, the first weekend of November, we didn't have anyone to help us so we had to use 2 cars. This meant setting up a car shuttle and hiking leapfrog style between the cars. Doing this we were able to hike the 28-29 miles from just south of Prairieville to Middleville. We weren't quite sure why type of weather we would get. It seemed that we might actually have to cancel the hike due to severe storms but the weather report moderated to showers with highs in the mid-upper 40s and a low around freezing. For a variety of reasons I did not do much recording during the hike though I do have several thoughts I want to share.
More photos can be found in the Flickr Photo Album here. or if you prefer the Google photo album here.Captions associated with the photos in this podcast
It is a crisp overcast autumn morning at the Prairieville Municipal Park. The temperature is probably in the low 40s with little wind to bother us. The threat of rain, we think, is past. It promises to be a fine day for hiking even with the first several miles being a road walk (two line paned and dirt roads).
Photo by Andy Mytys
At the start of our overnight hiking trip along the North Country Trail. The road walk will cover probably close on 8 miles of paved and dirt roads. They're fairly quiet roads with farms and other homes on each side. But what I think we noticed most at first were the large numbers of sandhill cranes that flew on by during the morning.
Photo by Andy Mytys
Deep Lake not long after sunrise. The campground is rather large with campsites that are big in their own right. The night until around 04:45 or so was actually quite warm. But then the temperature plunged to about 30°F. Before then it stayed fairly warm in the low 40s even when a bit of rain came through around 03:00.
The clouds let the sunlight break through now and then providing us with brilliant splashes of fall color (OK, maybe I pumped it just a tad). Andy stands on the shore of Hall Lake not far from our car and the end of the first day of hiking. We set up camp at Deep Lake Campground.
Fall in Michigan's Lower Peninsula can be very pleasant.
Photo by Andy Mytys
Now and then we would pass a grassy area like this. I'm not sure how many were working farm fields and how many just natural glades though I suspect more were the former than the latter. When in the State Game or Recreation Areas we were in rolling forests dotted with lakes.
The Prairieville Family Inn, I believe that's the right name, is a great place to have dinner. I expect breakfast and lunch are just as good. The food, especially the pie, is more than enough to make a tired hiker happy. Just look at the hot chocolate Andy is having. Another nice feature of stopping at a place like this is meeting those people who work there. They first thought we were hunters scouting for the upcoming rifle deer season but when they learned we were hikers they shared stories of meeting Strider (Luke Jordan) who had stopped here on in thru-hike of the NCT (now completed). They learned a lot from him including the fact that the NCT exists (never having known what those blue blazes were until Luke explained).
Photo by Andy Mytys
The last 3 miles and change of the hike into Middleville are along a Rails to Trails paved path that arrows through this flooding. It is the Thornapple Trail and their are some "rules" associated with it that are obeyed only kind of sort of.
Photo by Andy Mytys