Bald Mountain
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 8.11.07Claiming to be the most rugged state park in Michigan, Bald Mountain Recreational Area sounds like an awesome place to visit, especially at only 25 minutes from my apartment. Unfortunately, what little parts Jeremy Laughlin and I visited this past weekend felt more like a leisurely walk than an “arduous hike”. It’s still a decent park, though, with plenty of serpentine water courses and frighteningly bumpy dirt roads (not gravel, actual dirt).
We also saw quite a lot of berries, a few of which I took pictures of. I tried to avoid the easy ones (rose hips) and the obviously poisonous (white berries with red stems?). Actually, I just avoided those because the bushes didn’t make for very good pictures. Sorry.
Me and my stupidity insisted that we take the only trail not on the main map. Honestly, we did want to see the lake, and I think it was well worth it (Jeremy might have a different opinion, as we left almost an hour later than we’d hoped, plus had to skip coffee on the way home!).
After the noise from the nearby shooting range quieted down a little, the area was eerily silent. It didn’t help when we happened upon an abandoned beach, complex of concrete buildings, and empty playground complete with a small pair of child’s shoes left laying on a bench. And yes, we thought it looked a little like a cheap Stargate set for a post apocalyptic thriller… so we took pictures. Granted, this shot is really more Star Trek than Stargate. 
It was great to get out and explore a little. The exploratory spirit was not at all helpful on the way home, however, as I eventually got us lost somewhere in Pontiac. Thankfully, we got back on track, but by the time I pulled up to the apartment, Jeremy was sound asleep. The poor guy had to drive 3 hours down to Oberlin the same night! Well, maybe next time I won’t insist on taking a different route… 
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