Meetings are at 7:00 PM at the Barry Township Hall on Orchard Street in Delton the second Wednesday of each month, and are open to the public. Next meeting August 10.

Hike Planned

August 6 10:00AM. Come hike the newest section of trail in the Middleville State Game area along with the West Michigan Chapter. We will begin at the Crane Rd. Trailhead.

Directions to Crane Road trailhead: From Lowell and North of Lowell, M-50 (Alden Nash Rd) South to Cascade Rd, then West to Whitneyville Rd (about 4 miles)., then South about 6 miles to Crane Rd (Name of Whitneyville Rd changes to "Grand Rapids Street" at Middleville city limits), Then Easton Crane Rd, about 1 mile to dead-end and trailhead.

From Grand Rapids: South on M-37 to Middleville "Main Street" stoplight, then left ( East) on Main about 3 blocks to "Grand Rapids St", Left (North) 1 mile to Crane Rd., East (right) to dead end and trailhead.

From Battle Creek/Kalamazoo: North on M-37 to Middleville "Main Street" stoplight, then right ( East) on Main about 3 blocks to "Grand Rapids St", Left (North) 1 mile to Crane Rd., East (right) to dead end and trailhead. We will spot cars from that point to either Johnson Rd (2.5 mile hike) or the corner of Parmalee Rd and Harris Creek Rd., (3.5 mile hike) The trail is moderately hilly, through wilderness with the highlights of "Morraines" "Marshes" "wildlife (turkeys-deer) and many different size trees.

Summerfest in Hastings Saturday August 27.

NCTA Annual Conference August 11 through 14 in Northern Michigan.

Sections of the North Country Trail (NCT) by Jerry Pattok.

Norris to Gun Lake Road Part One

It was a sunny day when Sandi, Sydney our 3 yr old grand daughter, and I got out of the van at the ample Norris Road parking lot. We headed to the east side of the parking lot and were soon on the NCT. We hiked through a small grassy open area then uphill to a grove of walnut trees. We went right a few feet down a 2-track then left down the trail. We could see the trail was well defined from heavy use. There was dense undergrowth. The trees were small being primarily hardwoods with a few conifers interspersed.

Occasionally we could glimpse McDonalds Lake through narrow openings to our right. We followed the blue blazes on this part of the trail. A little less than 0.4 miles from where we started we saw the wooden post that marks the intersection of the NCT with the Chief Noonday trail that is part of the trail system in the Yankee Springs Recreation Area.

From here, the NCT follows the Chief Noonday Trail. The trail is named after a famous Ottawa Indian chief that once lived in the area. The undergrowth thins out here allowing the hiker to see deeper into the woods. There’s a lot of climbing. A half-mile into the hike, I noticed an increase in the number of large trees. At ¾ of a mile we encountered a gully that looked as if it had been dug to drain a pond. A few erratics were poking through the leaves. These stones had been deposited here thousands of years ago by a glacier. They are called erratics because they were not formed here. They were brought in by the conveyor effect of the moving continental glacier. Many originated in Canada.

The hill we were climbing dropped off steeply next to the trail. The halfbowl formation at the top of the hill resembled a cirque that is formed by ice and frost eroding a steep walled hollow in the side of a mountain. Mountain glaciers often originate at cirques. This formation doesn’t look natural. I see a lot of animal tracks in the loose sand in the trail. We pass a steep walled depression on the left of the trail. A block of ice that melted and left its impression probably formed it.

About a mile into the hike the trail splits into 2 well – used trails. Take the fork to the right. There are posts with markers along the trail directing the hiker to Grave’s Hill. Devil’s Soupbowl is only about 0.1 miles from the hill. There is a marked trail connecting them. The steep-walled Soupbowl was formed when the glacier buried a block of ice. When the block melted, its shape was left in the landscape. It was formed so high in the glacial till that a drainage pattern of rivers or streams did not form to fill it. The bottom of the depression was high enough to prevent filling with groundwater. This process formed many lakes in Michigan. These kettle lakes characteristically have steep drop-offs. This terrain is especially rugged. It is called interlobate moraine. It was formed when the tongue of ice that formed Lake Michigan met that which formed Saginaw Bay. Both lobes were piling material in the area. I remember running down the slope as a young man and leaping into the air to feel the sensation of flying. There were a lot of trees to dodge. How do men survive their youth?

The significance of Grave’s Hill is that it is high enough to enable a person on the crest to see over the treetops. It was more impressive in the 50’s than now. The trees close to the hill were smaller so more could be seen. There is still a view of the west shore of Gun Lake. In the 50’s, we would take our date up on this hill. Those were indeed “Happy Days”.

Join Jerry for the remainder of this hike next month in the August newsletter. The adopter is Joe Higdon:

Directions:

Norris Road

From the intersection of M37 and M43 west of Hastings, go west on M43 for 0.3miles. Stay straight on M179. Go 5.4 miles to the stop sign at Yankee Springs Road. Go straight for 2.4 miles to Norris. Turn left. Go just over 0.2 miles to the parking lot. It is difficult to see from the road.

Hall Lake

The NCT crosses Gun Lake Road on the west side of Hall Lake. From the intersection of M179 and Norris Road, go west 1.3miles to the stop sign on Briggs. Turn left. Go 2.5 miles to Hall Lake. Briggs turns into Gun Lake Road. There is room for a vehicle beside the road. To accommodate more vehicles, use the parking lot by the Ranger House about 0.2miles west of the NCT or the boat launch to Hall Lake that is about 0.2 miles east of the NCT on Gun lake Road. A sticker is required at the launch.

Events of Interest:

Thank you to those businesses that support our chapter:

Mid-Lakes Mini Storage

11235 S. Wall Lake Rd., Delton

269-623-5005

Provides storage for the Chief Noonday Tool Crib.

Yankee Springs Outdoor Center

Long Lake and Chief Noonday Outdoor Centers

269-795-3856

Provides use of lodge for scheduled Chapter winter hikes