It was a five and a half hour drive. After a couple of quick pit stops, like to get some hiking pants because we knew it was probably going to rain. We made it to the trail head it was bout 18 minutes before sunset. It was suppose to be about 1.8 miles in to the first hike in camp site. We decided to get a move on it while there was light left, though the light didn’t last long. It wasn’t long before we were hiking in the dark.

It was dark and it was getting pretty late, we thought we should have been near, we checked the map and it looked a ways off still. We ended up catching up to another couple of hikers that where pushing on in the dark. After speaking with them they said it would only be another 15 minutes or so ahead. We ended up seeing the site with water and a found a large group of campers already setup for the night. The ground was rocky and full of tents and people. There wan’t any good spots to setup on. It looked like an old road.

We found a spot on a slant and went to setting up. It didn’t take long before some frustration set in, since we didn’t have free standing tents we needed to get the tent stakes into the ground but we were having no end of trouble getting them into the ground, even partially. I had my doubts to whether or not the tent would stay up in the wind. I went for a walk around to search around a bit. Where there was a large group of people when we first arrived was now empty. We tried the ground it was a hard clay but we could get steaks into the ground so we moved our tents over there, we were still on a slant but now we didn’t have to worry about the tent falling in the middle of the night. After settling in yet another group of hikers ended up coming through. We over heard them talking that where we were wasn’t the camp site, that it was still ahead. We weren’t going to break down camp yet again and move so we decided to keep put for the night.

We decided we wanted to get ahead of the other groups first thing in the morning so we could get a better site further in the trail. As soon as it was light out we got to packing up and heading out, only a few minutes before the rain came. We passed by the actual site was pretty full of people but looked much nicer than where we camped out at, in the light it was pretty obvious that we camped out on the access road.

It wasn’t long before the rain was starting to soak in. The trail got muddy quick, we tip toed about to try to keep out of the mud and the water. We did pretty well even though every downhill and up hill part of the trail had running water on it. We passed our first creak, as we were enjoying the area a couple of guys came up the trail, stepping right through the water. We weren’t as adventurous and hopped on a rock to stay dry on our way through.

We came up to a large pond the water level was high and covered the trail. We where about to go around a couple of places but there was an area we had no choice but to walk through the muddy water. Well our feet were wet but we weren’t cold, I had given up on trying to keep my feet out of water. We reached the next camp area where there was water where we decided to make breakfast. The rain had let up just in time too. We ended up talking to the couple of guys that walked through the water, they said they were going to bail out instead of pushing to the next camp site. I thought it was kind of ironic for how they stomped through the creak earlier.

The wind was being a pain for keeping my stove going for making coffee, breakfast didn’t turn out well. It was warm though, and the wind was cutting right through and blowing rain down from the leaves above. I had to switch to a sweater and get rid of my jacket, it was soaked. My buddy Ryan wasn’t doing to well his teeth where chattering and he was shivering, he was looking quite miserable. Wasn’t long before we shared the sentiment of the earlier group of hikers for bailing out early. The weather was suppose to get colder and windy too.

Back on the trail our feet where wet and cold my hands where feeling just as cold. It didn’t seem like long before I was warmed up. The trail seemed to get quite a bit more muddy after the rain stopped. I was starting to get tired with no good areas to take a break. We were getting close to our bail out trail. We came up to another creek with a rock hanging over keeping things dry under it. It looked like a splendid place to take a break. There were some turned up stumps to sit on, we decided to have a snack and a coffee break. I took off my shoes to to let my feet dry up, the ground was cold so I only did some tip toeing about but my feet did dry. I sat on a stump a much needed rest at this time and enjoyed my coffee.

Refreshed after our break we worked our way back on the trail again to the car. We only had another mile and a half. It also ended up being the trickiest part of the trail. There was a really steep climb you could see everyone slipping on. It even looked like some might have just slid down on it to keep from falling. It was a difficult climb but we made it up without incident. A couple more muddy down hill walks and we where finally at the begging of the trail.

There was no avoid it, our feet were going back into the water at the end of our journey. Our feet where muddy so we decided to try to clean up the shoes a bit in the water while we were at it. We dropped our packs across the street was the Hope Furnace. We crossed the street to check it out, we didn’t realize it but the field we needed to walk to get to it was swamped out. We stepped over the first bit of water and sunk right it. the muddy murky water undoing and progress we made at the end of the trail. It was a neat furnace but it was time to go, walked back through the water back to the vehicle, took off our shoes and socks cranked the head and headed home.

