Rifle River Rec Area

October 15-16, 2021

Lupton, MI

The weatherman said that afternoon showers would turn into a drizzle, then an evening sprinkle. I don’t know why he wouldn’t just say “it’s going to rain all day.”

I debate canceling my trip entirely. I already bailed on starting straight after work last night – partially due to rain but also sheer exhaustion. But I live my life in fear of regret. What young people now call FOMO. And the thought of missing a chance at peak fall during my last fall in the Midwest for who knows how long? I simply couldn’t bear it. A few tweaks to the itinerary and we are ready to go. It would be close, but we should just be able to get our hike completed before sunset.

MDOT has other plans for us. Highway construction stole an hour from our already tight timeline. We make it to camp, but with less than an hour to sundown.

Always up for a challenge, we decide to make it a trail run. Four to five miles round trip should be doable with a bit of wiggle room for photo ops.

We start off. The first half mile spur gets us to the main trail. Another mile smoothly goes by. I check the trail map. We went the wrong way. Now instead of being about half a mile from our destination (the swinging bridge), we are about two miles away. We will not make it before sunset.

Dejected, we turn around. Soon, as if to mock us, it starts to rain. We arrive back at camp soaked. In the dark. Better luck tomorrow.

I’m not sure what it is about this park, but I think it’s cursed. After our failed hike yesterday, which I had chalked up to exhaustion, I was ready to give this park a fresh start. We loaded up the car and made our way to the observation tower. But when we got there, a kind gentleman warned us that someone was shooting in this general direction. And the BB pellets were occasionally falling on him. No sooner had he finished his warning than we heard a blast, and then a gentle pattering. My poor Suby had been hit. We thanked the man for the words of caution and restarted the car. I gave one last longing glance at the observation tower, and we continued down the road.

We found a dock shortly after. And with no chorus of gunfire, decided to chance a few pictures.

I am now convinced this park has a confusing layout. Or maybe my brain is just that exhausted. We have driven in two circles now trying to find our trail. I am about to give up when I see the *very obviously placed* sign.