Hike for Recovery

This past weekend involved another non-group training hike due to the Easter weekend. We took the opportunity to make the trip across the state to visit with Jennifer's extended family on the west side of Michigan. We headed across the state on Thursday night to get an extra day in there, though I worked remotely all day Friday. It was a good thing, too, as there was a massive snow storm that hit southern Michigan Friday afternoon which prevented a number of family members from traveling until Saturday morning.

Saturday was busy preparing for the family gathering but I was able to get a good 6.0 mile hike in in the morning around the outer perimeter of the Pentwater Pathways trail. I hiked solo for the majority of the trail, catching up with some podcasts for the first hour, then took the headphones off and just enjoyed the solitude. The trail was completely covered by hard packed snow, approximately 6-12 inches deep or so. I was worried that I might start post-holing half way around and that it would be a hard hike back but it never happened. The woods were beautiful with a half inch of freshly fallen snow from the night before and clear, sunny skies.

At around mile 4.25, I came across a man with two dogs in a parking lot abutting an access point along the trail. It quickly became apparent that his VW Touareg had become stuck in the soft snow along the edge of the parking area. I volunteered to help him get unstuck, though it proved much harder than I had anticipated. Though it had AWD, it had bottomed out under the engine and all the wheels were spinning. Using nearby branches we dug out the snow from under the vehicle and put underbrush under behind the tires to try to give it some traction, but it wasn't enough.

About this time, another car came along with a woman and man. We warned them about parking in the lot. They took our word, though as they were turning around they managed to get stuck as well! Fortunately their vehicle was much lighter and we were able to get it moving again.

They then got out and helped us with the Touareg. After some experimenting and several tries, we were able to get it out of the snow by putting down blankets, towels, and reusable grocery bags the owners had in the backs of their vehicles. It also took three guys (including myself) rocking the SUV back and forth while the woman pulsed the gas in reverse.

During the course of the half hour event, the Touareg owner and I struck up a conversation. I told him about my participation in the Hike For Discovery program, that I was from the metro Detroit area and and who I was staying with in the area. As is probably common in many small communities, everybody seems to know everybody. Though he lives in the metro Detroit area as well, it turns out his mother and Jennifer's grandfather have been friends since childhood. After we had gotten his vehicle unstuck, he decided that he still wanted to walk his dogs so he joined me for about a mile or so and we just chatted.

Sometimes life throws the most unexpected things at you. Thankfully this one was a good one.