It wasn't fun to learn that rain was forecast for the morning after yesterday's misadventures. But you can't expect sunny days every day.
We began hiking west from Naomikong Overlook on Lake Superior's Taquamenon Bay. It was raining. The path wasn't too bad initially, but there were several spots that were pretty overgrown and wet.
The worst part came when the trail pushed us onto what was labeled a dirt road. We envisioned a wide, flat path that was easy to hike. How wrong we were! The rain from the last few days swamped the first quarter-mile or so of the path, so we inched along, stepping on downed logs, circling around in the brush and so on. Our feet got soaked anyway.
Eventually this path became reasonably decent, which meant we still had to skirt huge puddles every 100 yards or so, and the overgrown vegetation still soaked our feet. But at least we could walk somewhat steadily.
The trail next went onto Highway 123, which wasn't that busy, so it was a decent hike. The rain stopped, so we began to dry out. Lunch was at a wayside at the point where the trail hitched west toward Taquemenon Falls. There were even restrooms and garbage cans. Score!
The afternoon was great. The rain stopped and it was cool (48 degrees) and windy, which meant virtually no mosquitoes. We weren't hot and sweating. The scenery was beautiful. We saw a giant crane in the woods -- definitely a novelty. I've only seen them before in farm fields or near water. Saw lots of geese and goslings. We ended the day at 6:30 p.m.
There aren't any restaurants where we're staying (Paradise, Michigan). The closest place is a bar nine miles away. Sounds good, except after hiking all day and then showering, we crash. So we ate snack foods again -- bread, instant mashed potatoes, cheese, nuts. Looking forward to real food tomorrow night, when we stay in St. Ignace.
Snowshoe and Cheese Ed
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