As the summer wound down it was time for the traditional solo trip to the Cabin. Once again it was a bit earlier in August than ideal as the weather promised to be hot and humid and I feared the worst from the bugs. Even so there was no choice. Planning ahead I did manage to have one of my longer stays with the trip running from 08 August to 17 August. Of course the trip was great, how could it not be!
To try to avoid some traffic I actually game up on a Thursday. I left Cleveland on Thursday, 7 August around 2:30 pm. Unfortunately there was still plenty of traffic and construction along the way, slowing me down until about Saginaw. This led to it taking the projected 8 1/2 hours to complete the drive. I arrived around 11 pm after passing through hot temperatures (up to 90°F) and a little rain. This time I saw no wild life on the drive. The grass was tall and the Cabin was clean with essentially no signs of mice. There was the usual mysterious pile of debris to the left of the middle stanchion as I came into the main Cabin. It was warm and humid (~70°F) on arrival though with a clear sky. A thunderstorm did pass to the north and east but produced no rain. Based on my experience in May I feared mosquitoes getting into the Cabin so I took the preemptive step of setting up a mesh over the couch and slept inside for the night.
It remained warm all night. I finished setting up in the morning including moving food into the refrigerator. I had not fully turned the refrigerator (i.e., to setting 4) over night and with the warm weather it had not cooled as much as usual. In fact, the ice cube trays in the freezer had not frozen! I actually had to turn it "all the way" up to 2! (Of course a little while later, once it got down to a reasonable temperature, I turned it back down.)
The day was hot and humid as expected, regardless, I headed out my first hike. I hiked along McCloud Grade to double check the known roads that head north from the road. There was nothing new discovered as they all go where claimed (which typically means nowhere). I did encounter a vehicle on the road and was able to help them not drive the back roads in search of the mouth of the Two Hearted River. Hiking almost up Atwood Camp I turned south onto some logging road and completed the "big loop". With all the back tracking it was a 10 mile hike but felt like more due to the heat. As always, and despite the heat, I was covered from head to toe to avoid the bugs. They were bad enough that I did wear a head net for much of the hike, particularly when off the main trails. There were more flies than the trip in May but they were mostly deer flies so it was not as bad as it could have been.
Though there are plenty of mosquitoes that swarmed whenever you were outside, particularly when you stopped moving, they also were not as bad as in May. Interestingly they did not come into the Cabin like they did in May so it was possible to peacefully sit inside the Cabin, even while keeping the windows and doors open. Regardless, I still kept the mesh up "just in case".
I had setup the hammock and slept in it overnight. Even sleeping outside the heat and humidity was unbearable. The Cabin being in a valley is nice most of the time but in the heat it is frustrating to hear the wind in the treetops but to feel no breeze. It did cool off some towards morning so I stayed in bed until 11 am.
Despite there having been no signs of mice in the Cabin, I have been on a mission to keep the mouse population down inside the Cabin so I set 4 traps the night before. Imagine my surprise to find 4 mice caught in the morning. This was a trend that was to continue.
The afternoon was rainy including some very hard rain followed by more steady downfall. This had the benefit of cooling things off a bit, dropping the temperature below ~70°F: still warm but better. During the heavy downfall I heard more pinging of water drops on metal, like in May, and more continuous sounds as the rain continued. I saw no signs of water anywhere so maybe it is inside the flue pipe. Maybe something to be investigated. In colder weather with a fire going all of this would burn off so would not be noticed.
I spent the day inside the Cabin doing some more cleaning, finally getting to the shelf with the games. The cigar boxes contain a lot of things like hardware that could go somewhere else. They also contain some security supplies (blankets, warmers) that could be stored more prominently. Someone with official sanction will need to sort through this. For now they are placed more visibly on the right side of the shelf. I placed all live ammo I found during this cleaning into the winter tin on top of the shelves. Finally, I also did a little cleaning in the kitchen around and under the pantry.
