We've all heard that old adage, "If you don't like our northern Michigan weather, just stick around an hour. It will change."
Well, guess what? There's a lot of truth to that old adage.
On Monday a bunch of us had set aside time to paddle on the Betsie River. It was our third day of paddling over the long weekend. Thursday we paddled the Jordan River. Saturday we did the upper Manistee. It was a rollercoaster temperature ride during that time frame, but Monday took the prize.
When I left the house at 8:45 a.m. it was 70 degrees -- warm and partly sunny. By the time I got to Thompsonville the temperature had dropped to 63, and it was getting dark and cloudy. I stopped at Crystal Mountain to purchase a jacket since I hadn't bothered to bring one and I was dressed in a short sleeve shirt.
By the time we finished the shuttle from our take-off point, the County Line Road Bridge, over to Fred's Landing -- our take out -- the temperature had warmed back to around 70 and the sun was coming out. So much for the jacket, which I was able to return since I never wore it.
By the time we finished the delightful paddle through the largely undeveloped river valley of tag alders, cedars and large unspoiled tracts of hardwood forests, the temperature was topping out at about 78 degrees. It was hot and sunny, but a steady breeze, heavy at times, had kept the bugs and mosquitoes at bay. Downed trees kept it interesting requiring some tricky maneuvering and even a portage at one point.
On Thursday we paddled the Jordan River in temperatures hovering in the low 50s, and it was mostly cloudy. A much different day, but dressed for the conditions it was still a good paddle. The bright yellow marsh marigolds really stood out along the dark background of cedar and pine stands crowding the river bank. The splash of water that I got going through the culverts at Old State Road was to say the least embracing.
Saturday the temperature hovered around 70 degrees and it was bright sunshine as we floated one of our favorite sections of the Manistee River from the old lumbering ghost town of Deward down to the CR-612 Bridge. This delightful section is unlike the rest of the Manistee, and certainly much different than the wide, rolling river that we know from basically M-66 on down to Lake Michigan. The river through this section is a small stream about 35 to 40 feet across for much of the float. It twists and turns. Stumps, left over logs from the lumbering era, fallen trees and small grass islands dot the river making it a delight to navigate.
The bright day, the new green leaves on the trees and, again, those beautiful, bright marsh marigolds made you think of the summer ahead. Perhaps we had turned the corner, and the cold month of May would be a distant memory. Not so.
The warm day on Monday helped reinforce that notion, and, after arriving back home from the Betsie River float I decided to take a mountain bike ride with my labs. It was just about 5 p.m. and still hot and sunny when I started my ride on the VASA Single-Track Trail. Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt it felt good.
By the time I returned to my car a little over an hour later I felt more like a half-frozen popsicle. The temperature, according to my car's thermometer reading, was now down to 54. It had dropped over 20 degrees during my ride, and, it happened quickly. It seemed like one minute I was warm, comfortable and enjoying my ride. The next I was cold, miserable and couldn't wait to get back to my warm car.
It caught me by total surprise. Maybe they were forecasting that to happen, but I hadn't listened to a weather report that day. I was sure, in my comfortable little world, that summer had arrived, and that we didn't need to worry about sudden cold snaps returning.
Well, guess what? The old timers were right. I'm not sure it took even an hour for the temperature to drop 20 degrees. I was pedaling too fast trying to get back to the comfort of my car to bother checking my watch.
I skied in warmer temperatures during April than we've experienced for much of this month. It was 71 degrees the last day I went downhill skiing at Boyne Mountain on April 20. Hopefully June will be at least as warm as April -- just kidding, but I've given up on May.
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