Day 1:
We stepped off on our hike the morning of January 29th, 2022, at 10:14am. The temperature that morning read a nice balmy -3° F! The air was frigid and dry, and our nose hairs were freezing as we breathed! Troy Korns pulled a sled and carried a pack at the same time, while the rest of us carried our gear on our backs. The trails were clear and fairly packed down. I wore a set of crampons to make sure that I would not slip and gave a second set to Ben Vella, just in case. We hiked the first mile in relative quiet except for my huffing and puffing.
We saw all manner of wildlife on our trek. We were passed by three dogs of various sizes and demeanors. The black Labrador puppy was especially cute! As the day wore on, we saw many other families hiking the trails and all of them asked the same thing. “Are you camping out tonight? In TENTS? Good luck and stay warm!” We also passed a few cross-country skiers!
We had lunch at the Moss Lake Dam, and we all felt that it was much colder there than on the trail. Everyone had a bite to eat, some of us heated up freeze dried meals, while others munched on cold cut sandwiches. The meats and bread were freezing as they were making the sandwiches!
After lunch we pressed on and crossed over the dam. We made good time, as the scouts let the old man(me) set the pace! It was nice to be in the lead, but I felt bad that I was slowing them down. I let them navigate every time we came to a crossroad as it gave me a chance to rest!
We made two wrong turns this day. We missed our turn off after the marsh and actually completed one full loop before realizing it! The second wrong turn was after we passed the Monarch of the Corn and started hiking towards the Walled Lake Outdoor Education Center.
We stopped once more at the Moss Lake Dam and rested for a bit before continuing to the Upper Pines campsite where we setup camp by 6pm and had dinner. I tried to pound in my tent stakes and two of them bent because the ground was like concrete. After almost 7 hours of hiking and sweating we were all in bed and quiet by 8pm. All done with day 1!
Day 2:
We stepped off at approximately 8:53am on January 30th, 2022, in a snow squall! Almost everyone was quiet on this day of the hike. Crossing North Wixom Road was a bit harrowing as it was the first road that we had crossed where the vehicles were travelling at a high rate of speed! Needless to say, we crossed quickly!
During one of our stops for me to catch my breath we heard a woodpecker and spent a few minutes trying to find him. He spotted a small Downy Woodpecker about 50 yards to the east high up in a tree. Just before we encountered the Proud Lake Equestrian Trail Staging Area, I recalled that we had been there before!
Before we long we were back at the Upper Pines camping area and at 11:06am we completed the CPT Winter Hike!
Joshua Thomas- 2022-09W – Troop 211 –Michigan Crossroads – Council Chippewa District – Age, 46 – Assistant Scoutmaster – #4184
