On the Trail – day 3

Day 3: approximately 10 miles

We left Meeker’s Haven around 8:30am and hiked along the side of the road about 3/4 of a mile back up to the trail. The day started out gray, moist and in the 50’s. Then the temperature began falling and a steady drizzle fell. We were warm as long as we kept moving. My feet were not in good shape. I had 2 large blisters on my right foot and a pulled muscle on the outside of my right foot, from the heel up past my ankle.  I wasn’t sure which foot to favor.

As long as we were under the canopy of trees, we didn’t feel the rain.

Blueberry country! We passed field after field of highbush blueberry bushes. Apparently, Michigan is number one in production of cultivated blueberries.

Moving into the blueberry fields meant hiking under the open sky with a cold wind and biting rain. After seeing the bright red autumn leaves of the bushes, I felt a great urge to have a bush of my own.

We had our lunch near this field, under the protection of an old weeping willow tree. Maureen’s husband Steve packed us a great lunch of pasta salad, homemade cookies, and apples. The lunch was delicious but I really could have used a cup of hot tea. We cut our break short so we could get back to hiking to warm up.

This section of trail had fewer stops, fewer latrines and fewer water pumps. It was much more barren.

The hike was long, but thank goodness Maureen set a good pace. We got into a rhythm and I could ignore my feet and kept moving along. I just know that if I were alone, I would have slowed down to a crawl, and maybe never finished. This is our final stop at the one mile marker by the Black River. As you can see, the scenery got more interesting again.

The covered bridge, a special landmark pointing the way towards our final destination.

Pictures from the bridge. The trail meandered alongside the river all the way to…

 

Mile marker zero. Here I am, damp and disheveled; tired. My feet were a mess. But I did it!

Arriving in South Haven.  A typical view of condos and marinas. The journey was over.

Maureen and I talked of the possibility of future jaunts with a few other women that enjoy hiking. Hmmm, could be fun.

If you’d like to see the route we took, I’ve included a pdf of the map.

Map of trail

On the Trail – day 2

Day 2 – approximately 10 miles.

The second day of the 33.5 mile hike was probably the nicest day of the three. The weather was in the 60’s and we saw a bit of sun throughout the day. We spent a comfortable night at a work friend’s home in Gobles and was ready to get a ride back to the trail the next morning. Surprisingly, for someone as out of shape as myself, the only aches and pains were in my shoulders from carrying a backpack and a headache because I thought this would be a good time to cut back on my caffeine addiction. Otherwise, I felt great. Maureen, being the woodswoman that she is, was amazing, of course.

  

What a view to wake up to. This private lake is called Little West Lake, although, in my head it will always be known as Martha’s Lake, in honor of our wonderful hostess .

Admiring the color while waiting for our ride into town and back to the trail.

I think this is my favorite photo of the trail in the early morning light.

We’re deep into farming country now.

A cow, checking us out as we passed. It was quite a pastoral scene with the beautiful trees behind them.

An old, abandoned barn.

We discovered a wonderful growth of British Soldiers moss on a log.

Reaching Bloomingdale, the halfway point, around 11:00am. Unfortunately, the Depot Museum was closed.

Van Buren County maintains the Kal-Haven Trail and they have stations set up every couple of miles consisting of primitive latrines, water pumps and picnic tables or benches. We took a break every time we came to a station. With all the water we drank to keep hydrated (and to overcome the caffeine withdrawal), we needed to make these stops.

The trail goes ever on.

At our lunch stop…I had to take a picture of some beautiful red oaks glowing in the sunlight.

 

We moved into a swampier part of the trail with lots of standing water. I tried to capture the look of the murky pools with fallen leaves floating on top. Not too successful.

A golden afternoon.

This is also the spot where I stepped on a stick, hidden under some leaves, and took a spill. I scraped up my knees and the palms of my hands. I think I pulled a muscle along the side of my foot, because from this point on, I began having foot problems.  We reached our destination, a cottage called Meeker’s Haven on Saddle Lake in Grand Junction at 2:30, 3 hours earlier then I originally planned. By then, I was in a lot of pain.

I forgot to take a photo of the exterior of the cottage so I’m borrowing this one from their website.  This is where we spent night #2.

 

The house, built in 1907, is currently owned by the great-granddaughter. Can you imagine a house being in the same family for 200 years? It was charming, with a large enclosed porch facing the lake and a working fireplace. This is my kind of house. I could totally live here.

