River on a cloudy day near Riverside Cemetery
Today’s hike to Riverside Cemetery was an interesting one. But isn’t every day on the trail?

I met trail angel Mark at Riverside Cemetery, where there’s a new parking area and trail. He’s from Wisconsin, so we had much to talk about. He shuttled me back to Saylor’s Landing around 9:30 a.m., and then I was off.

So today’s hike was a road walk. Many of the serious long-distance hikers I’ve met over the years scorn trails with road walks, I do not. First, it takes decades, if not a century, to fully build a long-distance trail these days. So if you eschew road walks, you’re eliminating a lot of amazing trails. And second, road walks are generally on quiet country roads. They give your feet a break and often showcase beautiful scenery.

Making My Way to Riverside Cemetery

Leaving Saylor’s Landing, the trail follows the Kalamazoo River (mostly). An Enbridge oil spill in 2010 devastated much of this area, but thankfully it looks good today.

Heading into Marshall, the trail follows a really cool boardwalk along the river. Kudos to the Marshall Boardwalk along a river lined by trees.folks for making this happen,

The weather was cold today – temps averaging 35 F (1.7 C) – but it was actually not bad. In the beginning of the day, lazy snowflakes drifted down, which was quite an enchanting scene. At one point, around 10:30 a.m., there was a short but heavy snow squall of snow pellets. Fun!

Keep Watching for Beauty

I walked many miles along quiet country roads today. It was interesting. With the pandemic, and a lot of people now working from home, I expected to see signs of life. Like people outside, lights inside houses, kids playing outside – things like that. But no, it was like a ghost area. I saw one couple walking and one light inside one house. Other than that, I felt like I was the only person alive. It was interesting.

Giant, gnarly tree in the country.
Coming into Albion, the trail piggybacks on the Albion River Trail. I hiked along the river, through a really  pretty park and alongside a cemetery. Despite the temperature staying in the 30s F (-1 C), I was never too hot or too cold. Overall, it was just an enjoyable day.

 

 

Snowshoe

NCT Miles Today: 16.9 (27.2 km)
MI NCT miles to date: 1,075 (1,730.1 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 1,882.2 (3,029.1 km)

Total NCT miles to go: 2,717.8 (4,373.9 km)

 

©2018 Melanie McManus – All Rights Reserved

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