On to the UP

May 19
A cold morning - in the 40s! Was nice that we had a few 80+ days to soak up some heat. We packed up and departed Hamburg to head north. One fun stop in Clare for 'Cops and Doughnuts' treats - cake and raised doughnuts, and a big molasses cookie - all very good!

A busy place, and for good reason!

Outdoors destination for the day was Grayling, at the Hanson Hills Recreation Area. A walk for me, and bike for Rudy, through nice open woods. A small park, but good trails and even an archery 'course'.

Gaywings!

We found camping nearby in the Huron National Forest - there was a little sketchy sand in the road, but we made it through! Ate pasta and played Hand and Foot and Rummy 5000 - Rudy won both.

May 20
Even colder! But sunny. Not much dawdling, with a long drive ahead. Just to be safe with the sandy road, Rudy let a little air out of the tires and no problem getting out. Rudy had fun re-airing the tires with a bike pump - good way to warm up! We finally got into the Upper Peninsula!

Crossing the Macinac Bridge

We continued on to Hiawatha National Forest, south of Munising for Bruno's Run - a nice ten mile loop - I ran and Rudy biked.

Nicely signed trail

Northwoods!

Lots of pretty little lakes along the loop

We found a spot to camp less than half a mile away to hang out in the van during the breezy and drizzly evening. Ate lentils and rice and played Hand and Foot - two wins for Leslie!

May 21
A cool, breezy morning is good for running in the woods! I hit Bruno's loop again, with light rain during the second half, but not bad. With rain forecast into the afternoon, we didn't hurry to continue on to Marquette, where we acquired some bike parts and killed a little time at the coffee shop, and having a late lunch in Negaunee of Irontown Pasties.

Rudy had a traditional, I tried the veggie - delicious

Once the weather settled, we checked out the South Marquette Trails. The main trailhead has a nice little pavilion for Rudy to replace a bike tire under.

Fun bike art

My kind of practice skinnies

Easy to follow trails

The 'South' trailhead

Rudy ventured out on random fun trails, while I took an easier loop by bike (Morgan Creek). The trails not too bad after all the recent rain - they are definitely well built and used.

'Carp Eh Diem' Trail

After the riding, we found a spot to camp along the nearby Marquette Mountain Road. Dinner was barley and red sauce, followed by Hand and Foot - Rudy won, and 3-13 - Leslie won.

May 22
Just a little morning rain, and cool again. We headed back to the South Trails for more biking. The slightly more challenging Pioneer Loop was fun for me, and Rudy got in a few sections he hadn't been on before. A little lunch break, then we went to the North Trails. There are more intersections and not quite as well marked, but still nice trails with less wet spots.


We drove a few miles north to Harlow Lake for camping. Ate bean burritos, and got in an evening stroll down to Harlow Lake.

Bluebead Iris, I think

Harlow Lake

Closed out the day with Hand and Foot - two Rudy dominations.

May 23
A putsy morning - not going anywhere! After breakfast I get some black beans soaking! Rudy biked most of the trails in this little system - lots of rugged stuff that he enjoys. I got out for a nice little hike, getting in some of the singletrack, the 'Jedi' trail was especially interesting.

Some cairns to follow

I think recommended direction is coming down this

The weather was cool and mostly cloudy, we pretty much hung around the van. Rudy got in his super-hero movie fix with the green hornet. Eventually we cooked and consumed our black beans, then played Trivial Pursuit (Leslie win!), and some Hand and Foot - one win each.

May 24
40s and rainy - not lovely weather. I dawdled enough in the morning that it was down to a drizzle at the start of my run and even that was done by the end - not so bad! I even got to include some of the North Country Trail, which was well marked, but didn't seem to be very heavily traveled, maybe a little early for most hiking in northern Michigan.

Following blue blazes

We headed back toward Marquette, stopping at little Presque Isle State Park to check out the beach.



We returned to the South Trails for Rudy to get in another ride, I just did some reading, enjoying the little bits of sunshine that appeared once in a while. Back to Marquette Mountain Road for camping. Dinner was split peas and sweet potatoes, then we spent a little time assembling a food budget spreadsheet - interested in looking at what we spend on food, what the best 'calorie per dollar' items are, how we can save money with the eating, etc. We'll see how that goes! Still found some time to play a game of Hand and Foot - Rudy crushed it again.

May 25
A little damp and cool, but not raining! I got in a short run on the Grom (aka 'Kids') Loop and Gorge-ous Trail, loving the sun and being serenaded by winter wrens, before we headed to the Ishpeming Trails. We actually started from a little park in Negaunee. Rudy got in the 'Epic' loop and thoroughly enjoyed that. I did the beginner trail and started on the Epic, but was not at the level of even the first few miles of singletrack. So I bailed after only one minor crash and arm scraping. After Rudy wrapped up his bike ride, he got in a little dip in Teal Lake - sunny and relatively warm, but breezy too, and a chilly lake - looked refreshing!



We then continued west, stopping to camp just off a snowmobile trail in Ottawa National Forest.


We got in a little stroll on the snowmobile trail (it quickly became fairly wet), then made some mac 'n cheese and played Hand and Foot - one win each.