Dragonflies, mosquitoes and nettles…

Pat Fisher (HCH President) led 13 hikers on Saturday July 12 on a simple out and back hike along the Heron Rookery Trail, which follows a portion of the Little Calumet River that once featured over 100 Great Blue Heron nests. After 60 years of nesting here, the herons have moved on to new nesting grounds. These woods remain alive with dozens of birds including kingfishers, woodpeckers and a wide variety of migrating and nesting warblers.

The trail was lush with vegetation including nettles in many places that tried to grab onto legs of the hikers. Dragon flies were abundant, as they had good feeding grounds with the swarms of mosquitoes that followed the hikers on the trail. The result was a hike that had a brisker than usual pace — but the mosquitoes kept up with us. Thankfully most hikers had a good supply of repellant and we all used it liberally. The trail did feature nice spots to listen to the flowing water of the Little Calumet river, to stop to admire the variety of fungi on fallen logs near the trail and see dragon flies posing to have their pictures taken ( photos from the hike )

Merritt Family and Younger Family Preserve

Saturday, June 21

Union Pier, Mich.

Fourteen of us humans and one dog took the Merritt Family and Younger Family Preserves trail. It was a humid, hot day. We came with hats and water bottles, and we drank as we walked along a 1.3-mile loop that snaked alongside the busy I-94 highway. Before we took to walking and hydrating, Susan Ebler, a long-time steward and volunteer for Chikaming Open Lands (COL) and her husband David Ebler briefly explained the role of stewards: to walk trails periodically, alert staff to muddy areas, control invasive species, and, as they were doing, introduce others to the varied beauty of COL.

We also enjoyed learning about the history of the place. The Merritt Family first gifted 35 acres to COL. Then the Younger Family sold 25 acres to COL at a bargain price. The Merritt Family Trail, the Merritt Pond Trail, and the Younger Family Loop Trail form the 1.3-mile loop from these two properties.

It is quite amazing to see all manner of trees (large maples, sassafras, new growing ash, ironwood), to walk on the wide dirt trail with large patches of moss, to pass a forest floor full of mayapples, stand over ravines and depressions, note bird calls, while at the same time seeing the whiz of traffic and hearing the noise of I-94.

With the dog, huffing mightily beside us, we noted the slash from logging days where animals now have a protected habitat and the staging area for logs that has become a prairie with raspberries, blackberries, and various prairie plants. Pat, a repository of knowledge, pointed out the circular pin-like holes on an ironwood made by a foraging woodpecker different than the large round and rectangular holes I had learned about. He opened a gall and gave us a quick lesson on gall formation. Even before the sweating and water drinking, we also learned the important matter of safe parking, for some of the area along the road is muddy enough to stop a car in its tracks, and it is not advisable to drive as far as the dead end.

Leonard Wildlife Preserve

Saturday, February 1

Union Pier, Michigan

Our wildlife search for tracks and scat in the snow melted away as very little snow remained from a snowfall a week earlier. Hike leader Gracie Fredenburg, Chikaming Open Lands’ education and outreach coordinator, saved the day with some great handouts and plenty of discoveries in the frozen dirt and bits of snow that hadn’t melted. Grace talked about the habitats of the Leonard Preserve wildlife and why they are found there. Probably the most interesting part of the hike was in the successionary forest on the north end of the property, where we found some mosses, fungi and scat. Twenty-six people showed up for this hike. (Photo by member Mark Piper.)

Tower Hill Camp

Saturday, January 11

Sawyer, Michigan

About 30 of us met at Tower Hill Camp under a blue sky full of white fluffy clouds and temperatures right at freezing. Around 4 inches of packed snow covered everything. After learning the difference between hibernation, torpor, frogcicles and several other winter animal survival strategies, we headed down First Ave. and made our way to the local beach access trail. The snow- and partially ice-covered Painterville Creek was beautiful. Eventually, we came upon snow-covered dune grasses and an shelf ice forming on the snow-covered beach. A perfect example of an active ice volcano was waiting right in front of us and after a short walk down the beach we found huge ice balls, nearly two feet in diameter, that were still forming. After everyone had a chance to get their photos, we turned around and made our way back to the parking lot. Most of the hikers decided to continue to Tower Hill Woods. We shared the trails with cross country show skiers. All in all, it was the perfect day for a gorgeous hike. (Photo of a Lake Michigan ice ball by Greta Elizabeth Hurst.)

First Day Hike

Wednesday, January 1

Robinson & Flynn Woods

Three Oaks, Mich.After a light snow, temperatures stayed just below freezing and winds stayed calm for our annual First Day Hike. Twenty-two hikers showed up, and started with Robinson Woods. Half the group opted for the extension in Flynn Woods, across the street from Robinson. The Flynn Woods portion was supposed to have been a loop trail, but water on the west side of the trail had already begun pooling, so that part of the hike became, by acclaim, an out-and-back walk to keep our boots dry. Plenty to see along the way, like green mosses poking through the snow. (Photo by member Mark Piper.)

Warren Dunes State Park

Saturday, December 21

Sawyer, Michigan

Two inches of freshly fallen snow and partly sunny skies made for a perfect afternoon hike for the 16 people (including two newcomers) who showed up at Warren Dunes. The group had virtually the whole area around Floral Road to itself–we only encountered one other hiker. Leader Pat Fisher pointed out several girdled oak trees along the way, victims of Oak wilt, a fungal infection that is spread by beetles and is almost always fatal. Killing trees with the disease keeps it from spreading to other oaks in the forest. One hiker pointed out holes in trees made by pileated woodpeckers. Others inspected birdhouses nailed to several trees and proclaimed them homes for wood ducks. (Photo by member Mark Piper.)

Harbert Road Preserve

Saturday, December 7

Three Oaks, Michigan

President Pat Fisher gave a brief introduction about Michigan’s natural features, then turned hike leadership over to member Mark Piper. (A fall at home left Fisher, who was originally scheduled to lead the hike, with an uncomfortable foot injury.) Piper led the two dozen who attended through the preserve’s 90 acres of various types of wetlands, prairie and woodlands along its perimeter trail. (Photo by member Mark Piper.)

Grand Mere State Park

Saturday, November 16

Stevensville, Mich.

Forty-six hikers, including some new members, turned out for this November event at one of Michigan’s more diverse state parks. The park’s 1,100 acres offer two embayments, small lakes left behind by glaciers. A third, North Lake, is part of a township park and is used for recreational boating and, in season, duck hunting. The weather started out sunny, then turned cloudy, but temperatures remained comfortable. Hike leader and Hikers President Pat Fisher said there were originally five embayments, but two have dried up–and eventually the others will, too. Some unusual properties of the sand at Grand Mere make it ideal for casting car parts, and Michigan’s automotive industry fought for and briefly won rights to mine this resource. Grand Mere was designated a Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1968, and has many natural features not found in the rest of the state.