The air grew cold in the night and I found myself regretting the decision to leave the zero degree sleeping bags behind on this trip. When the sun finally broke over the far shore in a hundred shades of orange and red it was a welcome sight.
We slept in late, enjoying the quickly warming air in our cozy two person sleeping bag. When the air was finally warm enough we crawled out of the tent to find a gorgeous morning scene playing out on the lake. We fixed coffee and oatmeal for breakfast before packing up camp. It was almost noon by the time we were back on the trail.
The hike quickly climbed a forested ridge north of Grass Lake. A short side trail lead to an overlook of the lake with a large wooden bench. The trees below the ridge must have grown considerably since the bench was placed, as the lake was now mostly concealed from view. It was still a pleasant point for a break, providing some perspective on the size of the state forest area we were circling.
This was the only significant climb of the day (by Midwest standards), but the trail continued to rise and fall gradually as it worked its way around a number of quiet backwoods lakes before returning to the shores of the Pigeon River. We stopped for another break at Section 4 Lake, which is actually quite a bit more charming than its name lets on. Set in a strange bowl with steep edges 15-20 feet in height, section 4 lake has turquoise water reminiscent of the glacial lakes I've seen out west.
Shortly after reaching the edges of the river again, the trail began crossing a series of open, grassy fields. We hoped these openings would allow us a glimpse of the area's elk herd, but to no avail. The unfortunate side effect of these fields, however, were the deer ticks which had just hatched, it seemed. We started noticing several of the creepy bugs on our legs and boots as we hiked. These little terrors can transmit Lyme disease, and are crafty at getting onto the body and not getting noticed. We hiked the rest of the loop in record time, eager to get out of these fields!
Once back to the Jeep we carefully changed out of our hiking clothes, taking care to remove any ticks we had picked up on our clothes and bodies. After a very meticulous process of changing and packing up in the parking lot, we were on the road. We stopped at a gas station for cold drinks and decided to take the top off of the Jeep for the first time this season. The weather was picture-perfect, with bright sunny skies and temps in the high 70's.
Our destination for the night was Saint Ignace for a night in the Driftwood Motel, but we decided to take the scenic route along backroads to Cheboygan. With the Tigers game on the radio and the top off the Jeep it was a beautiful Sunday drive. The couple of trucks that passed us were the only signs of civilization we saw on the hour and half drive through the quiet backwoods. The buds on the trees were quickly exploding into full grown leaves, and their current condition looked like a Monet watercolor, with pastel colors that seemed too colorful to be real. In a couple of places the road was washed out, giving us an excuse to fire up the four-wheel drive.
Eventually the dirt road linked up with M-33, and we cruised into Cheboygan, and then along the lakeshore to Mackinaw City. The air rapidly grew cold along the lakeshore, and by the time we were crossing the bridge temps were in the low 50's. We were both shivering by the time we pulled into the motel parking lot.
We spent our Sunday night enjoying Whitefish while watching hockey and playing a little shuffleboard in the bar. Not bad for a Sunday Night! It was great to be back in the UP, which seemed to be reaching spring just in time. The waters of Lake Huron shimmered in the fading daylight as a lonely ferry cruised towards Mackinac Island. Summer really was right around the corner.
