Entering the Rogue

Here I sit in a well maintained roadside park north of Newaygo Michigan. I entered the Manistee National Forest and spent the night in a primitive campground. The campground is nestled near the shore of the Bigger Twin Lake. The Lesser Twin Lake is just a short walk from here.

I have been surrounded by some of the finest God's nature has to offer for the last two days as I traveled from Croton to where I am now. This is the first current entry I have put in this journal of my exploration of the North Country Trail.

My intention was not to talk trash about anything I encountered and only point out the best in the people I have met and of the areas I have gone through. Today's journal will have a different note. The trip through the Rouge Game Area hurt me in a personal way. I saw the ugly side of what happens when people disregard nature and are faithless stewards of our environment.

Two days after leaving the Rouge area I met a gentleman named Pat Loomis. He joined me for about 2 miles walking and riding his bike. He is a great guy who knows the area well. He lives near Croton, works in Fremont and travels the area extensively on his bike.

Pat and I discussed the Rouge Game Area and he told me he had been a volunteer with the NCTA and helped maintain the trail in that area a few years ago. I told him about my concerns and that I was uncomfortable writing about them. He told me I should because in some way it may bring attention to the problems and possibly help get something done.

Pat told me that area has had problems for years. Actions have been taken but not enforced and any help was needed.

Early Sunday morning May 2nd, I departed the Shady Lawn Cabins and joined the White Pine Trail. It was a rainy morning but by mid-afternoon the weather was supposed to be warm and humid. The weather people did get it right again. They are batting nearly perfect this entire hike.

I went south until I reached Cedar Springs and highway M-46. I knew there was a grocery store and a Big Boy on the corner shared with US-131. I stopped at the grocery and bought a few necessary supplies. I shopped light because my wife is meeting me tomorrow with my supply drop.

The Big Boy did not disappoint and I had the breakfast bar. I had a lot more fruit than normal including a whole banana as I figured my body needed actual nurishment by now.

Back on the road I headed west on M-46. I had put in 4 miles before reaching the BiG Boy and had around 6 more to go to reach Long Lake Park at the south end of the Rouge State Game Area. This was all over the road until I would reach Long Lake and be on the certified section of the NCT going through the Rouge.

I reached Long Lake Park around 3:00 p.m. I ate, rested and filled my water reserve as full as it would go. I had to go about 10 miles on this water including a night of "Commando Camping" in the north end of the Rouge.

It was my intention to go about a total of 17 miles today. There was one other time that I surpassed 17 miles when I had run out of water on my way to Yankee Spring's Deep Lake Campground. I had not planned on going more than 12 miles that particular day but no water can be a great motivator.

Diane coming tomorrow is another great motivator. She was intending to arrive around 10:30 a.m. and spend the whole day and night with me and then drop me back off the next morning. She was just as motivating as the water. I wanted to be there and waiting when she arrived so that no time would be wasted with her waiting for me. That meant covering seven more miles tonight and then 5 more in the morning.

I was very happy to finally be heading back into the woods after more than 40 miles of over the road style hiking.

The south side of the NCT located in the Rogue is poorly maintained. It looks like a major storm or a tornado touched down and devastated a large area of woods. The trail was impassable and no longer clearly marked. Some good soul had used pink ribbon to help guide hikers along the way. I thank that person.

This will happen and it would not be an adventure without this type of occurance but what happened next put a dark cloud on an otherwise okay day.

The Rouge State Game Area was mostly a garbage dump for nearly 3 miles. I cannot accurately describe the human devastation that has taken it's toll on what should be a nearly pristine environment. There was more than enough neglect, abuse, garbage and outright man made disaster to sadden anyone who even has a passing interest in environmental issues.

An absolute criminal behavior is being perpetrated on this State Land. I can tell that authorities have tried with little success to curtail some of the dumping taking place but it appears with poor results.

Plastic bags were decorating the trees in a way you would only expect to see by the worse maintained dump. Old newspaper flyers by the thousands, bundles of shingles, tires, old phone books and just garbage bags filled from locals using this area as their personal garbage disposal system.

I wish I had the words to appeal to this group of miscreants that would somehow change their behavior but my life's experience tells me that only the local sherrif has any chance of making an impact on these horrid practices. I can only hope that the state and local authorities are already on the case and that hundreds of volunteers will go in and try to right this wrong.

As I neared the northern third of the Rogue it did become more of what I had hoped it would be when I first entered. I hiked until 8:30 p.m., put up camp and tried to forget the horrific mess I had encountered earlier today.

After all, a good night's sleep and than I can spend the day with Diane.