Negwegon State Park

May 1, 2022

Harrisville, MI

I find myself on a road that I’m not convinced is an actual road. No pavement. No gravel. Just a mixture of dirt, sand, and decaying pine needles. But it must be a road, because the path I am driving is dug about a foot into the surrounding forest floor. Somehow Gob doesn’t notice the numerous deer frolicking around. No other cars in sight, I pause for a shaky photo. Having lost their momentum, my wheels spin in the sand, struggling to find their grip. But thankfully I have the Subaru, and we get back on our way.

Eventually the sand is replaced with gravel and we turn into the main park entrance. The sky is overcast and we can feel the precipitation in the air. I am hopeful that it is just residual moisture from the rain we had overnight. I grab my rain jacket just incase, and we hit the trail.

Our plan was to run the Chippewa Trail loop, adding on the Potawatomi Trail loop if we were feeling good. But the blessing of bald eagles nesting along the Chippewa Trail meant we couldn’t complete our first loop. So I abandon all plans and we begin to walk.

Into the woods we go. But not for long before we take a pitstop at the shoreline. The water is choppy. Gob hesitates, but only for a minute, before diving in to chomp at the waves. I don’t let him play long though. We have many miles ahead of us, and I want to beat the rain.

We do not beat the rain. We make it another mile, almost to our turn around point, when it starts to sprinkle. But it’s a mere misting, so we press on. Past the junction that would lead us to the bald eagle nest. I look at the tree tops in the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse. I have no luck.

We reach South Point. It is fully raining now. Gob has no interest in going in the rough water, but he enjoys a nice roll in the sand. While we are not visiting in the most ideal of conditions, I can only imagine how magnificent it would be to camp here on a clear night. The winds pick up, and I start to get cold and hungry.

We opt out of the longer loop home, instead retracing our steps back to the car. We also skip the second trail loop. Dang rain. But at least it gives us something to come back for.