Prologue:
With the long 4th of July weekend coming up, I decided to take Friday off and hike another section of the NCT so I could hit my goal for this years "Hike 100 Mile Challenge". This section would put me over this goal by at least 15 miles and I planned on doing it in 3 days, since I had to be back home by Sunday afternoon. I'd hoped for 3 days of more or less equal mileage, but after looking at the maps and determining water availability, I decided on two long days of 16-20 miles each, then have a short last day prior to the 2 1/2 hour drive home. I'd looked at doing this section before and got in contact with Nimbus37 on HF, who provided me some great intel on the section.
Since this was a point to point hike I needed a shuttle, so I got in contact with Beth, who is the President of the Western Michigan Chapter of the NCT . She then put me in contact with Charles, a local member, and we made arrangements to meet me at the 40th St. Trailhead (south of White Cloud) on Friday morning, then drive me back north to the 76th Street (south of Baldwin), where I'd begin my hike.
At 4 AM on Friday, July 1st, my alarm when of and I hit the road by 4:30, heading west from my hometown of Clarkston. I had a good hour of heavy rain, made a stop at McDonalds in Newaygo and rolled into the 40th Street TH, south of White Cloud, by 7:30. Charles pulled in shortly after and had me follow him to the free MDOT parking lot 1/4 mile away on M-37, since 40th St. TH is secluded. We took a detour on the way and made a stop at the NCT Schoolhouse. You can make arrangements in advance to stay inside (for a nominal fee) and use the kitchen, bunkroom and showers. If you want to rough it outside for free, you can camp in the yard. There's an outhouse, water tap, firepit and picnic table. Trees looked good for hanging too! It's also 1.9 miles away from the NCT, via a spur trail and loop.
Day 1: 76th Street to Bear Creek Stealth Camp, 19.9 miles
By 8:30, we arrived at the trailhead and I headed south. I came across the first of many trail registers, and added Michigandave to the roll. The trail was pretty wet, due to the big storms that had gone through earlier that morning and in less than an hour I would meet two wet backpackers heading north. One of them didn't have a pack cover and 4 miles later, I found it alongside the trail. Temps were in the 60's and very comfortable, but my feet got pretty soaked. I knew I would be paying the price for wet feet later in the day. The first 7 miles were pretty easy going, with some nice long sections of boardwalks, and was your typical Michigan walk in the woods, with two road crossings at 96th and 16 mile road.
After a short break at 16 mile road, the trail started to climb and based on my intel from Nimbus37, I'd be passing some beautiful lakes. He had encouraged me to stop and camp at Condon Lake, but it was too early in the day. I could easily see coming back here and basecamping for the weekend, because the view was pretty nice. Since it was a holiday weekend, there were already people setting up there camps for the weekend. One group had packed in a giant inflatable raft and was pumping it up on the lakeshore. I really enjoyed this whole section and it was one of the highlights of the trip.
By 2:30, I arrived at Nichols Lake SF CG, thinking I could water up, but the spur to the CG wasn't marked and I ended up at the trailhead crossing the paved entrance road. I did walk it a couple hundred feet, then decided to turn around, since I had enough water to get me through the rest of the day. At this point, I'd done 15.2 miles and was slowing down a bit. I ended up pulling my camp chair out and taking a break along the road to recharge, since I knew I'd have less than 5 miles to go. Plus, if I needed water, I knew I would be crossing some rivers.
A few miles south of Nichols, I crossed Tank Creek. I had found a youtube video from someone else who had done this hike before and it would have been a good option to stop there, but it was still too early. The trees weren't the best for hanging, but the water from the sandy creek bed was cold and clear.
From there, the trail continued through the woods and eventually straightened out, since I was following an old raised railroad bed. I got to West Michigan Creek, where the youtube video showed his camp, but the area where he set up was in a now soggy wetland.
I continued on, since I knew via Google earth that there were promising signs of pines at Bear Creek.
I was correct, and at 5:00 PM, I got to the bridge at Bear Creek, crossed over it and found a great spot in the pines on the SE side. There's something about setting up in the pines! It was nice and open and I got my camp setup and processed water from the clear, sandy bottom creek. The rest of the evening I spent in porch mode relaxing and enjoy my time in camp.
Tonights' dinner would be Spaghetti Beef & Pork Couscous from Camp Chow and a can of Keewenaw Widowmaker Black Ale. A perfect meal to end a perfect day.
The mosquitos were starting to come out, so by 8:00 PM, I hung my food bag, secured my camp and spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and looking out over the pines. There were some over active owls, but that just added to the overall experience. By 9:30 I was asleep and very comfortable in the 60 degree temps. Later on it would cool off and when I woke up in the morning at 5:30, it had gotten down to 46 degrees.
