Hiker Report:Hiker Report:
Adapted from the January-March 1999 North Star: The Magazine of the North Country Trail.
By: Cora Killinger
I read in our "North Star" how many members the NCTA has, and I wish more members would write of their adventures. Just being out in the woods and following a trail you've never been on before is fun. Our last trip was printed in the "North Star" (taking it easy in the Manistee) with the ending of "to be continued." So here's what we did this summer of '98.
In June we wanted to hike the NCT between Tahquamenon Falls and Culhane Lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We called the NCT headquarters and the DNR in Newberry. They both said that as far as they knew the trail was OK. So our husbands dropped us unsuspecting, overly adventurous backpackers off at Tahquamenon Falls.
We started at the trailhead parking lot just east of the Upper Falls on M-123. The trails for the Tahquamenon Park system were well used, with "you are here" maps on posts along the way. The old fir trees were a pleasure to walk under.
We didn't sit under them though because the mosquitoes were thick. After a while we got to the spot where the NCT heads west. The arrow on the sign pointed into ferns and brush. There was no path, but there was a faint blue marker on a tree. Well we were fresh and optimistic. "We can make our own trail" and "this will be a real wilderness experience" we said. How true those words turned out to be! The paint was worn and old. Some places only one tiny little blue paint chip would be left. Sometimes there'd be no paint, but a shadow of a trail remained. You couldn't be really sure if it wasn't an animal trail. When we didn't see blue paint for a while we'd put down our packs and one of us would stay put while the other circled out, trying to find their trail. Lots of times we'd have to back track to the last blue paint chip and go from there It's quite a wild area of ridges and swamps. The trail was using the ridges to get through on dry land. When the trail petered it was usually because we'd missed a turn that led over to a new ridge. We had to use our compass and our wits to locate the trail. Then we'd find just the tiniest trace of blue paint and know we were OK.
The spot where we had lunch was high on a ridge overlooking a foggy lake to the south. The breeze kept the mosquitoes away. In the sun the temperature climbed to 60 after the 40 degree night. We knew this is black bear country because I've seen bear twice when we were camping at Bodi Lake. We've been coming up to Bodi for about twelve years RV camping and fishing. I had noticed the NCT trail coming out at Culhane Lake and always wanted to follow it. So this is my dream come true. Hope it don't turn out to be a nightmare, I'm thinking as we sit on the ridge admiring the scenery and scanning for black shapes moving through the fog. This whole thing appeals to my sense of adventure and I'm having fun. We had a map of the area and know County Road 500 lies to the west. We just have to keep moving in that direction. We passed some more hidden lakes tucked away in the spruce trees. A person could camp there as some of the lakes looked as if you could get to them for water.
We came to a logging operation. The forest was a mess. I feel sad when I see the stump of a big pine and try to imagine what it looked like before they cut it down. We couldn't find any blue markers. We concluded that they chipped them all up and sent them to the city to burn in their factories. That's why you see all the blue smoke coming out of smoke stacks down there. We stayed on the logging trails, it was a relief from bushwalking. We kept taking trails that headed west and north. It was a fresh road in many places. We felt fortunate to have it, as there were swamps on both sides of the road. A couple places they put down culverts to get through wet spots.
We walked past an old trailer with a private keep out sign. About half a mile further we came to a metal gate across the road with a sign on the opposite side saying NO TRESPASSING. Well, we'd just trespassed all the way there, so we stepped to the other side of the gate and became law abiding citizens. If anyone was going in their opposite direction they wouldn't have a clue where the trail went.
The two track trail came out on 500 and we found a place to camp in the woods near the bridge and Betsy River. When setting up our tents we checked for dead branches in the trees above. This time my sister, Connie, said "Oh heck, let the tree fall on me and put this miserable mosquito bitten body out of it's misery!". We were both tired but I wasn't too tired to play a little trick on her. It was her birthday that day and I had put a folding cake box, wrapping paper and a plastic bag in my backpack. I tucked these items under my jacket, took my towel and went out into the woods. There I proceeded to make a very heavy birthday present with sand in the plastic bag. I presented it to her later after supper and said I carried it all the way here and now it was hers to carry. She didn't know what to think. We had a good laugh after she opened it. I did include a good card.
The next morning was sunny again. The trail started on the other side of Betsy River over the bridge. From there to Culhane it was well marked by blue paint recently sprayed. Lots of times there was no real trail, but it didn't matter because before we left one blue marker we could see the next one in the distance. It was a beautiful hike. We passed so many hidden lakes trimmed with spruce trees that we lost count. We've planned to hike this stretch of trail again and camp at one of the lakes. The guys were camped at Bodi Lake, fishing. We hiked to Bodi and found that they'd had their own adventure. One of them overturned their boat while fishing. His tackle sunk to the bottom of the lake. His feet got tangled in fishing line. He was too embarrassed to shout for help, so he wasted a lot of energy trying to right the boat and climb back into it. By the time the other two guys came to his rescue and hauled him out he was grateful for the help. They took him back to camp and took pictures of him dumping water out of his boots. They nicknamed him "BOB" for bobbin' around in the water.
