It is my decision after all.....

The rest of the way to the Mackinaw Bridge is mapped out utilizing the National Park system and this park is closed. What now? I checked my phone and much to my surprise I had one bar. I might be able to get through to Diane.

Much to my relief she answered on my first try and we had decent reception. I had to explain to her the seriousness of my situation. The parks are closed, it is getting down into the mid 20's tonight, I am to tired to walk another 5 miles without even knowing if there is a motel anywhere near and I am wet and cold.

I am sure she could tell that I was nearing the end of my rope. I asked her to look up the National Parks and find out if the other parks I would need are open and if the camping restrictions were only at this park.

She called back about fifteen minutes later with the news that the other parks in my area did not open for another five days. With all of my planning, all the people I had talked to and after talking to a Forest Ranger just yesterday I had never found out that the parks did not open until later. I am feeling foolish.

I could hole up in a motel for 5 days after another 24 hrs exposed to the elements or I could go home.

Humiliated, cold and tired I began trying to ask Diane if she would pick me up. It would be close to a four hour drive. I was beating around the bush because I am not comfortable asking her to do this the day before Mother's day. She had plans with the children and what I was asking her to do would mess them up.

She let me off the hook as soon as she figured out I thought it was time to come home. I do love that girl so!

She said she would be on her way in about an hour. It was 5:00 p.m. now and that would make it around 10:00 p.m. and after dark before she would arrive. With everything so wet I can only hope to start a fire.

The park is deserted

The hike is long, wet, cold and uncomfortable but I am nearing the end of what appears to be a twelve hour day. I came out of the woods on Pierce Rd. which over by Benton Lake National Campground turns in to eight mile.

The road commission is either widening, paving the road or both. It is soft sand with a lot of sign of construction. I rested by sitting on the electric junction boxes along the road in front of the properties of the local folks or in front of someone's summer home.

Occasionally, a car would go by or I would see someone in the yard in front of their cottage or home. Very few people are visible today.

At one point I saw a sign which posted left towards the National Park or right 5 miles to Brohman. I continued towards the park.

After what seemed like a long while but actually was only an hour or two I reached the park entrance. It appeared to be deserted. The State Parks and County Parks had been open for weeks. I am very confused by the desolation of the park.

I went to the campground sign up post to pay for the evening's campsite but they were not allowing camping either. The tables were upended and there were signs at every campsite forbidding camping. Panic almost set in at this time.

Upon expoloring the majority of the park I found open restrooms that were actually vault toilets with no running water. I did not find a fresh water source. The only shelter would be unheated restrooms.

Leaving the School House

The stubborn,willful me or the too embarrassed to call my wife me, won out. I am going to leave the "School House" and head to Benton Lake National Forest campground.

Breakfast consisted of Terriyaki Rice and coffee. I also scrounged up a fruit cup from the cabin refrigerator. I wrote a thank-you note and left a $20.00 bill. When you are on the trail any help is much appreciated.

It was misty and cold so I packed carefully and put on my rain gear again. Everything was pretty well dry so I was reasonably comfortable. On the down side I could still feel the ill effects of the bone deep cold from yesterday's trek.

Part of me did not want to tackle the trail today. I am tired, it is cold and it is wet again. Once I made up my mind I new I would eventually have to start the day so around 11:00 a.m. I left the warmth of the cabin and headed out.

The NCTA had helped with a connector trail called the White Birch trail. The trailhead was only just down the road and it looked interesting as it would pass through a designated nature area on its way to hooking up with the NCT.

On the trail again. The damp cold started to bother me almost as soon as I started. Residual effect from yesterday. I kept moving and even though the rest stops allowed the cold to seep into the core of my body I knew they were mandatory if I was going to make it the 12 plus miles to the campground.

The nature center area, even though I knew it would be in full bloom in a couple of weeks, was rather barren and uninteresting. The plants were in their early stages. Typically I am very interested in this type of nature area as local vegetation was marked and identified. Too cold and wet to appreciate what little was there now.

I did meet a nice couple who were just starting to hike as a form of exercise and entertainment. They might of picked the wrong day to start this new interest. I talked to them for a few minutes and headed back down the trail toward the NCT.