Because we arrived early, we could relax, drink some hot tea and read for a few hours on the beach. The view was great! Dinner was delivered by Maureen’s husband, Steve, and we spent a few hours with pleasant company.

A beautiful sunset…

and the end of a lovely day.

Unfortunately, I was left with some large and painful blisters that would challenge me on tomorrow’s hike.

 

On the Trail – day 1

I spent most of last week getting ready, then hiking the Kal-Haven Trail. All 33.5 miles of it in three days. I’m a 54 year-old, slightly overweight, out-of shape woman and I thought that this would be a fun way to raise funds for our local community theatre. I’ve done some hiking in the last couple of years, but never this much at one time. I was determined to try, despite my shortcomings.

The week prior was cold and wet, not getting much out of the 40’s(F) and I was concerned that the weather during the week would be more of the same. Luckily, the weather got warmer, in the 50’s and 60 degrees, and it looked as though we would be walking during the peak fall color.

Day 1: approximately 13.5 miles – from Kalamazoo to Gobles.

The Kal-Haven trail is an old, abandoned railroad track that has been turned into a linear state park. It is used by hikers and bicyclists, mostly on weekends and during the spring and summer months. You can find out more about the trail here .

My hiking partner is a co-worker at the library who has had much experience in hiking, camping and the outdoor life in general. I felt it probably wasn’t a good idea, safety-wise to hike alone and she was kind enough to arrange her work schedule to come with me as my bodyguard. Thank goodness she was there to keep me going when I got tired and sore.

 

The trailhead in Kalamazoo. I was told by a reliable source that the trail goes downhill from Kalamazoo to South Haven so I decided to take any little advantage I could by heading west towards Lake Michigan.

We’re ready to begin our adventure. My friend Maureen is the one on the right, she actually looks like she knows what she is doing. I’m the rank amateur on the left. We started out at about 8:45am.

Heading down the trail.

 

You just know that I spent most of the time trying to capture the color that was all around us.

 

After a cloudy morning, the clouds broke up around noon, showing a little sun and a warmer walk.

 

Even though it was a weekday, we met bikers throughout the day, and on all three days.

 

Maureen takes the lead as the bike passes by.

 

We begin to see evidence of the agriculture in the area. This is a field of feed corn, waiting for the harvesting machines.

 

It’s noon, and we’ve crossed a little stream. We think that it’s Campbell Creek, also known as Whiskey Run (but we’re not sure). There is a sign welcoming us to Van Buren County. 

 

Looking for trout.

 

Time for lunch.

 

Mr. Toad visits us while we’re eating.

 

Maureen knows the names of the trees, the birds by their song, and lots of the plants along the trail. This vine is called a Virgin’s Bower Vine. It’s obviously related to a clematis.

 

 

Wow! Look at the fall color!

An old abandoned train depot. A reminder that we are hiking along an old railroad track.

We saw Woolly Bear caterpillars all over the place.  I kept trying to call them Woolly Mammoth caterpillars. What does it mean when you see an all black Woolly Bear?

 

 

Walking through a golden afternoon.

A Christmas tree farm

  

Arriving at the first day’s destination by 3:30pm, about 2 hours earlier than originally planned.  This is a small town called Gobles where a work friend picked us up to spend the night at her home.

Martha lives on this beautiful private lake, a kettle moraine formed by the glaciers; very deep and spring fed . Her grandfather originally bought property all along one side and eventually Martha, her sisters and children have all built homes here. She told us that it is just like the Kennedy compound, except without the wealth. The other side of the lake was made of wetlands and unsuitable for building. A good means to keep the lake a private lake.

 

A bottle tree near her garden.

 

Her sister, who works with stained glass, made this window and Martha’s husband built the arbor for her son’s wedding.

 

Her small side garden, almost done for the year.

 

A handmade stone walkway thru her garden embellished with little colored glass.

I never really thought of Martha as being an artistic person, but as she gave us a tour of her house and yard, she showed us several beautiful items that she designed or made to decorate her home.

Martha and her husband fed us well and we both grabbed a hot shower, stretched out our sore muscles and fell into bed. My back seemed to be bothering me the most and Maureen had some pain in her hips. I was hoping that a good night’s sleep would ease the sore muscles.