There is a hike that we try to get to every fall, but truth be known, we only get their once every five years or so. It is in the Sylvania Wilderness, part of the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Pennisula. Sylvania is a large tract of old-growth forest with numerous pristine lakes.
Except for a smallish campground, a couple of canoe landings, and one developd beach huddled in one corner of one lake, there isn’t any development in the wilderness. It is established to mimic the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. The lakes, large and small, are interconnected via portage trails to form a network of canoe trails. Primitive camping along the canoe trails provides multi-day trips into the wilderness with little human contact.
Being old-growth means that it miraculously escaped the loggers’ ax that so denuded Michigan and Wisconsin in the early 1900s. That leaves a unique forest habitat with tall fat trees, a thick canopy, and little ground vegetation. You can drive a jeep around in some places, especially under the pine stands.
Fall is especially spectacular. The stands of deciduous trees turn golden, casting an ethereal translucent shimmer that transports one to a fantasyland. That, and the fact that there aren’t any bugs in the fall, seals the deal for us.
The Clark Lake Trail is our pilgrimage. It is a nine mile, mostly flat trail, that circumscribes the lake. In most stretches, it is poorly marked and in the fall, when the leaves fall as deep as snow, the trail becomes nearly impossible to follow. Fortunately, we have hiked it enough to have at least a fair idea of where it should go. However, this time we had the Gaia app to guide us. It indeed came in handy at several moments of indecision.
As level as the trail is, it is still incredibly rugged with plenty of rocks and roots to trip over; and many dips and rises, and the occasional hill to add some topography to the trek. The last two miles can seem a bit endless but when completed, one becomes awash with a sense of accomplishment, not just from the effort but from the sheer joy of the beauty.
|