Christal Cooper
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Article
1,326 Words
*This
article was previously published on September 12, 2015 by The Daily News, which
covers Greenville, Belding, and Montcalm Counties in Michigan
**Copyright
granted by The Daily News and Mike Taylor
Guest
Blogger: Mike Taylor
Miles To Go:
Meredith
Geselman Hikes Michigan’s “Shore-To-Shore” Trail
The
woods are lovely, dark and deep
But
I have promises to keep
And
miles to go before I sleep
And
miles to go before I sleep.
-Robert
Frost, from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening”
Generations have read and loved Frost’s
depiction of a silent, snow-shrouded woodland, but few have lived first-hand
that ephemeral, fleeting communion with the natural world recounted in the
poet’s words. Those who have don’t
forget their experience.
Former Stanton resident Meredith
Geselman, who now lives and works in Saginaw, is one of the lucky ones. This summer she managed to store up 20 days
worth of memories by walking across the state, from Oscoda to Empire.
Most of her journey took her along the Shore-to-
Shore trail, though she sometimes left it in favor of less-sandy country roads
or small villages. She started the trip
with friend and roommate, Megan Parks, but was alone for the final 15 days
after Parks suffered an injury and couldn’t continue.
Geselman says she hikes regularly, but
admits none of her little “day trips” fully prepared her for nearly three weeks
on the open trail. Eschewing modern
amenities, she carried everything needed for the trip on her back, including
food and shelter.
On lucky nights, she would set up camp in
one of the primitive campgrounds that dot the trail. Other nights, she simply made came in fields
alongside the trail.
Days would pass without her seeing or
speaking with another person. She was
unprepared, she says, for the loneliness and physical exertion required for the
trip.
“I
guess it was kind of a Forrest Gump thing,” Geselman says. “this
was my first hiking a longer distance, my first time going overnight. The trail is 234 miles. I managed to average about 12 miles per day.”
Geselman’s inspiration for the journey
came from growing up with stories of the Appalachian Trail and others like
it. That trail – which runs from Georgia
to Maine – generally takes hikers about six months to complete.
Geselman, who works as a food service manager at
City Rescue Center homeless shelter in Saginaw, didn’t have that kind of
time. The Shore-to-Shore trail seemed a
viable alternative.
Originally, Geselman conceived the trip
as a fundraiser to send inner city kids to summer camp, but says she couldn’t
get all (her) ducks in a row in time.
She’s considering doing it all again next year, giving more attention to
the fundraising aspect of it.
Considering the difficulty of her journey it’s a little surprising to
her speak of an encore performance.
Relatives checked in on her at various
points along the route, so she wasn’t entirely without a support system. Geselman’s aunt, Kathy Beach, describes one
such meeting.
“My sister met her up by Curtis,” Beach says.
“When they picked her up she had blisters all over her feet. It was bad.”
“At
the end of the first week I had about 10 blisters” Geselman agrees.
“One was giant, on the outside of both feet.”
Despite this, she shouldered on and by
the end of the trip hard use had worn the blisters away.
Her dog, Tanner, who accompanied
Geselman, fared less well. Somewhere along
the way, the dog drank from a puddle infested with parasitic bacteria. He was, according to Geselman, flagging
somewhat by journey’s end and required medication to get him on his feet again.
One might think the trail would be rife
with hikers ruing the height of summer, but that wasn’t the case.
“I
saw only three other hikers the whole time,” Geselman says. “And
honestly, they had parked their car about a mile down the trail from a
campground and had just walked the few minutes in and were camping. I also saw about 10 people on horseback and a
few more in various campgrounds. I
didn’t meet anyone else who was hiking or riding through, thought.”
Part of the reason for this may be the Shore-to-Shore
trail is notoriously difficult to hike, owing in large part to its sandy
composition. (Picture walking 234 miles
on a sandy beach and you’ll have a fairly accurate idea of Geselman’s
experience.)
Another aspect that keeps some hikers
away is the wildlife, which includes bears and coyotes. The ideas of predators didn’t worry Geselman
much while Parks was with her, but once again things changed.