Assuming I would make it to the campground, my plan was to buy some firewood at the campground store so that I could get a hot fire going. Once the fire was hot I knew that the dead fall and branches I would find would keep it going, wet or not.

I was running out of supplies so my new plan was to spend the night at Benton lake and than head back to M-37 and find a store and perhaps a motel for tomorrow night. I knew where a store should be and they would know where the closest motel would be. If there were no motels within 7 miles I would then have to hike all the way to Nichols Lake National Campground. It would be another 12-14 miles tomorrow depending on the proximity of a motel.

Wet and very cold I continued to push to reach Benton Lake. This is no fun. Tonight, even with a fire, I won't be able to fully dry out my gear and the extreme cold would be an unwelcome friend to tomorrow's start.

Heading to Benton Lake

I woke early on the morning of May 8th, 2010. After brewing a pot of coffee I rechecked the weather forecast and it was even worse than before.

Rain with chances of snow and lows in the mid 20's. It was 34 degrees at 8:00 a.m. this morning with only a high of 40 degrees at mid-day.

The National Park at Benton Lake was about 12 miles away. It is a full service campground so I think I should be okay at this park. The NCTA map shows a campground, picnic area, a water source and a fishing pier.

I think I am more worried about the 10 day forecast than just today's. Most of the next ten days are forecast to be cold and wet.

Once again critical decisions need to be made. I had several choices to ponder.

1. I could stay put at the cabin
2. I could hike the twelve miles to Benton National Park and than try for a motel the next day
3. Throw in the towel and arrange for a ride home

Part of me wants to go home. I miss Diane. I need to deal with a few other family matters. My house and yard need some care. I want to get back to the Holly Nazarene Church.

Part of me wants to continue to Mackinac Bridge.

On Diane's previous visit we set the Memorial Weekend as my come home date. Once that day was set I started to get obsessed with making it to the bridge by then. I would have to average about 12 miles per day to make it. That would only give me a couple of short days and no days off to conserve energy. I was already starting to suffer because of the extra miles per day for the last 5 days.

Today would be pivotal in determining if I would have the stamina to go another 275 miles by Memorial day. The wet cold day yesterday took a lot out of me. My whole body hurts. What to do?

The "School House"

True to his word the NCTA representative had the door unlocked and I was able to enter the cabin. There were a lot of brochures and paraphinalia around about the NCTA and the trail itself.

When I entered the foyer I stripped off my pack, raingear and boots. The furnace was set to go on as soon as I moved the thermometer up a few degrees. They even had a couple of fruit cups and a bottle of beer for me. I scrounged up a little cheese and sausage snack and made a pot of coffee.

The furnace unit and blower was in the kitchen area and I was able to begin the drying out process of my clothes and equipment as I was snacking and making the coffee. I was pleased to be out of the wet cold.

Sometimes when you get chilled to the bone it seems impossible to get warm again. Even with my high tolerance for temperature extremes today's hike chilled me through and through. Drying out, a hot shower, clothes drying and put back on did little to warm me. Of course the heat and shelter kept me from getting worse.

I had a good signal so I was able to talk to Diane and work on this journal. I think I entered three days worth of my adventure that evening and the next morning. I was trying very hard to keep myself busy in an attempt to ignore my physical exhastion and the chill I could not shake.

My sleeping bag being damp was a major concern so I made a strong effort to dry it first and succeeded. I knew it would help me to warm up. A warm room and a sleeping bag zipped up should have done the trick and did seem to work nicely.

When everything was close to being dry and hanging near the furnace I put the sleeping bag on a folded table and went to sleep. I was comfortable this night.

The NCTA cabin is out there somewhere

This morning I woke up to cold temperatures, the threat of rain and a pivotal decision to be made.

My Diane had been in contact with the North Country Trail Association. They have a cabin about 14 miles from the campground I am staying at. They are willing to let me use the cabin for the night. Normally, I do not plan to walk more than 12 miles in a day.

The cabin, called the "School House", is located close to the trail and would give me a good starting point the following morning. It would leave me about 12 miles from the first of a chain of National Parks in the Manistee forest which would lead me eventually to the "Big Mac" bridge which has become more of an obsession as the quest continues.