The night was cooler but still too warm. I caught 5 more mice: 1 before bed and 4 in the morning. I also had another trap disappear! This one was set to the right of the front door. There are not many places it could have gone but it was nowhere to be found.
Given that the grass was wet and despite it being a Sunday I decided to stick to main trails. I figured it would be better to come back drenched due to the heat, not the grass from going off trail. I hiked to the end of McCloud Grade and stopped by Atwood Camp. Moving on I continued down the road going past the pit where Ted's truck had gotten stuck then past the pit where the Bronco got suck. Pushing on I crossed the North Branch of the Two Hearted River, saw the ruined camp site, and then finally got to unexplored roads. In the past I had always turned south, parallel to the river, now I decided to hike the most northerly trail. It did become grassy at some point but it had been long enough that the grass had at least partially dried out. The trail mostly went where the map said, ending on the west side of the North Branch of the Two Hearted River. A small bushwhack to the river led to two logs "fallen" parallel to each other bridging the water. It makes one wonder if this is coincidental or if there is something to discover on the other side. Seeing nothing and with nothing suggested on the map I turned back. The return trip was straightforward though there were a few cloudbursts. Fortunately there was no steady rain and I did not encounter anyone on the road. It was about a 10.5 mile hike.
The hike seemed a bit easier than on Friday, maybe because it was a little cooler. The bugs were still bad so the default became to wear a head net whenever I was out hiking. Fortunately the mosquitoes continued to not come into the Cabin, even after keeping windows and/or doors opened day and night. This really made a huge difference as compared to May, making it much easier to relax in the Cabin. Despite this, I kept the mesh in place and did periodically sit inside it.
The night was cooler, so much so that I even had to partially use a cover while sleeping in the hammock!
You might have thought that after losing a trap last August, losing another trap the previous night, and almost losing a trap in May (but catching it because I was sleeping inside), that I would have learned not to have unsecured traps set, particularly when I sleep outside. You would have thought correctly! I finally learned and have secured all the traps with thin wire (not string, of course). It paid off immediately as this morning I came in to one mouse partially caught with the trap securely in place. This was the only mouse caught overnight.
It rained until about 1 PM. This temporarily cooled things off, but then as it became sunny again the heat and humidity returned. Even just policing McCloud Grade by the Cabin was hot work, a full hike was out of the question. Nicely there was very little garbage to pick up on the road. I stayed around Camp all day.
The night was a bit cooler again. The temperature is going in the right direction (and should do so for a couple of more days). Only one mouse was (completely) caught today. Maybe I am finally cleaning them all out?
I decided to visit various camps in the area. I cut through to woods to reach the trails south of McCloud Grade. I first stopped by the ruined trucks before heading to Camp Oscar. From there I could not find a trail marked on the map as heading south. Everything is quite overgrown and some of the "roads" are barely visible even in the best conditions.
After wandering a bit I finally got to the other private camp in the area. This is the first (and almost only) Camp I discovered when wandering in the woods and before the map making process began with its more detailed offline identification of all the sites. It was back in the time when hiking these trails was being "adventurous" (a rather quaint notion).
Back then there was a lot of construction going on. Only now do I know its name: Camp Harding. (Which is not too surprising as it is not too far from Harding Trail.) It also sports Larry's Place Lounge, a couple of nice deer blinds, and one very strange one that had been spray painted ("bottle, converse, and tacos?"").
From here I headed east to Delton camp on Harvey Creek with the Radisson Riders sign. Following a path and then cutting through grasslands, I came to a place where it looks like there might have been a foot bridge at one time. It had logs that would still be crossable when the water is not too high. This is potentially useful knowledge....
I finally returned coming back along the old 443 where I found a railroad spike in the stretch where many have been found. It was a hot, humid 11 mile hike. Once again the head net was key to keeping the bugs at bay. At times swarms of mosquitoes vying to be like in May hovered about.
