Four Miles in Tittabawassee Land

snowshoe tracks (photo by J Young)

by Joan H. Young

I had the chance today to add four more miles to my quest to hike the trail, and thanks to the Tittabawassee Chapter, they were pretty uneventful. Doug Seaney helped me spot my car on Mancelona (Michigan) Road, and then we drove around to Starvation Lake Road. I had hopes of being able to stay on the trail all the way through. With the depth of the snow, finding blazes was going to be absolutely critical to that plan. With only a couple of exceptions, I was able to see the next blaze from the one I was at. In the few other cases I was able to make some educated guesses, and was able to find the next blaze.

The weather cooperated nicely. It was brutally cold here just a couple of days ago. Today it was mid twenties. Who could ask for more? I had a new pair of Grandoe mittens to "test" and they worked great. The lining is already dry, which makes them a big improvement over the last mittens I had which didn't dry out for days after a day of sweating in the woods. With Manzella liners I had lots of options to keep my hands the right temperature.

depth of snow- those posts are usually 4-5 feet tall (photo by J Young)

It was a quiet walk. I saw one squirrel, some deer and mouse tracks, and shared one small stretch where snowmobiles had run (not illegally- it's on a woods road) with a fox who had been there not long before I.

So, thank you, Tittabawassee folks! My only complaint? When the snow is three feet deep the blazes are only about three feet off the surface, and there are quite a few branches overhead that can scrape you in the face!

I snowshoed the 4 miles in 2 hours, 50 minutes. I'm happy enough with that since I'm not quite as young as I was (Shhh). Total now at 3518 miles.

See more pictures at Only a Few Miles- But O So Good