The snag is the weather forecast. The ten day weather forecast starting today, Friday May 7th, has only two relatively nice days and the rest are to be wet with 4 days of potential thunderstorms including today. Adding to the problem, the temperatures are potentially dropping into the 20's at night. There is even snow and hail in the forecast.

I can handle cold and I can handle wet but when you put the two together with wind and a potential for snow you are setting the stage for hypothermia. This is bad enough with a team of hikers to look out for each other. One hiker alone in the woods could be risking death in such conditions.

My equipment is rated for comfort to lows of 25 degrees. This would allow for survival probably as low as 10 to 15 degrees. But how do you compensate for being wet with these type of temperatures. An insidious side of hypothermia is the sleepiness and disorientation that comes with it. Unless you stay extremely focused you may not even be aware that you are in trouble.

Experience has taught me that as long as you keep moving your body temperature will remain high enough to be comfortable and safe. When you stop to rest the cold sets in quickly as the wetness from your own sweat on the inside and the wetness from the rain on the outside double up with the breeze to quickly lower your core temperature.

My options are clear to me:

1) Pack and move on quickly before today's rain begins and get to the "school house" as quickly as possible. Allowing for necessary breaks that would take about six hours.

2) Stay put and at least have access to a heated shower building and restrooms. There are also restaurants within walking distance.

3) Walk away from the trail and go to a local motel and hole up for several days.

4) Call it quits and stay put until someone can bring me home.

I opted for the first choice. The cabin would be heated and my obsession of making it to "Big Mac" was still pushing me forward.

I put my clothing and my sleeping bag in a large plastic bag before putting it in my backpack. All of my equipment is water resistant, that is a long way from water proof in the type of weather I was facing.

It began to rain as soon as I finished packing. I took a deep breath and headed out of White Cloud and back to the trail. It is quite remote in this area and I knew I was on my own for several cold wet hours.

The weather forecast proved to be correct. Heavy rain, some thunder, moderate breeze and gray, gray, gray skies. I felt pretty good for the first ten miles.

The weather was so bad, the day was reduced to a test of my mettle. I could not see much as I had to carefully watch the trail so that I would not slip and fall injuring myself. The animals were hunkered down and the vistas were reduced by my impeded vision and the gray skies.

This was definitely not a tourist hike. The rain just kept on coming. Each time I stopped to rest I would become cold and even wetter. Rest times just kept becoming less often and shorter in duration. All I had learned to protect myself form exhaustion during the last 30 days was thrown out the window in order to maintain my body heat. Just keep moving.

Fear and doubt began to creep into my thinking as I kept plodding along. Around the twelve mile mark I just wanted it to be over. This twelve miles was already worse than the two record 17 mile days. I was cold to the bone and the cold brought an ache to my old bones that I could not simply ignore as I had been the rest of the journey.

The rain became a mist and I decided a change of clothes was necessary. The breeze was quickening and I was chilled and shivering. I stopped in a an opening in the woods and stripped naked. As I took off my clothes I would wring them out and hang them from branches of a small tree I was next too.

The wind, although chilling, began to dry my skin. While drying out I opened my pack and redressed with the clothes in the plastic bag. I then packed my wet clothes in the plastic bag. Now everything would be sopping wet shortly.

This activity did help. Dry clothes put on my now wind dried skin began to help me feel a bit warmer. Twelve miles down and a couple of more to go. With this break and being a little dryer, I was now more confident I would make it to the cabin and something to eat. Food was on my mind six hours and 12 miles after my small breakfast.

The rain intensified as soon as I restarted. Within fifteen minutes I was in worse shape than I was before I stopped. You simply can't stop in these type of situations. I was forced to gut it out. I eventually popped out on a little road which I thought would lead me to the "School House". The road was really a wide trail with an occasional trailer or cabin on the side. This was adding to my confusion.

I did not know what I was looking for exactly and when I approached 14 miles I started walking up to the cabins to check for any sign that I was in the right place or if indeed the cabin itself was what I was looking for.

Ironically, I found the address of a cabin on a foreclosure notice that was shoved in the door of one of the cabins I walked up to. At least I was on the right road but I could not tell from my map how far I still had to go. I also did not have a cell signal from this remote location.

