Wanna help me hike?

Thursday, September 5, 2013

A NEW TRAIL!!

I'm hiking Route 1 from South Haven to Port Huron
Thanks to Nancy Krupiarz and the good folks at the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, I'm going to hike Route 1 of the Great Lake to Lake Trail. I'll be leaving from South Haven with the guys from A Sight to Remember on September 13th. We're going to hike a few miles of the Kal-Haven Trail and camp on the Black River. I'll hike out Saturday morning and try to cover more than 20 miles per day through Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Jackson, Pinckney, Pontiac and, finally, Port Huron. To highlight the multi-use aspect of this trail, my buddy Chris Bowman is going to ride all 250 miles on his bike. We're going to arrive in Port Huron together on Saturday, September 28th. I hope that everyone who can, will come out and join me for a minute, a mile or a whole day on the trail:



I will be very proud to hike this trail on behalf of the Burning Boots Trail Club and Pure Michigan and I'll be thrilled to finish this hike at the Wolverine Market in Port Huron to help them celebrate their Oktoberfest. 

The Michigander is a bike ride put on by the MTGA every year.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think about this hike and this trail. I'll respond to every one.



14 comments:

  1. I'm sure you are counting down the days!

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    1. Thanks, Marlyss! You helped motivate me to do this trail! I can't wait to get started.

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  2. Good luck out there, I'm sure it'll be great, and it sounds like it'll end with beer!

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    1. Thanks, Gary. Good luck to you on your hike of the Shore To Shore Trail. I know you'll have as much fun as I did on that hike. You should finish with a great Michigan craft beer at Wiltse's in Oscoda. Hope you take all the pics that I SHOULD have taken.

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  3. Looking good, Chris in your new duds!

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    1. Thanks, Nancy! This project is really gaining momentum. I can't wait to start!

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  4. Chris,

    Didn't even know about this trial although I have an old high school friend who's been talking about a rail-trail going through Concord - Spring Arbor (east of Albion) for quite a while and she kept saying it was the NCT but I knew it wasn't that. Have fun as I know you will.

    Lorana

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  5. Thank you, Dr. Jinkerson! I'm really exited about this trail. I leave next Friday, September 13th. Should take me about 2 weeks to get across the state. All of this is just practice, though, for next April when I attempt the mighty Continental Divide Trail. Come with me!

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  6. Congratulations chris on your new hike from lake to lake. Thank you for starting at our store as the beginning of Kal Haven trail lake to lake hike, as it was also nice seeing you again. I wish you luck in your endevours and hope to see you again soon. Adam

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    1. Hey Adam! Many thanks to you and your wonderful wife for a great send off. I would love to see your store benefit from increased traffic on this trail. Look back at the blog entry entitled "The Kal-Haven Trail" from last February for a shout out. More coming soon.

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  7. Be safe out there chris. Nice chatting with you today, At the M60 grill in concord, before you hit our falling water trail. It was kind of funny the three of us all out here in the small town of concord, and we all grew up in the same area, Kathy your waitress

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    1. Hey Nancy! Thank YOU for a giant cheeseburger and good company. I'm so glad I stopped in at the M-60 Grill. I really enjoyed my time there. I hope lots of hikers and bikers drop in and your business booms. Good luck!

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  8. I have been following stories and news about this trail and various segments of it since 1985 or 1986 when the first section of the Lakelands trail was dedicated. I lived in Pinckney at the time and remember the rail bed before it was paved there. So happy to know that it's all coming together and one day it will be complete! I am curious to know how you will get from the Lakelands Trail to the South Lyon/Huron Valley Trail. What route are you going to use to get from one to the other as their not connected yet? Also what day or days will you be passing through that area, it's where I live and I'd like to come out and take on a few miles with you.

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  9. Hi Deb. Thanks so much for leaving a comment. It's awesome that you've been able to watch the Lakelands Trail go from railroad tracks to the gem that it is now. I've been hiking it all day and enjoying every step. It's great to see other people out enjoying the trail despite the inclement weather. The area between where this trail ends and the start of the Huron Valley Trail is being called the 'Livingston County Gap' and I've been given several options on how to get through it. The easiest is just to hike 7.5 miles along 9 Mile Road and turn north on Dixboro Road. I could also go south around Whitmore Lake or north on Silver Lake Road. Not sure which way I'm gonna go yet. Depends on how I'm doing time-wise and who I'm with - I hate to take other hikers along the road - leaves a bad impression of long distance hiking. I would love to hike with you. I'll be at a ribbon cutting ceremony this Saturday morning in Putnam Township at 8:30am. C'mon out and hike with me!

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