About 1/2 hour after returning the skies opened up again. The heavy rain gave way to off-and-on rain for about 2 hours. This finally led to a noticeable cool down that is supposed to last for a couple of days.
It was finally a decently cool night so I slept in. Even getting up late the temperature was still (just) below 70°F. I caught no mice for the first time since setting the traps.
Though the temperature was cooler, let us not kid ourselves and think it was cool! Despite this, there were some bold plans. Hiking out towards the Barfield Lakes, how far north could we make it and could we cut across the Sucker River to come back south on the west side of the river? The short answer is "no", but....
The trail off McCloud Grade to the Barfield Lakes continues to be a mess. There are many water filled, muddy stretches that I do not know how they are passable even on ATVs, yet they must be. Since May a ramp has been built at Potter Creek in lieu of a bridge. Rather than turning east, once goes around the "pond" in the road to head to the lakes I instead headed north into mostly unexplored territory. (In retrospect this is not completely unexplored. On a trip long ago I missed the turn for the lakes and had continued north. Taking a turn to the east a way up I continued along until I came to the entrance of a private lot. It being marked private I had not explored it. Ah, the halcyon days of youth!) Though all of this is on the map, I had not prepared for this, foolishly I only had a "north" cut of the map that did not go this far east. Thus, though I ended up reasonably close to this Camp, I did not know that and did not visit it. But I digress....
The path and terrain reminds me a lot of the area around the airport, though the road is pretty smooth sand and runs almost directly north-south all the way up to H-58. I expect this is how most people head to the Barfield Lakes. It would be a trivial drive for the Bronco (at least the stretch I was on).
A good bit further north are a few camps on the east side of the Sucker River. The grand scheme was to visit them and find a way across the river. This quickly became absurd. I was not prepared for an all day hike; I made it about 1/2 way up this road before turning back. I did find another East-West road to add to the map. I also hiked what was claimed to be a road on the map. It is hard to tell it was even a path. Without the map open and in hand I would not have been able to notice there was even the semblance of a trail to follow. It supposedly comes out right at the intersection where we normally turn east for the lakes. Even so, it was mostly traversable on foot and is the one place I came across that had blueberries available for picking. With the heat and the bugs I only stopped for a small handful but it was nice. In the end this potential for a long hike only resulted in a 9.5 mile trek.
On the hike I did encounter some grouse that seemed content to make themselves easy targets. They were on McCloud Grade just east of the bridge over Harvey Creek. They were there on my way out and 4 hours later on my way back. If they don't adjust their behavior once hunting season comes around they will not make it very long.
Finally a cool night with the temperature in the 50's°F. Naturally this meant I slept in. It is probably the only reasonable night we will get as it is supposed to warm up again. 1 mouse was caught overnight. Again it was at the gap to the left of the fire place. A few have been caught at this location this trip.
Another "cooler" day so I hiked west of Old Seney. I again cut through the woods to the south trails, hiked past the old trucks, then cut through Camp Oscar to get to Sigan Camp Road. The realty sign was gone and when I hiked to Sitka Lake there was a crude barrier on the road and a sign allowing foot traffic only to the lake. Presumably this was at the boundary of the property and maybe it means it has been purchased. (It appears to have been purchased by the "Larry Bell Trust" and may include two 1 mile square sections.) There were no other signs of changes.
While hiking back out I passed a couple driving in with a canoe on their truck's roof. They did not stop so I don't know if they knew anything about the situation. I continued west on Sigan Camp Road where I came to another realty sign, this time pointing north. The only thing I know of that way is a couple of private lots and a camp that I visited last August. On returning back to the Cabin I found that in fact it was this camp along with the 80 acres that is for sale. The two lots I know of are each 40 acres and are diagonal from each other, with the cabin in the corner where they meet.