We stopped for a bite to eat at Milestone Southern Smoked Barbeque, the food was fantastic. I ordered the the sampler platter, chicken, turkey, ribs, pulled pork, and brisket. Surprisingly I ate almost all of it with the chicken being the best. It was a long drive with us both being so tired. But we made it, pulled in the driveway at about 11pm. I dropped everything once I made it inside and called it a day.

At long last I tried my hand at backpacking. I’ve been putting together gear slowly over a couple of years. I finally got out there a few days ago. My friend(Ryan) and I traveled up to this trail early Friday afternoon. We made a pit stop at founders brewery in Grand Rapids, MI for diner, naturally without meter change. Got that sorted got some good beer and food and got back on the road, stuffed by rush hour traffic for a little bit before we burst through and were back on the move again, passing a few small towns along the way.

We arrived, after passing the the trail head parking and turning around. We promptly shook out our legs from sitting int he car, threw our packs on our backs and were off! Our progress was a bit faster than I expected, we passed by a dirt road, a couple of single track trails, an abandoned campsite(It was up a hill and I was too lazy to investigate it further), we came up to a creek and tried out our water filtration system. And we continued to leg on until we started searching for a campsite.

We started searching out our camp site, took maybe a half hour to find an acceptable place to setup. It looked to be an overgrown logging route, but it was clear, so we pitched our tents and went to hang our food. Hanging our food using a heavier carabiner to weight the paracord. Though a little light it flew pretty well after leaving out hands. During this process it really was showing how badly we throw. Took us maybe another half hour to get the line up. After we ditched the first part of the tree we were trying to toss it over. This drained another half hour of time. It was getting pretty dark at this point, we went back to our tents and did some reading for a bit listening to the rustling of a critter outside the tent for a while. It was perfect for my book as the main character was camped out for the night and something was approaching in the dark.

Rolled out of the tent to look at the stars around ten pm, it was a glorious view. The sky was clear and the lights were shining brightly. Tried taking a couple of pictures why my go pro but forgot about setting the exposure before doing so, the only star like light seen I believe was the planet Jupiter. 

I put on my thick socks and went to bed. I woke up to being unable to feel my right foots pinky toe. It was numbed by being so cold. I did what I could to warm up but nothing seemed to do the trick for a while. I noticed my sleeping pad didn’t have any air in it, I blew it up again only to find it drain quickly and providing very little insulation from the ground. I moved around in the sleeping bag a bit to try to warm up and tried going back to sleep. Feeling my nose and mouth being just as cold on every breath. After some time I checked the weather, in the middle of the woods I had cell service, great! The outside temperature hit freezing, yuck! 32 degrees. My feet still freezing cold I got up to walk around a bit to get the blood flowing and warm up some. I checked on the food, went to the bathroom. I was feeling better now that I had my shoes on. I decided to then take them back into the tent and sleep with them on. As my feet finished warming I fell asleep, tucked down into my sleeping back where my face couldn’t be touched by the cold. 

I woke up in the morning not really refreshed from the nights episode of cold and fitfull sleep. I started at getting the camp ready for breakfast. Started the stove and got coffee going as fast as possible. My buddy Ry slowly making it out of his tent as well. I told him I couldn’t do another night like this and I wanted to turn back a day early. He was relieved as he didn’t either. We went about our breakfast and packed up and headed further in the trail before turning back, a couple hours in we found a creek a perfect place for a long rest and a large lunch before our journey back, about 6 miles. I had a MRE that I got from my brother for Christmas a couple years back because I was curious what he ate in while in the field. It was a neat contraption a chemical reaction from water heats up the meal in a bag, using very little water to do so. It was still a little chilly after this process so I tossed it on my cook kit and warmed it up the rest, it was surprisingly good, it was beef stew, it had cornbread, some desert bread, Reese’s pieces, flavored drink power, and an apple spread. 

Before we departed back to the car, we toasted with our alcohol and turned back. Our trek back was tiresome, the weight of the packs really started to wear on my the shoulders, my legs were getting warn as well. The end of the trail was near, it ended with a climb to the car that wiped the both of us at the end. With great success our first hike ended, about six miles in, six miles back. Didn’t take me long after to get some new socks and fix my popped sleeping pad in preparation for my next hike.