On the Potawatomi Trail

With Karen off on adventures with her sister in Oklahoma, I strapped 18 pounds of rucksack on my back and struck down the Potawatomi trail for two days off the grid. It was a steamy day tramping through the jungle of oak, maple and walnut that shrouds the hills of Pinckney Recreation area. It was a mercy to be in the shade. Nettles and poison ivy gave grim notice to stay on the path! Forget the sauna, just take a hike in July.

My reward came not less than 100 feet down the trail. The distinctive “drink-your-tea” call of the Towhee; the endless “pleased-to-meet-cha” song of the chestnut-sided warbler and the marvelous “chick-burr” of a

scarlet tanager who graced my eyes with his vivid color as he flitted across the path. Passing a swamp, a white-tailed doe stood frozen in the duckweed thinking she would not be seen. The sun glinted off her rusty-red hide. I gave her no indication that her cover had been blown and stood behind some brush to watch her.

Seven miles in I came to Blind Lake. Here I would bivouac for the night. Cool well water flowed from a cast iron pump into my water bottle. It was so refreshing, I sat and drank it dry. Under a tarp flown from two trees, I made my bed for the night. Tyler took to the dirt and panted. Saw in hand, I dove into the brush in search of firewood. Soon my fuel needs were cut, split and put under cover.

In great relish I rigged up my fly rod, took off my boots and waded into the lake. It was something of a challenge to fish with a Labrador swimming after every cast. After reeling in several poker chip sized bluegills, my fly was viciously attacked by a ten inch rock bass. This was dinner!

In the fading daylight, I sat by the fire and read aloud the Psalms of the day which included a favorite, Psalm 8, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” The poet William Blake wrote,

“To see a world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.”

It’s been said that God has written us two books: The Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature. In Scripture we see Christ revealed in the Man from Nazareth. In Nature, we read of Christ in every grain of sand. See you in church.

Connect, Grow, Serve,

Pastor Tom Anderson