Further down the road a car approached. I waved the driver over and at first it appeared he would not stop for me. He immediately pulled into a driveway and turned around about 100 feet in front of me. I felt like he was leaving me there with the potential to die.

After turning his car around he did wait. He was just getting his mail. It turned out that he was a ranger for the National Park system. He said that I had about an half mile to go and I would know it instantly when I saw it.

As bad as I felt, I must admit that a half mile seemed a far distance. I had already gone 14 wet miserable miles. At least now I knew the end was in sight. Heat, food, a warm shower, shelter and a cell signal all waited just down the road.

In the distance was the "School House". It was named that because it had been a one room school house. The Ranger was right. I would not have missed it.

On to White Cloud

Early morning carried the sound of the birds to my ears as I awoke in my tent in the National Parks primitive campsites by Twin Lakes.

Looking out the flap of the tent brought to my vision another beautiful day. I love it in the morning.

Today, May 6th, I would be heading to White Cloud. I was looking forward to staying in a small motel located on the far end of town. Bad weather was on the way and I wanted to hole up until it passed. One good decision made early on as I started this journey was to avoid getting caught in the woods or forest during a thunderstorm. Too much danger from falling branches or trees.

The scenery was beautiful as I packed and ate breakfast before leaving Twin Lakes. I had 13 miles to go today and I wanted to be on the move by 11:00 a.m. On the trail again.

The coastal wetlands of Michigan, located in the Manistee National Forest, was the location of the trail I would be following north for the next few days.

Back on the trail I crossed M-37 and continued my wetland journey. Some areas were quite wet and I had to cross several wobbly bridges and water crossings. I was a bit nervous as I did not want to hike wet and muddy.

A very large bird startled me as it ran down the trail. I got a good look, but I didn't recognize the species. It looked a lot like a Heron or a Sandhill Crane but the colors seemed to be off. The bird did not fly off but ran up the trail until he disappeared from my sight line. Later research has convinced me that it was the Crane. The Crane has more color in the Spring and turns more gray as Summer progresses.

I saw another eagle today and once again was amazed at the amazing distance this majestic bird can cover with such minimal effort. This eagle flew directly over my head so I got a good look and than with one beat of his wings he left my view again.

Yesterday, at the campground I had watched a good size Otter swim across the entire lake. I thought I was watching a log for a moment but clearly he had his own momentum. As he reached the point directly in front of me his head became clear.

Springtime is great in the woods. The thrilling sound of the birds, the pleasing odor of the various trees and bushes in full bloom and the visual beauty of the wildflowers created a collage that bombard my senses this beautiful day as I hiked the trail to White Cloud.

One line of thinking that crossed my mind several times during this quest is the unlikely circumstance that nature is an accident. It becomes abundantly clear that a greater power created the landscape of nature and man's ability to appreciate the awesome beauty and the terrible cruelty nature brings with her.

Along that same line of thinking it is apparent that the natural world was created for man's use, pleasure and survival. Man is designed for this world and to have dominion over it. God also called men to be good stewards of the earth and nature in general. It is horrible when man does it wrong and a thing of beauty when done correctly.

Later in the day I approached the town of White Cloud. I crossed the White River and passed the cemetery into town. I was able to rest at a small park that was a memorial to a town that had disappeared some years ago.

Fatigue had been my enemy for the last several miles so I was glad that I was approaching the town. As I was passing the High School a very helpful gentleman, who was repairing the roof of the sports field grand stands, called down to me. He asked me if I was hiking the trail and I told him I was. He pointed out that there was a campground just ahead and a Subway further down the road.

Fatigue and the pleasant surroundings changed my mind into staying at the campground instead of walking the extra mile and a half to the motel. Saving the distance today and than again tomorrow was more appealing than the security and relative comfort of a motel. I checked the weather and the thunderstorm on the horizon had been downgraded to a 90% chance of cold rain tomorrow.

My wife, Diane, was contacting the NCTA to reserve the cabin they own along the trail for tomorrow night. I made the decision to forge ahead instead of holing up for the next few days. I would likely be cold and wet tomorrow but the NCTA cabin would be waiting for me along the trail.

Some decisions don't work out as well as others.