Rain pounded down through very early morning. No doubt it wasn’t quite as hard as it sounded as it slammed against the roof of the former greenhouse and woodshed combination I was settled underneath. I was happy to be here instead of in my tiny tent.
In the morning as the sun slowly rose I got myself organized and looked out to see how wet things looked. Not all that wet; sandy ground absorbs rain well. Richard had warned me the rooster would sound off early and fortunately I was awake when he began his morning calling around 05:45. In time I figured out where Richard’s house was and knocked on the door to say goodbye and thanks. Over the next near-an-hour I found myself talking with Richard and his wife about what I was doing and things related to the trail. Top it off with the eggs and toast, juice and coffee and I had a lovely early morning before I hoisted my too heavy pack around 08:30 to begin my 16 or so mile trek of the day.
The roads you follow for the next several miles are iniitally dirt roads but then 2-lane paved roads with infrequent traffic that is moving at a decent speed without really feeling exceptionally dangerous. It isn’t particularly interesting hiking. Homes with front yards and dogs that bark at you as you walk on by. I think I passed by a church or two. But it is a 6-mile stretch that is not going to live in memory.
You enter the forest, a pine plantation I think, and the sounds of traffic fade and sounds of the woods increase in volume. By this time the morning is well advanced, still overcast, and comparatively speaking cool. The trail winds through the forest, gently rising and falling a bit, and the walking remains pretty easy. Of course, it is also a good place to take a break.
Somewhere around mile marker 583.5 the trail came to a split at what seemed 2 two-tracks. The blaze seemed to suggest the left-hand route and the footing looked better there anyway so off I went. I believe I went the werong way. In time I came out at Robinson Road but was west of the trail crossing and so I began walking the road looking hard for the trail. I walked by it. I overshot by 0.2 miles and retraced my steps. Hurray. I’m guessing my goof added nearly a mile of road walk but in truth probably did not extend my mileage that much.
I think I am actually a bit off the NCT at this point. I went left and think the trail went right. My two-track sure looked like the proper option. I passed this small field of wildflowers as I neared Robinson Road where I popped out a bit west of the trail interesction.
--August 17 2019 at 13:05:52. Harbor Springs, MI, United States
Thank you Harbor Springs NCT Trail Chapter for this water cache. It lies about 10 miles south of the Wycamp Lake boat launch and 7 miles from the water spigot at Pleassantview Township Hall in a section that has no reliable water except at those points.
--August 17 2019 at 13:45:34. Harbor Springs, MI, United States
Finding the water cache where the good people of the Harbor Springs NCT Chapter said it would be was most welcome. 7 jugs, I think all were 1-gallon jugs, sat waiting for thirsty hikers to walk on by. I think they were all full. I got myself a bit more than one liter (spilt only a bit pouring water). The next reliable water would be in about 7 miles at the Pleasantview Township Hall spigot and my campsite would be about 1 mile beyond that. The sun was shining, the temperature sadly soaring, humidity on the upswing, and it was about 14:05.
I am not sure what type of pines are growing in this spot (a plantation I think) but it was a nice place for a break. Shafts of sun pierce down to the forest floor and despite there being a very sandy two-track near by (saw 2 ATV riders) it is a pretty quiet area.
--August 17 2019 at 15:51:25. Harbor Springs, MI, United States
The next several miles were good and bad. The good came first as I moved through pine forest. It is pretty level going. It isn’t the most visually stunning but it is a forest. Too bad it gives way to an open, probably swampy, area where the brush is well over your head and growing right up to, and somewhat over, the trail. You feel hemmed in. The trail seems to narrow and you move through the buggy area only able to see what is directly ahead of you. Now and then you stride along boardwalk. On and on. I would not be surprised if this stretch ran for a mile or more before diving back, though briefly, into a woods before intersecting Stutsmanville Road and the supposedly 0.5 mile walk past the Pleasantview Township Hall building and its water spigot (long half mile).
I was so happy to get to the spigot. More because I needed a break than was craving water. I should have made a hot dinner but instead dove into my big supply of snacks/lunches to make a dinner. I am sure a hot meal would have served me better but I did not want to take the time. I lingered at the township hall for well over 30 minutes (arriving at it around 18:20). I still had at least a mile to go to find a campsite hoppefully near water (I took 3 liters with me just in case).
When you return to the woods you are greeted by a trail that cuts through hills on each side. No camping here. The forest is thick and though sunset is still 90 minutes off the amount of light penetrating the woods to you is meager. I pushed on. I had decided that I would find the best campsite I could by 20:00 or at the first stream I came across. It was just before 20:00 when I crossed the two-track at mile marker 592.2 (or so). I should have gone a bit farther. Instead I dropped my pack at the not-really-flat spot and began to set up camp.
I thought this was a flat spot but it would turn out to be a lousy place to pitch my tent. Perhaps I just did not look hard enough. I was within a couple hundred feet of a stream that would turn out to have a good spot (though granted you should not camp right by the water). Too add insult to injury my stake bag had vanished again so I had to improvise. I actually did acquire a minor injury during the improvisation process, cutting my palm, getting the foraged wood anchors into the ground. In the end I came up with something different and this is the result. The final insult came when I found the bag of tent stakes within a minute or two of tossing my stuff into the just pitched shelter.
--August 17 2019 at 21:00:36. Harbor Springs, MI, United States
It was a lousy campsite. I mislaid my tent stakes, improvised a set up, cut my hand, and then found the stakes. I discovered that a water bladder had a slow leak. I was tired. I was ready to be done. I wanted a good bed and night’s sleep. I really wanted to have a day where I got to camp with plenty of time to spare and therefore little stress.
I crawled into my poorly pitched shelter and lay down on my sloping sleeping pad and went to bed.
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