Well, the day has finally arrived. I am doing another thru hike this year. Sure, this one is a bit less ambitious, at 250 miles, but it is still a considerable hike, and I am eager to meet the challenge of the trail. 

Getting there has been an adventure in itself, hours worth of driving. My first stop was in Kalamazoo, to visit and congratulate my friends who recently got engaged! Then, I headed down to Chicago to meet up with Teabag. We stayed with his aunt and uncle, very generous hosts. It was great to see another hiker after so much time, one who shares that understanding and view of life. 

Today has been mostly driving up toward Duluth, Minnesota, where out hiking begins. It is presently raining, but is expected to stop in the next half hour (maybe). Either way, I am pumped to get out there, back on the trail. 

Here it goes. 

Though I am not currently on an epic long-term adventure, I have to remind myself that there is still plenty of cause to enjoy life! Especially in an area as beautiful as northern Michigan. My focus has been instead on mini-adventures: skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, ice skating, kayaking. Also, I have been spending some time substitute teaching 3-6 year olds, who are often the experts on appreciating life and adventuring. They are often radiating joy!

With a little bit of focus on my next big adventure, a stepping stone toward where my crazy life will lead, I will spend the rest of my preset time adventuring and learning what I can from those around me.

Get outside! Adventure!

I had my first wintry paddling experience recently, which was surprisingly quite enjoyable. Some of your first thoughts about winter and kayaking might be “freezing” or “terror” or “prolonged drowning,” but I was actually quite comfortable the entire time. Fortunately, I was with an expert paddler, so I felt quite prepared.

We traveled a section of the Platte River. The branches were all lined with fresh snow, and the cold air made everything crisp and bright. There were far fewer animal sightings at this time of year, but the beauty was all still there. We ended up getting stuck after only a short while at Loon Lake due to ice. The paddling back upstream helped me increase my muscles for the next time, which will hopefully be very soon.

I feel both proud and shocked admitting this, but when I first arrived back from the trail, I realized how much I actually missed northern Michigan. Not just the people (they are not half bad though), but I found myself really appreciating the natural beauty here. How silly, after having seen some of the most beautiful mountains in my corner of the world, but it is still how I feel. I am very fortunate to live here.

I had promised that the cold Michigan winter wonderland would not stop me from enjoying the outdoors, and so far it has not. I have been on plenty of wintry day hikes and even went on a short backpacking trip with my fellow explorer Kelsey. The winds were fierce, and the land was wet and snow covered, but we survived and even managed to enjoy ourselves a bit.

The path we hiked was a (relatively) short 21-mile loop that skirted along the edge of the Manistee River for nearly the entire trek. For the first day, we hiked south along the North Country Trail, and made it just past the Red Bridge Campground. It was early in the day when we stopped, but the view persuaded us.

Tenting and sleeping took longer than I was accustomed to, having so few hours of daylight. Winter hiking is a different experience. We woke in the morning to a fresh coat of snow and several cold miles to go. Would we make it?

Ah, the suspense!

Of course, we veterans would survive with no serious damage. I even hiked the whole trip in my short shorts, for nostalgia’s sake.

It really was not all that cold either, especially while hiking. I think it’s because I am hot blooded.

The moral of the story here is to get outside even when it is cold and snowy, especially if you live somewhere as beautiful as northern Michigan. Enough blogging for now. Today’s paddling adventure awaits!