Fischer Creek and Lake Michigan

From the middle of February through the middle of April, I walked from our home on Point Creek to Fischer Creek almost daily. It was an easy walk in late winter, as the distance invariably kept my body warm in the cold weather. No bugs, very little stinky cladophora washing up on the shore. No people, ever. I can leave the front step, and proceed to hike over 4 miles - mostly along the beach of Lake Michigan, and never see a human soul.

The walk is still pleasant, but the warmer weather brought thousands of dead alewife minnows, chunks of stinky seaweed (cladophora). Unless you don't mind the crunching sound of walking on the carcasses of dead fish, you have to keep your eyes down - choosing your footsteps carefully. However, this takes your mind off of the beauty of the Lake and the bluff. Looking down during the walk is quite ugly - it's an hour and a half of staring at death of all kinds. It can be an enlightening meditation, but making the trip daily is no longer as desireable, though I still find myself drawn to the shore regardless.