In the beginning: A few of years ago my brother Alan and I created a nature walk on a loop trail that has been maintained by the Cedar Lane Assoc. largely on the nature preserve behind our properties (on the other side of Cedar Lane). The trail was originally built by long time Cedar Lane resident Bob Sayer and used primarily as winter XC ski trail. But eventually it was maintained year round as a walking trail and Al and I found it to be a very interesting little trail, so we researched various points of interest along it and added 20 signs to provide info on the diverse ecosystem the trail traversed (including some CCC planted groves). Below are pictures of a few of the things along the trail and the original handouts we created.
Alas, poor trail! I knew him (well). Parts of the old loop trail may still be maintained, but most of it is on 2 different private property lots. Both property owners were initially supportive of the trail, but both eventually decided they were not comfortable with it. I had this issue on the agenda for the one and only Cedar Lane Conservancy meeting in my brief tenure as President of that group, but before the meeting even started, the former HOA president strong-armed an agenda item onto the HOA meeting just before our meeting and organized a vote to disband the entire Conservancy Board. It was an unethical maneuver and also likely a bit of a vendetta against me personally (for various reasons), but it worked, and we never even got to discuss any of the items I had hoped to talk about - including a proposal to try to salvage the trail.
The end of the line: Since the private land owners had already pulled most of the trail signs, I pulled the rest of them, and the trail is no more - the nature trail that is. The loop trail is still there, but much of it has now been gated off and is no longer accessible to our community, which is a shame. It was a nice little trail while it lasted (and when it wasn't swarmed by flies and mosquitos, which it could be at times!)
Background - Al is 8 years older than I am and currently lives in San Francisco. He does research for UCSF in biochemistry. I am a retired Ford engineer (33 years there) living in Ypsilanti and an Eagle Scout. (Alan attained the rank of Life Scout, just below Eagle.) We were both born and raised in Midland MI with a love science and nature and the out of doors instilled in us by our parents (Ellen and Richard Wolfe) and through the Boy Scouts. We grew up going to Audubon Lectures and taking two week long summer car trips in the family station wagon visiting relatives and National Parks around the country. Our love for the thrill and beauty of nature was born on those wonderful trips, and also on local scouting trips, and we discovered that nature's beauty can be in National Parks and also right in your own back yard. The area that the trail traverses is a very interesting mix of pine and hardwood trees, some open fields, swampy areas, and a nice spring-fed stream running through it. In 2017 I decided to create the nature trail and with Alan's help, we put together the information for Hal & Al's Nature Trail. I hope you enjoy it! (Below is a map of the trail and the info related to the points of interest that we mapped. )
If you want to open or download a PDF file of the 2 page nature trail flyer or the conifer tree ID card use these links:
Hal & Al's Nature Trail 2 page flyer.
Hal & Al's Conifer Tree ID Card.
Thanks for your interest in Lake Charlevoix and Hal & Al's Nature Trail! - Hal Wolff
