Failed Otter Creek Trail (9.21.2019)
I recently purchased the book “The Trails of M-22” by Jim DuFresne. I decided that I would add walking all 40 trails to my list of the next 100 things I want to do. Okay, the truth so it made my list 240 items long; one must keep dreaming, or you might develop a “brain cloud” as Tom Hanks did in the movie “Joe versus the Volcano.”
I woke up and found it hard to believe that it was sunny and 83 degrees in Sept. It was a better day for walking than riding as the breeze was a little stiff. If one could keep the wind at one’s back when riding it would be okay. But I imagined – hill, wind in the face causing the traveling to become two mph because the only way to the top would be to walk the bike. So a perfect day for a trail – or so I thought.
To my surprise, crowds filled the parking lot. But despite the appearance of being busy, one can still find solitude. People were swimming as Lake Michigan water felt warm. If you look closely behind the otter creek sign, you can see this was a trip just for the Chevy.
The trail starts as a gravel road which crosses Otter Creek, turns into a 2-track and then finally became a hiking trail. An ideal place to wander and search for the perfect daisy or whatever beauty nature holds.
I finally found some daisies that I did not have to share their beauty with a pollinator. It seems that the pollinators (see the bee in the middle picture towards the bottom) were also enjoying the search of the perfect daisy.
Views of the creek and beyond with slight color changes letting us know it is time for a change in season.
As I wandered, the sun still seemed to be overhead, but I swear I felt two raindrops. I turned and looked to the direction from which I came and found the sky had changed. The brisk breeze had blown in some rather dark clouds. I had nothing with me to protect my cameras from the rain so a little over 1.5 on the 4.5-mile loop. I decided to get my cameras back to the truck.
When I returned to the Chevy, the parking lot was near empty. It is one of those moments where you wonder, why did I park so far away. But as you can see in the photos above, when I got to the beach, the sky held a different kind of beauty.
There is no more beautiful power in the world than that created by water.
As one looked towards Empire, the sky still does not look threatening, but I headed back to the Chevy just in the nick of time. As I turned out of the parking lot, it began to pour. I can never thank my wild angels enough for warning me of the change in weather by sending a warning of only two drops. I may complete the trail the next time I come north, or it may be next year. Just keep following the adventures of three treks and a chevy.
