Photos and story by Julie Burrell Recently we asked folks to share their hiking stories with us. https://www.nearnorthnow.com/the-pulse/we-want-your-trail-tales This one comes from Ms. Burrell an N3 friend and author of the Burrell Business Brief Raise your hand if you grew up less than 10 miles from a national treasure and didn’t know it…. Just me? My childhood was spent on the banks of Minnie Pond & roaming through the Manistee National Forest… little did I know the North Country Trail was literally in my backyard. This national trail, spreading across the US from North Dakota to Vermont, stretches through Newaygo County for 40+ miles. And I didn’t step foot on to this trail until 2018. Fast forward to 2021, I committed to the North Country Trail Association’s annual Hike 100 challenge https://newaygocountyexploring.com/2021/02/12/winter-hiking-questions-from-a-newbie/ which is far more than I’ve ever hiked in my life. Living in Hesperia and a being a fan of convenience, I normally start at the M-20 trailhead and enjoy out & back hikes during the occasional lunch hour or a weekend morning. In preparation for my 36th trip around the sun & needing to use some vacation time, I planned a long (for me) hike.A few weeks ago, I had an unusual full Saturday morning of no chores and occupied kids, so I took off toward my favorite trailhead – planning to go all the way to Echo Drive and back. I normally stop about half way between M20 and Echo, so it was really great to see this stretch of trail. The most interesting was a swampy section, utilizing a really long rustic boardwalk – don’t walk too fast though – it gets slippery! Feeling confident after my 7ish miles, I felt ready to tackle the 8+ mile stretch of Echo Drive to 40th street on my birthday. My father-in-law even gifted me a decades old walking stick, forged by his dad from Alaskan wood. Huge thanks to the famous Charles Chandler, providing crucial car spotting service, I started at Echo Drive around 8:40 in the morning. Only slightly terrified of running into a bear, thanks to a circulating photo on the White Cloud Community Network page the night before, I began my trek. It was a little chilly and slightly damp, but the woods were serene. It was quiet, peaceful and exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday morning. I saw dozens of birds (only few of which I can identify – the birding skills of the family I married into hasn’t rubbed off quite well enough yet), and oddly – lots of slugs. I enjoyed the sights - a few yellow flowers sprouted near some water, lots of greenery and my favorite – the blue blazes. The volunteers who support the trail across several states continue to amaze me – I mean, check out this boardwalk! I crossed a few seasonal roads, some open water, and even stumbled across a rare coastal marsh – just a few hundred feet from M-37 between White Cloud and Newaygo.
The North Country Trail is just one of many trails in our beautiful county that you probably pass every day – take my advice…..don’t wait 30+ years to give them a try!
1 Comment
Mark Burrell
5/10/2021 07:00:06 pm
Thanks Julie you are awesome!!!
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Features and FunConcerts, Plays, Happenings, Local Recipes, Gardening, Entertainment, Charities, Fundraisers, upcoming events, Theater, Activities, Tech, and much more. Archives
November 2024
Categories“We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.”
- Eric Qualman |