Capturing Michigan: Exploring 50 Hikes in Michigan
(Guest Column by Rebecca Hammond, Aug. 9, 2014)
I am finding myself engaged in foolishness today, planning a hike to recapture the mood of yesterdays. It began in an ordinary manner and ended with a feeling of deep contentment, the world set right, with the rest of the day calmly magical.
There was nothing spectacular about this hike, six miles of trail at Bald Mountain, just north of the Palace of Auburn Hills. Not my favorite time of year for hiking in SE Michigan; bugs are bad, the foliage has closed in, giving a slightly claustrophobic feel. Deep mud found on the trails about a month ago is almost gone, making walking easier, but with the mud is gone, hundreds of little frogs, leaping away from our feet as we were herding them, are gone as well.
Maybe lack of splendor, though, allows a hiker to relax and FEEL a place. Smell it. Listen closely. When expectations are low, doors open
Any Michigan hiker probably finds the name Jim DuFresne at least vaguely familiar. He’s written many guidebooks, including 50 Hikes in Michigan (of which there are 60.) We used to, when we needed a walk in the woods, head to Kensington. Maybe the 90th circuit of Wildwood Lake made us look for fresher pastures, chickadees landing in hands or not. 50 Hikes introduced us to the Graham Lakes pathway, in the north unit of Bald Mountain. We hiked it, we liked it. We noticed trails branching off the 3.4-mile loop here and there, but at that time, there were no signposts with maps giving any information about them. I Googled the park and found not only a map of the entire trail system, but DNR links to every park, with a printable map of each. Our collecting of Michigan began.
Collecting a state’s beauty like belt notches or wheatback pennies produces mixed feelings. Soulful activities do not require checklists. But basing an attempt to get outdoors more often can begin with a checklist. A few years ago, we heard we should visit Glacier National Park from so many different people, we decided to compare footprints. How many local hikes could we do for the co2 emissions of one flight to Glacier? As it turns out, 80, within 40 minutes of metro Detroit. That’s quite a bit more pleasure than a week’s vacation, healthier for the planet, better for the local economy, and surely healthier for us, going more often, walking more miles, being in our beloved Michigan outdoors as much as possible.
This winter took us to Michigan’s west coast, to the parks up and down Lake Michigan. Short but steep climbs, solitude, snow, vistas over the lake that calmed and centered us, all were part of a landscape we’d rarely visited. Ludington State Park’s Islands and Peninsulas trail looks like the UP (unless you focus on the far shore of Hamlin Lake, lined with cottages). It connects, up a steep climb past ghostly exposed roots of windblown pines, with the Ridge Trail and its immediate view of the big lake and lighthouse, and its miles-long ridge descent back to the parking lot. Ludington State Park connects on its north side with Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, the only place we saw a fair amount of other hikers, as snow melted late in the winter. Driving our old Prius down an unplowed road for 10 miles ended with us stuck, lacking cell phone signal OR shovel. Can you dig a car out using two ice scrapers? If you dig long enough, yes you can.
Silver Lake State Park is Michigan’s New Mexico, the only place I know where you can cross open sand, no trees, little grass, to top the far rise and see more of the same. Enchanting, and in four hours spent there, we saw no other people (I’m sure, given the signs warning and directing dune buggies and ORVs, summer is a different story.)
On our return home, we’d open 50 Hikes and color in the dot for the hikes we’d just done, and plan the next short trip.
For more on 50 Hikes in Michigan go to: http://www.amazon.com/50-Hikes-Michigan-Backpacks-Peninsula/dp/0881504556.