What a pleasant-sounding title, no? If I had more talent and time and inclination, I'd be a professional writer. But it's mainly the first reason I'm not.
On a lovely fall morning, I left ghetto I call home on the southern end of the Leelanau Peninsula and headed to a spot a few miles northeast of Elk Rapids. Maplehurst came onto my hiking trail radar early in our move to Traverse City. Our first temporary lodgings were in the condos overlooking a Grand Traverse Resort golf course, and I made the short trip up US-31 to a trail system I hadn't heard of before.
I like it for two reasons. First, it's beautiful, and I will soon provide photographic evidence of that claim. Second, despite how many cars are in the parking lot, it never seems busy. With six miles of trails, people are spread out. It's like the Acme Meijer. The parking lot can be full, but it never seems busy. There is probably a perfectly reasonable, scientific explanation for this, like alternate universes or aliens, but I don't understand it. Not complaining, though.
Maplehurst was still in its golden glory.
I could see glimpses of Torch Lake through the trees. No one splashing on the sandbar today. Wimps. Kid Rock, if sober, would be very disappointed.
And so what if there is a refrigerator or two that has been pushed over the edge. That just adds to the charm. The fridge probably had it coming. One of those signs that this used to be private property and it was just cheaper to throw the thing down the hill rather than take it to the dump. Like not dirtying the ash tray in your car when you can conveniently throw it out the window for everyone else to enjoy.
Lake Maplehurst, where canoes once slid across the waters. Camp Maplehurst closed in 2011, and the lake has been canoe-less since. There is no easy access and only the ducks and geese float on the surface these days.
I'm posting this a week after I went, and those lovely colors are already dull and increasingly fading. Maplehurst is a great trail any time of year, though. Hike on!