Old Baldy, Arcadian Beauty

I don't know about the rest of you but I am done with warm weather for the year. Truth be told I was done around mid-July. It is no fun to do things outside when you sweat through your clothing the second you cross the threshold.

However last weekend we caught a break from the heat and humidity and were able to take a relaxing hike to  Old Baldy, yet again.

Two weeks ago when we attempted the hike we were met in the parking lot by some poor tourists who had their car broken into and their personal belongings snatched, word to the wise; stash items in your trunk and make your car look unappealing to thieves.

Since we were robbed of our trip that day, and since it was Labor Day Weekend, we decided to bypass the tourists who just want to see the super nifty dunes, and take the longer trail to get the real one-two punch of single-track and dune-age that this hike bolsters/ offers.

The longer of the two trails offers a nice break from the sun with dense canopies of old growth deciduous trees and a path that climbs, drops and double-backs on itself a few times to give you a great feel for the terrain of the area, and also a great respect for the force of the glaciers that shaped this area.

Super Mario Bros. anyone?

We were nearly instantly rewarded by taking the trail less traveled by a faint rustling in the fallen leaves:

As Chelsea and I paused and scoured the ground and the trees our eyes stumbled upon this little guy on the doorstep to his tree-root mansion. He paused for a minute or two, allowing us to snap a few shots, and then entered his house for what I assume to be an afternoon nap; you know animals, all the time in the world to nap... and eat.

These two tall trees seemed to be in a seductive dance... nature is love.

The canopy of the deciduous trees provides a great shelter from the unbearable heat of the sun on the dunes.

When we reached the dune area I was intrigued by a high point to the west:

The view was remarkable, literally I remarked this to someone later...

This peak provides a panorama of the entire dune area, complete with views of the bluest water. I could feel the cool water even from this high peak. If I were an early pioneer, or in a true survival situation, searching for an area ripe with accommodations I would have been overjoyed to find a peak like this to gain any advantage possible over mother nature.

When I had my fill of the view I decided to make an abrupt exit:

Hopping from the safety of the sturdy ground around the dunegrass I pondered doing one of those barrel rolls when I hit the soft sand like Bear Grylls, but decided against it as he is kind of silly.

As we marched towards the azure lake and its cool breezes, I spotted yet another, even higher peak to the north:

Naturally I ascended it to gain a proper vantage of the area.

A good choice on my part:

It afforded me a beautiful southern view complete with rolling waves and mid-altitude clouds.

On the other side of this tuft of grass is a 35 foot drop, thank you to the tiny, strong grassroots for holding my weight as I took a peak.

The water looks much closer than it actually is. Though we have not made the trek to the bottom yet I can feel it coming. Soon we will be walking the beach from Arcadia to Frankfort, that should be a great adventure!

From the highest northern peak you gain a beautiful view of the Frankfort shoreline with a view dunes or its own. One of my favorite places in Frankfort is the Point Betsie lighthouse. I will be taking Chels there shortly on her maiden voyage to the lighthouse. 

We are truly lucky to have such an area like this, not only old baldy, but the entirety of the Lake Michigan Shoreline, and such a perfect path as M22 to guide us along the bays, dunes, peaks, beaches and little towns and villages that dot the landscape. Take some time out of your busy day/ week to explore your own little piece of Pure Michigan, I know that I sure do, keeps the body healthy and the mind sane.

-J

(All photos of J. Edward are taken by the brilliant Chelsea Bromley check her stuff out please)

A day for thoughts

I feel a list coming on, as there are many things floating in my head at present:

Hooah

1. Beautiful beaches as only Northern Michigan can do.

2. Using yardsale money to buy this beautiful thing:

Oh the photos I will be able to take with this little gem. It is waterproof, so look out for some super cool hull shots from the kayak, as well as dive shots, rainy wanderings, waves, and a whole slew of other off the wall, never before available things!!!









3. Impressions:

We make so many of them, make sure that yours are an accurate representation of who you are.

4. LOVE:

NATURE

5. Climbing trees, it is not just for kids... well maybe the kids at heart.

 Photo: C. Bromley

6. Trying new things.

Like this jacket, it is sweet, it is new, I love it. Gotta get some more new things and try them out.

7. That special someone:

she builds me castles during golden hour, I love her.

8. Water.

One of nature's most powerful, pure and perfect forces. It gives life and also makes lives better. No band around can match the sounds of waves crashing on the beach, rain falling on a porch roof or the babble of a river over a jam.

This is my mind on this perfectly cloudy, rainy, windy day. Happy windsday roo!

