Shingle Mill Pathway Hike Route Map

A return visit to the Shingle Mill Pathway after my aborted winter overnight a couple months back. I had been positively aching to get back out to the Shingle Mill ever since. Originally my plan was to do the entire 11-mile loop but detours and rough roads forced me to only do the northernmost 6-miles. No matter, the northern half holds the majority of the scenic highlights anyway. Off I went for a little springtime hiking...

Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 45.189626, -84.448133 (approximate)

Route Type: Loop + spur

Difficulty: CHALLENGING (Petzoldt Rating: 6.90 )

Mileage Hiked: 6.0 miles

Trailhead Temp: 60'F

Min. Elevation: 880'

Max Elevation: 1,030'

Total Elevation Gain: 450'

Trails Used (blaze color): Shingle Mill Pathway (blue)

6-2-2009

Shingle Mill Pathway (6.0 miles; d=6.90)

Shingle Mill Pathway Hike Route Map
The approximate track of my hike along the Shingle Mill Pathway, depicted a la Google Earth...
Shingle Mill Pathway Hike Route Map
The approximate track of my hike along the Shingle Mill Pathway...
Shingle Mill Pathway
Sunny, 60, and leaves on the trees...this was going to be a good day...
Shingle Mill Pathway
My first order of business was to briefly follow the Shingle Mill west to the south end of Grass Lake then make a short bushwhack to its east side...
Bunchberry
The greenish tint of this Bunchberry flower hints that it only recently bloomed...
Grass Lake Bushwhack
The one mile bushwhack to the east shore of Grass Lake started out easy enough through this conifer swamp...
Grass Lake Bushwhack
...eventually though, things got a bit more tight...
Grass Lake Bushwhack
Keeping Grass Lake to my right kept me from getting too far off-course...
Grass Lake
There was virtually no breeze so Grass Lake was amazingly placid...
Shingle Mill Pathway
Even when there's no real danger of getting lost its always nice to find the trail again...
Shingle Mill Pathway
The trail stays a ways away from Grass Lake as it heads north so there were no views to speak of...
Shingle Mill Pathway
Crossing one of the many unnamed two-tracks in the area not far from Devils Soupbowl...
Devils' Soupbowl
Devils Soupbowl is the remains of an old sinkhole now filled with rainwater and runoff. I must have taken a dozen shots of it but due to the intense contrast this was the only one that turned out to my liking...
Yellow Pond Lily
The steep climb down to the shore of Devils Soupbowl did reward me with a couple new wildflowers. Here a cluster of Yellow Pond Lily's...
Daisy Fleabane
...and here the rather unremarkable Daisy Fleabane...
Shingle Mill Pathway
From Devils Soupbowl I continued north and east to a reported overlook about a mile away. With a full canopy overhead, and the fact that this is Michigan, I kept my expectations low...