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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Spring Creek / Red Loop - a glacial footprint hike in SE Michigan

These photos are to supplement the hiking column that will appear in the Sunday, May 15th edition of  The Oakland Press.  The hiking column presents the Red Loop (Spring Creek ) trail of the South Unit of Michigan's Bald Mountain State Recreation Area. The trail is hilly and takes you through woodlands and past wetlands and gives great views of an impressive landscape created by the last great glacial retreat. A landscape now rich with woodland wildflowers thanks to the recent and continuing rains of spring.
High quality Trail Point Indicator signs mark the trails of the South Unit of the
Bald Mountain State Recreation Area
Sadly some have aleady been used as target practice: Pathetic behavior.


Trail side bloodroot is in full bloom

Marsh marigold adds splashes of color to the wetlands

This circular shaped depression (a kettle lake)was created by the weight of a detached melting block of glacial ice that sunk into the soil left behind as the last great sheet of ice retreated. Perfect breeding area for salamanders!

A sea of skunk cabbage can be found where the trail meets spring creek.



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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    Nice pictures. I go to this park often. Just last month(October-November 2011) my girlfriend and I spotted 2 spawning brown trout (one about 20 inches long, the other maybe 16) in Spring Creek. The creek is so shallow that the back of the larger fish was actually exposed out of the water. Quite a site in such a tiny stream.

    I have enjoyed reading your blog. It is helping me make it through a slow day at work.

    ReplyDelete