Wednesday, March 20, 2013

More Michigan Trails

Spent the past four days hiking the West Bloomfield Trail, the Clinton River Trail, the Paint Creek Trail and the Polly Ann Trail. Went from Wolverine Lake up to Imlay City. I was thrilled to hike with my dear friend Suzanne Hollyer for the first 25 miles.



We met her husband at the Rochester Mills Brewery where I was treated to a fantastic dinner and some delicious Michigan craft beers. They went home, I continued on.


I met some really cool people along the way. Hiking into Leonard, MI, I needed three things: water, a way to charge my cell phone and a hot cup of coffee. I found those things and more at the Marathon gas station. The people there were really hiker-friendly including Kimberly:


If you're hiking the Polly Ann Trail anywhere near Leonard, stop in and see Kim. Enjoy a good cup of coffee and some pleasant conversation. I hope that trails like the Polly Ann become more popular and that little towns like Leonard benefit from it.

Yes, it was cold. But it was also beautiful. At one point, the woods became very still and the sky was such that everything became a stark black and white. It was like hiking through an Ansel Adams photograph. I could actually feel the pressure drop and I knew it was time to find a spot to camp. I set up my tent and ducked inside just in time for a freezing rain to start pouring down. Could it be that finally, after all these miles, I'm getting good at predicting the weather?

2 comments:

  1. You need a good camera

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    1. I know, the pics here aren't very good. I only use the camera in my phone. An actual camera would weigh too much for the kind of hiking I do and it would get soaking wet at some point.

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