Old Baldy

It was the officially the last weekend of the summer. The weather was gorgeous and it was Sunday before Labor Day. We had tossed around the idea of going to

the beach or going on a hike. The children wanted to go to the beach so we decided to head towards Arcadia and combine a dune hike at Old Baldy and the beach on Lake Michigan afterwards. The drive from Kingsley is just a long half hour. The road we take to Old Baldy is lined with apple orchards and has some elevation and some beautiful views. The drive alone is well worth it and then add the short Old Baldy hike and it makes for a dandy day.

We packed all the neccessary things for a hike and picnic. We arrived at the trailhead to find only a few cars there. The day was warm and we had brought extra water. It is only about a mile walk to the top of the dunes. The trail starts off on an old two-track and turns into a single track

that goes through an old apple grove. The trail was filled with blackberry bushes.

At about half way the trail enters a wooded section with monster beech trees. They are such a beautiful tree. Kids had fun on one rather large one. Photo opportunties were many. The trail stayed mostly level until it went straight up. It turned to beach sand right as we started to climb. And as we reached the top of the hill there it was Old Baldy.

A land conservancy bought this property few years back and what a great thing. These lands are so rare to come across publicly. What a gem. It is here for us to respect and enjoy. It surrounds us today, and on this day it welcomed us. The folks we

ran into all seemed to have the same smiles on. It was a day to enjoy living. We had fun with our kids and enjoyed being with them in such a nice setting. I enjoyed seeing the looks on there faces as they played on a big pile of sand. Big big sand. Big big smiles. I enjoyed walking with magnificent views of Lake Michigan below. There were those people who chose to run down

the dune and struggle to get back up on all fours. It must have taken them a half hour at least to climb back up. What an incredible place.

There are so many places like this one here in Northern Michigan. The opportunities to get out and enjoy are countless. But you have to first go to get there.

From Old Baldy we drove north on M-22 to Elberta to a nice park . We were at a park where the Ann Arbor used to be docked. It was a ferry. Actually there were three ferries here and over a hundred years they were in motion. The views included old buildings and across the bay, Frankfort. We finished the day up with a hot dog roast and soda pop. We enjoyed today and all that had been. Memories are awesome, when they are memories like these.

Not just another day

About the end of the month of March this year, I learned of a thru hiker starting out in North Dakota on the NCT and heading east to New York. I learned of his web page journals and started to follow them daily. I knew that he would be coming through Kingsley mid June. I had an idea.Wouldn't it be nice if I could hike a few miles with him, or better yet hike a few miles with him and have dinner with him and put him up for the night? It took no more than a quick e-mail to an address that I wasn't really sure he was keeping track of. I left him all the neccessary info and hoped that when he got close he would call. The thought of him coming to this area went in and out of my head so many times I couldn't even begin to count. It was four weeks since I had e-mailed him, that he called. It was a Wednesday eve., 6:05 pm. I must have turned white. He said this is the Nomad and explained if the offer was still on he would be coming through our area in about two weeks. I was now a basket case. I called my wife in and told her and the next two weeks were a blur. I suddenly had all these things I had to get done.

I knew that trail days was coming up and wanted to be there. Our local celebration was at Guernsey Lake Campground for a ribbon cutting ceremony. I had learned that the Nomad was going to be part of it. My two boys and I went out to that area and hiked before the crowd gathered and then left mid way through the celebration. Too much hoopla for me. I did'nt even get to meet the Nomad. So home we came. I was at this point besides myself not knowing when or if he would even call. I did not know the exact day he would be calling. So I just told myself if it happens it happens. Went to bed Saturday June 6th. Got up Sunday June 7th, phone rang at 8:02 a.m. Never guess who it was. The rest of this story will have to be written in another post, because it is quite a story. Let me give you a hint... There is Life before Nomad, and Life after Nomad.....