-J

Success on many fronts!

Time for some updates readers.

In continuing to test the Friday Harbor jacket by Eddie Bauer I took it on a quick fishing trip today.

With the prediction of a light mist for the entire afternoon the jacket should have been overkill. However, as usual with the weatherpeople, they were very wrong. The jacket took some pretty heavy continuous rain for an hour and a half. This test helped to instill in me the true versatility of this thing, when you slide the sleeves up to the elbow and strap them tight they provide a near waterproof seal, and the wide opening hood allows the wearer to utilize peripheral vision and reduces head turning.

So to that, the jacket is still a winner!

It takes rain this hard,

And you stay this dry, surely a winner.

News numba two! While testing out the jacket I did some casting around the Barton Dam on the Huron River. I was met with some success in the form of two smallmouth bass. I have read online that the smallies in the Huron put up a decent fight and for these two did not let me down. I now know where to go and what to use, head for the holes fishies, here I come!

I am looking for a backpack/ chestpack/ fannypack that I can use for fishing, as my current bags are not suitable at all. Please send me some suggestions if you know of any.

I am thinking this one:















News, more news:
     There are new additions coming to Randomstream, however they are going to require participation from you people.

1. Of the months, and spotlight specials.
          In an effort to tailor this blog to your likings I would like suggestions for outdoor athletes, events, festivals, products, news and other things to feature and or cover. Leave them as comments, or email them to yonkerj3@gmail.com with the tag OTM/ FEATURE.

2. Website lists.
          RSOC will soon be featuring a list of suggested blogs and sites for your dedicated reader to check out!

3. Guest writers/ reviewers.
          Look for upcoming reviews, guest commentaries and contributions from: Chelsea Bromley, Matthew Preston, Cassidy Butler, Zach Yonkers and many more!

I smell change on the horizon!

Keep up, if you can.

-J

What I am feelin' right now

I am on vacation and thinking about things that are perfect.

1. Things that are frozen.

2. Snowshoeing

3. Deer Hunting.

4. Travel Battlewagons. (If you have one for sale please let me know)

5. Cat superheroes

6. Walking on the beach with my beautiful companion.

7. Oberon, 'nuff said.

8. Lake Michigan... all of the time.

To round out the list I will say that I am also thinking about bonfires, hiking, fly-fishing, playing with the giant Frisbee, golf, naps, biking and techy-gadgets.

And as always: http://www.michigan.org/ . Gosh I love those ads, and Tim Allen's voice in them, the lifestyle they portray (minus the Detroit parts) and everything that they stand for. Good job Michigan.

Also I have now reached my decision. I am going to be buying the Ipad, my reasoning is that I am getting rid of the smartphone and I would still like to be able to connect at times. I did the calculations and it will be cheaper on the whole to just get the Ipad and drop the smartphone! So, time to save my nickels!

On other good news, E-Force is letting me re-up my sponsorship, that means new racquets! hoot!

Time to get out of the house and explore, be back in a while, days, maybe a week, maybe only a few hours, you will hear from me though...

Enjoy the weather.

-J

Oh right, forgot, be prepared for the Go to Series reviews coming soon! 

Follow me on twitter: randomstreamoc , look at me getting all hip!

Totally forgot about this trip!

Well, I didn't really forget about it, but I just skipped over it you see.

So last year we took a trip to the UP. I do not want to get too wordy with this post. But, anyway, we went north with the final destination of tahquamenon falls.

With the sultan of the trip in the back of the mighty stagecoach hanging in the back we trekked noth:

When we got there we were so excited one of us did a cute dance:

The Upper Peninsula, even if it does not contribute to the propulsion of the state's economic status, is one of Michigan's greatest assets. With such picturesque attractions as the many falls, the limestone shoreline and the numerous mountains that dot the landscape it is hard to not think that land is best not when it is touched by human hand, but when it is left the way our creator forged it and the way he wants the land to evolve.

     

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you glaciers for the carving this state into the beautiful land that it is! Without glaciers..... we would be like one of those nasty middle-America states... eww.

I love trips to the UP. If you have never been, you should go. If you have been, you should go again, they could use the tourist dollars.

One of my favorite sightings from the trip was of this little guy:

Chelsea and her dad were determined that it was a 6 foot viper. However if you look closely you can see that he is no bigger than the leaves to his right. I wish that I could have gotten a picture of the Michigan rattlesnake that we saw on our recent trip to Wilderness State Park.

Oh the things you see when you get out and do things.

So on that note, get outside, do something, and as always remember to check up on this thing from time to time. I am updating all of the time for now.

-J