Thank God for the Journey

 [Originally published in the Monroe News on November 5, 2021]

My life feels as though it is approaching a rather eye-opening crossroads.  My oldest boy is just a year and a half away from moving out and heading to college and beyond.  My middle boys will both be in high school.  I also have a soon to be 3-year old and the Lord has blessed my wife and I with one more child who is expected in January.  I’ve spent the last 16 years looking forward to days when my boys would be old enough to be in sports and other fun Dad-loving activities.  I so yearned for those days when I could take them camping and introduce them to other wonderful adventures.  Now I look at it and it seems as though these precious days have come all too quickly.  I look at my young daughter and I can hardly remember the days when my boys were at such a tender (and cute!) age.

I believe this is a rite of passage that every parent goes through.  You simultaneously look forward to the future days when your kids graduate or get married or give you grandkids.  Yet at the same time you long for the days when you could still hold them in your arms.  What are we to make of this?  Is it part of our human nature to always long for both? To long for what we don’t have?  I frequently find myself looking forward to big events.  I’m always anxious for the next vacation that might be around the corner.  I can’t wait to see the next big event in the lives of my children.  But I also don’t want to so quickly bid farewell to the present.  I don’t want life to go by too fast.

Manistee River Trail Loop

Seaton Creek Camp Connector Trail to the North Country Trail to the Connector Trail to the Manistee River Trail
Trailhead Elevation: 871 ft.
Distance: 21.16 mi.
Elevation Gain: 2159 ft.
Start Time: 7:51am
End Time: 12:59am


Trip Report:
I first heard of the Manistee River Trail when I saw a list of the Michigan Triple Crown of FKT Trails. They included the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail, the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail and the MRT. I was quite frankly surprised I hadn't come across it sooner. It was clearly a classic Michigan Trail and so I wanted a chance to enjoy it. A conference up in Bellaire put me in the perfect range to give this a go.

Glacial Hills Pathway

West Valley Route plus extra loop from 12 to 25, Pine Tree Route
Trailhead Elevation: 652 ft.
Distance: 5.27 mi.
Elevation Gain: 354 ft.
Start Time: 3:02pm
End Time: 4:45pm


Trip Report:
In researching trails in northwest Michigan I happened to stumble across the Glacial Hills Pathway as an enticing option. Then good fortune would bring me to Bellaire for a pastor's conference putting the GHP on the menu for afternoon free time.

Grass River Natural Area

Grass River Natural Area

Chippewa Loop, Nipissing Loop, Algonquin Loop, Sedge Meadow Boardwalk Loop, Fern Boardwalk Loop
Trailhead Elevation: 594 ft.
Distance: 3.18 mi. 
Elevation Gain: 33 ft.
Start Time: 3:30pm
End Time: 4:21pm


Trip Report:
The Grass River Natural Area is a fantastic set of trails easily accessible from Bellaire and Traverse City Michigan. I found it while in Bellaire for a conference. It is open to the public and offers a number of easy to follow trails. The signage is plentiful and every junction is numbered. I set out looping south along the Chippewa and Nipissing loops. This crosses the Rail Trail and then heads south into the Algonquin Loop. I followed the east side of the loops back north to the original parking. For the most part each of these three loops was in the forest with no views. Being October the colors were starting to turn and the trail itself was a bed of leaves already.

Marl Lake Trails (South Higgins Lake State Park)

Marl Lake Trail Loop B (Red)
Trailhead Elevation: 1,155 ft.
Distance: 2.76 mi.
Elevation Gain: 27 ft.
Start Time: 5:52pm
End Time: 6:35pm

Trip Report:
The Marl Lake Trails are three loops that hug the west and south sides of Marl Lake which is just south of Higgins Lake. They are easily accessible from I-75 and not too far south of Grayling. I was travelling up north for a conference in Bellaire and hoping to find a new hiking location along the way. This hit the spot perfectly. I figure it was a less than 15 minute detour off the interstate to hit the easy trailhead.