Day 2: Bear Creek to Pines Stealth Camp, 2 miles south of White Creek, 19 miles
After getting up and having my coffee and oatmeal, I started to pack up camp. I wanted to get out earlier, but I was moving slow and had to take care of some blisters from the previous day. By 7:05 AM, I was on the trail for the short, straight hike down to Pierce Road. I wish there would have been more of a parking lot there, because Bear Creek would be another nice place to spend a weekend
After crossing the road, it was back to the woods, with grass and ferns soaking my boots and socks again.
Eventually, I was on a long section of trail that had been burned out. Not alot of shade and I was very happy when I finally got through it and back into the woods.
At around 9:30, shortly after passing 6 mile road and after hiking 6 miles, I came to the first of 2 spur trails that would take you to the NCT Schoolhouse, 1.7 miles away. It was time for a short break, so having my stansport stool along was well worth it.
The next miles were pretty much your typical woods walk and by noon I crossed 3 Mile Road and took an extended break to air out my feet and attempt to dry my socks.
The temps were heating up and it was easily the mid 70's. I was doing good on water and if I needed water, there was a stream ahead and a potential campsite.
At 2 PM and 14 miles, I crossed M-20 and knew that my destination, the White River, was 3.5 miles away. I had planned on stopping there, so I continued on and enjoyed the surrounding woods. I hadn't mentioned this earlier, but during the 3 days I was out, I saw at least a dozen deer, some turkeys, heard alot of owls and scared up a few stray grouse.
At 3:30, the bridge over the White River came into view. The area on the north side was brushy and swampy, since it's an old railroad bed. I was hoping the south side would be better.
The river was clear and the bottom was sandy, then I crossed over the bridge to look for a spot that I had seen on youtube. There it was, on my left, and I was ready to call it a day. I stopped, looked around and realized that it wasn't going to work...widowmakers, dead trees, too small trees etc.
You get the picture. I needed water and a break, plus had to make a new plan. I took off my shoes, cooled down my feet and decided to continue south. Just then, I met some dayhikers coming north and they said there was a pine plantation a couple miles south. Plan B would be for me to camel up on water, since it would be a dry camp and there was no good water available.
After resting up, I got back on the trail by 4:30 with an added 5 pounds of water in my pack. I was moving slow, but heading south was my best option, plus it would make my hike out on Sunday shorter. I passed Echo Drive and had a short road walk to pick up the trail again. Immediately there was a pine plantation, but lots of brush, so I kept on moving.
I did see this interesting tree along the side of the trail
2 miles later, at 5:30, I entered hammock nirvana, with the most perfect hang spot I've ever seen. The pine plantation was huge and the section I was in had a perfect opening. After I looked at in Google earth after I got home, I was just on the edge of it and it must be at least 60 acres. It had been another long day, so I got setup in porch mode and relaxed.
I had planned on another Camp Chow meal, but I was lazy, so I just made decaf coffee and ate my pizza combos, fruit pie, candy bar and other junk food from my snack bag. Temps were still in the mid 70's with a little bit a wind, so it was nice finally calling it a day. I got my camp organized for night and just lounged in my hammock and took advantage of the good 4g cell coverage. I also got a post up on HF for another of my "12 Nights". By 9, it was my hiker midnight and the woods were quiet. I slept great and only woke up once to water the trees.
Day 3 Pine Stealth Camp to 40th Street Trailhead, 6.2 miles
Morning came way too quick and I was up and about again by 5:30, but forced myself to stay in my hammock until 6. I had my morning cafe bustello instant expresso and a carnation instant breakfast (with nido powdered milk), packed up and got on the trail around 7:00 AM.
For me, hiking in the morning is what I love best. It's quiet, I'm rested and honestly, I have alot more pep in my step than I do at 4 in the afternoon. This was another really nice section with a variety of trees and terrain.
After a few miles in I knew I'd be coming up to a road crossing. Soon, I began to pickup the smell of bacon, and after coming to a dirt road and sign for a Coastal Plain Marsh, I came across 2 backpackers who had spent the night in a beautiful pine plantation next to a marsh. After stopping to chat a bit, I continued my hike through the woods.
I could hear 40th Street ahead and came to my last trail register, so once again, I signed in and left a subtle plug for HF.
By 9:32 AM, I arrived at the 40th Street Trailhead, then headed east for the short walk to my car parked at the M-27 MDOT lot.
Here's my final stats for the trip: 44.8 miles walked (to car) 2.6mph average speed in a total of 17 hours and 22 minutes of walking time. In keeping with my long standing tradition of a picture heavy and long report, it's a resource for anyone that might want to do the same trip. The NCT through Michigan is a great trail and I still have many, many miles ahead of me. Thanks for joining me for this adventure!
Link to full album:
http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/mi...0th%20July2016
https://northcountrytrail.org/
http://northcountrytrail.org/wmi/
https://northcountrytrail.org/get-in...100-challenge/
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