Day 3 Tri-County Challenge

    Woke up a little earlier this morning to pack up the car before heading out on the trail. Over the past few days, I had not had to worry too much about hunting season and wearing orange as I walked along a lot of roadways. Today, I was going to be in many wooded areas that had potential for hunting. So, I made sure to wear orange. 

    My husband dropped me off at that picnic table, and I headed up the bald hill in the dark uncertain where exactly I was going. Today, I would cover Kalamazoo County in its entirety. Trail markers were sparse and the grass was covered in sparkly dew that reflected my headlamp making trail finding sketchy. As I reached the top of the hill, I heard in the distance the sound of a horn, which I eventually made out to be revelry at the nearby National Cemetery, or so I assumed. It was beautiful to stand there with my headlamp turned off and listen. 

    Once the morning was started right with revelry, I headed down the other side of the hill, reaching the edge of the woods as the sun was coming up, giving me just enough light to see where the trail disappeared into the dark woods. I pulled up my big girl panties and headed in, once again wondering who or what I would find in the darkness. 

    Over the past few days, I had been in communication with the Chief Noonday Chapter of the NCT, and had learned of an individual out on the trail raising money for suicide and attempting to do a county a day, more or less. As I wandered along during the day, I would periodically reach out to the head of the Chapter to find out where he and this gentleman would be and hopefully get to walk with him for a little bit. It ended up being the end of Kalamazoo County, where they met me, and I had the privilege of walking with this gentleman for about 6miles. He was not going to make his full hike of the counties due to having feet issues. This powered me to make sure I completed then. 

    At the end of Kalamazoo County, we met back up with the head of the Noonday chapter, and my walking companion left me. The chapter head was pretty certain I was going to make the entire challenge, so he gave me my completion patches and certificates at that time. I tucked them into my pack for safe keeping and continued on alone into Barry County. 

    It was a day of mixed media for walking, from trails to back country roads to 2 lane highway. There were lots of cranes along the way, and other birds to enjoy and worry whether they were going to poop on my head. They were very vocal and entertained me greatly. Besides live birds, there were lots of skeletons, once again making me wonder what had taken them. Eventually, I ended in a local park area, where there is a summer camp on one side with goats and cabins, abandoned at this time as it was no longer summer. It gave a nice erie completion to an erie start on the day.

    The night before, I had made plans with a college friend from the class below mine to meet up for a beer. He lives in the area of where I finished for the day, and brews his own beer. So, I finished off the day with enjoying his home brews and seeing his set up. It was really nice catching up. As he needed to get prepared for work the next day, and we still needed to drive 1.5 hours to my inlaws' house, we wrapped it up and headed out, hoping to see him at Kalamazoo College's homecoming that coming weekend. 

Day 2 Tri-county Challenge

    Another morning up in the dark and out to the trail. From the Red Roof Inn in Battle Creek we drove to Marshall, MI, where I started my day; still in Calhoun County. 

    After the short stint along the creek/river in Marshall, I wandered out along a somewhat busy road at the height of the morning work commute. The day before had been slow due to it being Sunday, and so I did not think about all the people driving to work. With my headlamp on, I walked along the non-existent shoulder of the road, hopping into a dewy grassed yard every so often to keep from getting hit. I laughed and got frustrated traversing the roadway having to watch for semi-trucks turning in front of me. 

    Eventually, I made it to the bridge park where my mom & I walked on our trip back from Pennsylvania. With it being October, many places along this walk were decorated for Halloween. The Bridge park was no different, as I encountered small pumpkins decorating stairwells or other parts of the park. Again, as I passed through the park, I lost the NCT and did a loop or 2 around the park before just heading across the street, where I knew it continued towards Battle Creek, MI. 

    I entered Ott Preserve, and enjoyed the tree cover and more nature trail feel compared to the way the day started. There were boardwalks and ponds to watch birds and simply enjoy the quiet. The Fall colors were working on being spent, but still gave some color to the views. On the other side of the park, my husband greeted me with some sugary drinks and to say hey! We made plans to meet in Battle Creek for lunch.

    Considering there were still many miles to go, I drank some quick sips of the beverages and headed back out again. I came out of the preserve and the woods back on to the roadways and the POW memorial bridge going into Battle Creek. Once across the bridge, the trail followed along a cement path for bikes, walkers, and anyone else recreating. It followed the river and entered downtown Battle Creek, where I eventually met up with my husband for lunch. We sat along the river enjoying the break and the view.

    With lunch complete and still many more miles to go, I put my shoes back on and headed out on the trail again. The cement trail passed by some open fields into the sketchy part of time, through a rundown part of the trail, and out to the industrial side of town. There were times where I was waiting for someone to crawl out of the woods. Other times, the moss covered bridges had me wondering whether I was going to slip and fall and ruin my adventure. Luckily none of that happened. 

    Most of this day, my husband kept finding little spots to meet up with me off and on. He met up with me on the far side of the cement path once I ended up back on the side of the road. We chatted for a bit before I continued on. The small breaks to see him and the dog were very welcomed.

    Eventually, I made it to the Fort Custer National Cemetery and VA hospital. Lots of security stuff that the road walk takes me just outside of. As I took photos, I kept waiting for someone to come talk to me about security aspect. Once again, my husband met me alongside of the road. I got more water from him and continued to take the trail around the National Cemetery to another road walk, which took me to a park in Augusta, MI and the line between Calhoun County and Kalamazoo County. There was a picnic table where I sat and waited for my husband to pick me up. 

    The day was complete and we headed back to the hotel. I was hurting a little, but still excited for the adventure. After showering off the dirt and grime of the day, I prepared for the next day. With everything packed and ready to go because we were planning on moving from the hotel to my in-laws' house for the night, I headed off to bed. 

 

Day 1 Tri-County Challenge

    

 Woke up in the dark this morning ready to take off...in the rain. We drove to the southern terminus of the tri-county challenge, the edge of Calhoun County, the 1st county of the challenge. It was dark, wet, and the streets were lined with corn. As a person who grew up watching horror movies, I will confess I was a little unnerved, but continued along my route; I was NOT going to give up. 

    As the sun rose, the farmland through which I traversed lit up and transformed into a beautiful landscape of life. Besides the farmland through which I moved, I was passed by Amish horse drawn wagons heading to what I assumed was probably church, as it was Sunday. No matter how many times I see these people, I am always impressed and amazed, and honestly a little jealous. The way they live, at least through what I've seen, seems like a simple life...kind of like spending a life backpacking.

    I passed through little communities, some with small cemeteries along the route, while others had large cemeteries. There were various animals throughout the day that entertained me and fascinated me. Many farms and open fields with cornstalks. Eventually, I made it in to Albion, MI, where my brother-in-law and his family joined my husband and I for lunch before I went back out for another 12miles. It was nice to have a small break in the day, but getting re-started after lunch was challenging. As I neared the end of my day, I found myself texting my husband to bring me an orange hi-c from McDonald's with lots of ice. He was not real sure what I was looking for once he got to McDonald's because they had slushy forms of beverages. So, I ended up with a sprite, which I think all I needed was sugar at that point, so it worked out. 

    My day ended in Marshall, MI, where my mom and I had driven through after she had rescued me from Pennsylvania post failed o-HI-o week. It was fun coming into town to the finish line because of having that memory, and feeling like I knew where I was and what I was doing. My husband was there to rescue me, and we headed back to the Red Roof Inn. The majority of Calhoun county covered.