“That
first night (alone) I was really sacred,” she says. “That was the night when the coyotes came
closest. I could hear them howling right
outside, near my campsite out in the middle of the woods. I was kind of freaking out. I stayed awake a long time that night.
“But
at least I didn’t see any bears, so I’m thankful for that, because I didn’t
have anything to stop them with.”
An experienced camper, Geselman knew
enough to put her food and gear in a tree at night to thwart nocturnal
scavengers.
From a psychological standpoint, Geselman
says the thing she missed most (other than people) was knowing the time. Parks had the pair’s only watch and took it
with her when she left the trail.
Though she had packed a mobile phone,
Geselman used it only to check her time and location the first thing every morning
in order to conserve battery life.
“The
weirdest thing was not knowing what time it was,” she says. “The map I carried wasn’t that great. It was all just walking and trying to guess
how far I’d come and whether it was a good time to stop and set up camp. I hated not knowing.
“Sometimes
I’d be in the middle of thick woods, sometimes in a field of ferns. I didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of a
really deep woods, but I also wanted to get as far as I could. It’s tricky trying to figure it out without a
watch. I just prayed to the Lord that he
would give me a good campsite and that I wouldn’t get eaten by a bear.”
Geselman admits she was “Pretty much
done” five days before reaching Empire and the end of the trail.
“I
was just tired of walking,” she says.
“it was a lot. Some parts were
absolutely beautiful. I love Michigan
and the scenery we have here. But some
was just uphill sand for miles and that’s just not pleasant.”
Despite the exhaustion – now gone but not
forgotten – Geselman says she will likely make the trip, or one like it,
again. Next time, however she plans to
bring along a larger group of hikers. It
was after all the lack of human contact she found to be the most difficult
challenge.
Those few she did meet along the trail
were kind, she says. Some gave her
water, some offered rides, some shared only their company, which, considering
the lack thereof, was enough.
According to her aunt, Geselman is a
“giving person” who loves the outdoors, is determined and independent, and not
the sort to give up on a challenge once begun.
“She
did it because she felt God wanted her to do it,” Beach says. “But we were all a little worried. She didn’t just stretch her faith, she
stretched ours as well. We wanted to
pick her up and so many times, but we had to just let her do it.”
Loneliness aside, hiking solo has its
good points, Geselman says. You set your
own schedule eat when you want, sleep when you want. You needn’t worry about following someone else’s routine. Even so, it’s not something she
plans to do again any time soon.
“I
think I will probably do a long hike again,” she says. “It was very peaceful being alone and all
that. But I just missed talking with
people. I missed the social
contact. Next time I’ll be doing it with
some other people.”
Photograph
Description And Copyright Information
***All photographs are given copyright privilege by Meredith Geselman unless otherwise noted
Photo
1
The
Daily News web log
Fair
Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo
2
Mike
Taylor
Web
logo photo
Fair
Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo
4
Robert
Frost in 1941
Attributed
to Fred Palumbo
Public
Domain
Photo
5
Jacket
cover of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
Illustrated
by Susan Jeffers
Fair
Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo
6
Michigan
equestrian and hiking trail from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron
Attributed
to Barnyers99
CCBASA3.0
Photos
8, 25, and 30
Meredith
Geselman in Empire at Lake Michigan.
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
9
Meredith
Geselman’s campground
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
10
Scenic
pictu5e of the Shore-To-Shore Trail
Fair
Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo
11
American
Map depicting the Appalachian Trail
Public
Domain
Photos
12 and 13
Shore-to-Shore
trail
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
14
Kathy
Beach
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
15
Meredith’s
blisters
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
16
Tanner
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
17
Horseback
riders on the trail at Goose Creek Camp
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
18.
Meredith
Geselman on the sandy composition of the Shore-to-Shore Trail.
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
19.
Meredith
Geselman’s last night of camping.
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman.
Photo
20
Meredith’s
campground.
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman
Photo
26.
Meredith
Geselman’s campground near Kalkaska, Michigan
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman.
Photo
27
Meredith
Geselman found a treasure trove of “water” at one of her campgrounds.
Copyright
granted by Meredith Geselman.
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