I did not explore that further, instead I continued on to Weber Lake where there is yet another camp I have not visited. The gate for the camp was open and it looked like the camp was occupied so I turned back. Way back on Sigan Camp Road where the red house marker is (which is well off the private property) there was also a handmade sign containing the word/name "Ranck" (which is the owner of the lot) so that is the name I will give to the camp barring further evidence.
I continued on a back road heading east looking to loop back to some trails near Sitka Lake. Naturally I chose to continue on a trail that appeared to end near Klondike Creek before picking up on the other side. There had to be a way across, right? Wrong. It ended in the usual marshy mess. Following the creek north showed no signs of a crossing being feasible, so I decided to just bushwhack north back to Sigan Camp Road. Fortunately the forest was not too dense here and I was mostly able to stay on top of a ridge so it was not too bad. Once on the road I just retraced my steps coming back through the woods right at the driveway for the Cabin. This was an 11 mile hike.
The night remained a reasonable temperature. It is supposed to heat up before the rain hits. Clearly the mice had not been cleaned out as I caught 5 more mice: one before bed and 4 more in the morning. Further, two were only partially caught. This is getting absurd. I still contend that there are very few signs of mice in the cabin but clearly they still come in, at least in particular locations.
The day promised to be another warm one. There is also rain in the forecast for tomorrow so this is the last hike day. Since I have been visiting camps I decided to head out towards C.O.P.S. camp. Thought I had been near it on previous hikes, I hadn't been to it. I went the "back way" crossing Harvey Creek near Delton instead of the Lucky Buck. Once at C.O.P.S. camp I had intended to head to North Lake and Clayborn's. I just wasn't feeling it. Despite it being breezy, thus keeping the bugs down so I could hike without gloves and a head net for once, the extra 10°F as compared to the past two days was getting to me. With (extreme) age comes (slight) wisdom so I decided just to head back. Sure, I still followed a more southernly route, taking 443 to where it turns from the Old 443 and followed the old route back. This at least allowed me to do less backtracking. I did find another rail road spike in the usual area (which I must have missed on previous hikes). This was only 9.5 miles, but felt like more.
I spent the rest of the afternoon at camp cooling off and relaxing. Given the pending rain on Saturday I cleaned up everything outside, putting away the grill and I even took down the hammock. It is much easier to pack up a dry hammock than a wet one. Of course this was all predicated on trusting the weather report. It claimed rain starting in the morning between 8-9 AM and maybe I would want to sleep in, hence the preemptive measures. Imagine my surprise when it started to lightly rain at 8:30 PM! Fortunately everything outside was already put away and this was just during shower time anyway (TMI?) so was fine. I was planning on staying inside the Cabin for the night anyway. (Though the hammock in the rain is great!)
It had been warm during the day but it did finally cooled down late. Of course being inside the Cabin it took longer to notice the cool down than it would have been if I were still sleeping in the hammock. This means that sleeping was challenging. I did catch 1 mouse early in the morning. Actually, it looked more like a shrew. I have not seen a shrew at the Cabin before, regardless we will count it as a mouse.
It was supposed to rain off-and-on all day. Since I had planned ahead, it was mostly off: not that much rain fell. I stayed at camp to pack, clean, and prepare for an early departure for the long trip back. I did hear a fair number of people drive by so it was probably good I stayed off the roads.
Finally another pleasantly cool night giving way to a pleasantly cool morning. Of course the weather became better just as I was to depart. I caught one final mouse overnight (in the kitchen near the mop and brooms which is another popular spot).
In total this trip accounted for 19 mice, 1 lost trap, about 50 miles of hiking, and 0 trips into town. In case you missed it that is 0 trips to town over two trips. Apparently being at the Cabin for a net 2 weeks of time is not sufficient to warrant a single trip to town. Maybe I will need to stay longer in the future.
Despite a relatively early departure time (around 9:30 AM) the trip back was long. Traffic is always bad on a Sunday. I did stop at Murdick's Original Fudge shop in St. Ignace again. This is becoming a good new tradition.
As always I am already looking forward to the next trip up.