Go on 12 hikes this year

Another easy peasy hike through the pumpkin colored leaves.
No snakes this time.

“My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be;
she loves the bare, the withered tree;
she walks the sodden pasture lane.”

I am in love with this place. It is so unbelievably breathtaking. And there always new trails to explore. We wanted to take an extra long hike, so we went deep into the woods for some peaceful couple time. We walked the extra loop near the White Pine Plantation, and went into the open field as the sun was going down. As we were deciding which side of the fork in the trail to take, I noticed a slithering tail going into the bushes. The next thing I remember, I was climbing Paul like a tree. Not my best moment. I hurt my toe (walked into an uprooted tree stub) minutes before, but there was no pain anymore as I hauled my little butt outta there! Funny how that works. We laughed and laughed after it. Especially at the part where I’m supposed to be the one who likes snakes. Go figure.

Same place, different trail. Hiking in the Fall is one of my most favorite things about the season. The air feels and smells crisper, much more earthy than in the summertime. While we were walking, I noticing gobs of fiery red leaves that carpeted the ground. I’m thinking of some kind of art project to do with them? Perhaps I’ll just frame some… but I digress. We ended up getting lost, but I like to think of it as a serendipitous ending. The sunset was breathtaking through the trees, and we were able to breathe deeper and relieve the stress built up over the week.

A little off the beaten path, but beautiful and a great workout, nonetheless! We went on my birthday morning, before it got suffocatingly hot – and it was so worth it. We took Eli and got to talk to each other in the middle of a giant forest. We found a lake that was overtaken by frogs and got to be by the water. It’s an awesome place.

An unexpected hike. Paul, his brother Tim and I decided to go for a mountain (I say mountain, I mean hill) biking trek. Mid-Michigan has, like the rest of the country, been experiencing lots of rain recently, but it looked like the trails were muddy and maybe a little wet, so off we went. About 15 minutes in, Tim yelled to me that he was going through deep water, so I put my bike into lower gear and went through the small pond. Just as I was halfway through, I lost grip and fell into the water. Aggravated but still wanting to continue, I decided to walk through some of the trail, eventually getting back on my bike, then I almost simultaneously ran into a tree. Ah well. It was hot, and I was sweaty, and it was awesome. I even dumped my water bottle all over myself like a gross jock. Mission accomplished.