Accidental Daytrip: Hiking in Traverse City

My Neighbor had a little eye procedure scheduled.  Could I play chauffeur?  Indeed I could.  Nabe is a dog-friendly sort of guy, so we piled Miss Sadie and the Cowboy into the car and headed for the medical offices over at Copper Ridge. While Nabe was occupied, the Disreputable Duo and I explored the hiking trails behind the complex. I can never resist following a path like this.

The trails are like the ones near the Writing Studio and Bait Shop except that there is a lot less understory and the path sees a lot more human use than the deer trails we normally follow. It’s almost park-like.  It made a nice change.

My favorite discovery was this living nurse tree. It must have been knocked over early in its life, but it survived, growing along the ground, putting out new roots where it traveled, finally heading upward toward the sun.

The trail offered options for investigation and for getting misplaced. Two paths diverged in the wood, and I . . .

Well, you know me. I followed neither of these enticing trails. Instead, I looked off to the side and saw another path that led straight up the ridge.

Huff, puff, pound-pound-pound-pound, huff, wheeeeeze . . . I began to reflect on the irony of having to call 911 for rescue from the ridge behind the medical facility. Huff, puff. I have to start walking up and down the drumlins instead of around them. Wheeeeze . . . oh blessed bench. Oh, splendid views.

Down below are the old barns that once served the Traverse City State Hospital, Silver Lake Road, and the view eastward.   Satisfactory.  We wended our way back and made other discoveries, but I’ll save those for the next post.