Last night was colder than forecast. I was OK, but definitely chillier than I would’ve liked. My sleeping bag is rated for 40F, but that assumes that you’re well-dressed inside it. I noticed that my newish inflatable sleeping pad isn’t as warm as the dense foam one I used to use; this was my first use of it in temps this cold (my first time in a while camping this early in the summer), and I could feel some of the coldness of the ground coming through it. My nose got cold, but otherwise my core body temperature stayed within acceptable limits.

It was a good experiment, because now I know exactly what I must pack for the trail for tonight, and what (very little) I can leave behind, stowed in the scooter.

I woke a few times in the night, but woke for good at 6:00. I’d say that the birds were my alarm clock, but they’d been at it for a while by then. The frogs went all night. This morning I’ve seen trumpeting swans flying over the river, and a hummingbird. I fixed a baggie of hot oatmeal, and gradually broke camp.

It’s a beautiful sunny morning, but a 40% chance of rain this afternoon. And tomorrow will be wet. 🙁

As night falls the skies are clear. The forecast for tomorrow is looking drier, and may even be rain-free. The forecast for the day after, on the other hand… is looking wet. And the “60% chance of thunderstorms” lasts pretty much all day, suggesting that they’re anticipating the kind of rain that (if it happens) just keeps coming. Ugh.

It’s getting cool, but not so much that I’m worried about staying warm tonight. The forecast low is 48F. My sleeping bag is pretty warm, plus I have jeans, a couple long-sleeve shirts, and t-shirts if needed.

We’re right by the water, with plenty of wetlands, but the mosquitoes aren’t too bad. Long sleeves/pants and a few spritzes of repellent are keeping them at bay.

There are still several cars parked in the lot (folks out on the trails, no doubt), but only a few people camping here. Thank god the horde of middle-schoolers and their chaperones who were loitering in the parking lot with music playing and demonstrating why large groups get progressively louder as time goes by… have left. Next to my site are a couple of college-age boys who were apparently setting up their tents for the first time ever as it got dark. Rookie mistake, but they managed.

You know, I vaguely remember being excited when I hit 1,000 miles on my scooter.

“Sunny” didn’t last very long, giving way to “hazy” and “cloudy”. The sun does come out from time to time, which makes a difference in warmth, but not enough. I didn’t realize how chilled I was getting until I stopped for lunch. Need to put on another layer to keep warm on the road.

I’m taking a more western route than I planned, thru Ottawa and Muskegon Counties so far, flirting with Newaygo County. I passed a few Amish/Mennonite folks near Fremont, one a kid on a bicycle pulling a cart, another couple in a two-person carriage pulled by a pony. Probably more liberal than some of their neighbors, which would include Gary Glenn, who runs the local klavern of the American Family Association.

I’m having lunch at Daniel’s in Hesperia, which is your basic family restaurant at the intersection of the two roads that run through town. I’m not quite halfway to tonight’s camp, so I guess I underestimated how long it’ll take. The bike’s performing well though: maintaining 40mph with no tail wind on level road. Of course it’s the hills that are the real challenge, but I haven’t had many if those.

The weather forecast hasn’t changed much since I last fretted about it, but it isn’t bad enough for a change of plans. Looking at the detail, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be persistent rain (except maybe Sunday night), and I can put up with intermittent showers. Right now, right here, it’s about 60ºF and sunny: a little cool, but otherwise lovely. Considering that I’ve had rides that were already pouring when I left, this is alright.

I’ve showered, eaten, packed and double-checked the scooter, locked up and alarmed the house, and checked my mail. All systems go. I’d figured I’d get on the road around 9am, which is my habit on these trips, so I’m running a little behind that, but not by much.

My objective for today is pretty simple: get to the Red Bridge Access trailhead for the Manistee River Trail, set up camp, and hike out and back as far as I have time for, in the opposite direction of where I’ll be going tomorrow. It’s about 125 miles of road, with minimal sightseeing, so I figure about 5 hours to get there.

The weather is nice today.

But the forecast for the coming days, it’s not so sunny. Which has me considering a change of plans.

A few days ago they were forecasting just some rain on Sunday and Sunday night. Now they’re expanding that to Saturday and Monday with the stakes raised to “thunderstorms” on the latter. Those are the days I’m planning to be hiking. I guess that’s better than riding in the rain, because at least hiking in the rain is safe. Just not as much fun as hiking when it’s dry.

I really need a vacation. More importantly, I need a good one.

I don’t have to make a decision on what to do until it’s time to leave tomorrow morning, so I’m not. But I’m weighing options in my head, which could include canceling one part or the other of my trip (riding Grand Traverse Bay or hiking the Manistee River) so I don’t have to do it in the rain. We’ll see.