What a great fall weekend.
That run of warm, sunny weather Friday through Sunday was one of the nicest fall weekends I can recall in recent years. I hope you didn't miss getting outside to enjoy it. If you did, well, we'll probably see temperatures like that again sometime next April.
I spent the three days wandering around the hill and dale country of Antrim and Kalkaska Counties. I hiked, mountain biked and kayaked, and everywhere I went was encased in a kaleidoscope of beautiful fall colors. It was pretty close to peak in a lot of the areas.
On some of the woodland trails that I rode, some trees had already shed their leaves. Riding through the areas where freshly fallen red and yellow leaves covered the trail was mesmerizing. Looking down at the colorful leaves the trail would disappear and become a blur of color. It was kind of hypnotizing as I discovered when I missed a turn and rode off the trail.
I visited some old haunts that I hadn't stopped by in a few years. A bike ride along Valley Road, which is always beautiful this time of year with the valley being lined by those tall, colorful hardwood covered hills, took me by Seven Bridges and Rugg Pond. In fact, it was so beautiful that I spent two days hiking and riding both locations and kayaked the pond.
Seven Bridges, although not as colorful as Rugg Pond, is always a nice, peaceful walk among the bridges and many channels of the Rapid River that have formed here. The sound of the rushing water lulls you into a semi-blissful state. It's a swift stream through this section, and I always imagine what fun it would be to kayak through here. But, alas too many channels and too much downed brush, it would be impossible.
A stroll out to the meadow on the other side of the river yields a little more color, but it pales compared to that around Rugg Pond.
Viewing the shimmering colors in the calm water, it's like getting a double-dose of fall color with the brilliant reflection.
The pond was formed over a century ago -- 1904 to be exact -- by Kalkaska Light and Power to supply electricity to the village and surrounding area. The two branches of the Rapid River meet here. Legend has it that Ernest Hemmingway once spent a night here fishing from the dam powerhouse.
Today it makes a scenic spot to stop and just drink in that wonderful fall view, but while poking around there this past weekend I discovered another good reason to visit. There's a trail that leads along the eastern shoreline, and it starts at the end of the dam as you walk across.
It skirts the edge of the pond for a short distance, staying in the woods, and then enters a large, lovely valley with the north branch of the river framing one side and tall, ranging hills the other. The valley continues for about a mile-and-a-half in kind of a horseshoe shape before ending at the forest edge. The trail merges into an old two-track as it winds around the valley.
I hiked part way back, probably a little under a mile, and noticed this bald knob of a hill. It was one of the highest points around that could be seen standing in the valley, and it looked like it might offer some scenic panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. Of course, I had to climb it.
There weren't any real trails up the face of the knob. Just some really old signs asking ORV's to please not climb the hill. They hadn't in a long time, and it had healed fairly well.
After I finally crested the hill -- it was a steep climb -- the anticipated view was every bit as awesome as hoped. It stretched for 180-degrees from side to side. You could trace both valleys of the north and south branches of the Rapid River as the confluence flowed together. You could see Rugg Pond surrounded by the tall hills, only you were higher looking down on it all. You could see Seeley Road as it meandered along the long ridge on the opposite side of the valley.
I felt like I was sitting on top of this region of Kalkaska County looking out over this incredible scenic view. The hillsides on the opposite sides of the river valley were ablaze with color. People pay hundreds of dollars going on fall vacations looking for this kind of view. I stumbled across it just following a local path I had never taken before.
It reminded me of one of my favorite poets Lord Byron, who wrote in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: "There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture on the lonely shore, there is society, where none intrudes by the deep sea, and music in its roar. I love man not the less, but nature more."
If I hadn't decided to follow my intuition and hike up the pathless hillside I would have missed this wonderful scenic view; one that I will return to view again.
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