It’s safe to say that many of the pilgrims on the Camino are not hikers or trekkers when they set out for the first time. I know I wasn’t. Many will come to the Camino with a combination of needing a spiritual journey of some sort or needing a challenge. Don’t we find ourselves headed in a better direction when we have something to challenge us?
For me, years ago, it was the admonition on the McDonald’s Happy Meal boxes to “Collect All 8!” toys. I took that very seriously and filled my house with complete sets of little plastic figures, games, and Beanie babies. More than the toy, I loved the challenge to collect all 8. In the same vein, I set out on my first Camino because I was challenged to walk a certain distance to see a great church and get a certificate saying I’d done it.
So it was when I learned about the Chickaming Challenge. It was the Chickaming Open Lands throwing down the gauntlet to me – to hike ten of 15 trails on their 2023 map during the month of July in order to win a $10 gift certificate to one of three Berrien County restaurants. And I learned about it from a South Bend pilgrim! Thank you to chapter coordinator John Stackowicz. I decided to do it: to hike ten different trails, find the Open Lands Selfie Station, snap a quick pic to document my hike, and go get that gift certificate.
My first hike was far and away the easiest, although I could not have known that at the time. I drove from Niles to Galien and passed the trail head three times before finding the barely marked entrance to the Burns Prairie Preserve. I was only a few minutes in when I found myself looking out on either side of me to native prairie grasses and an infinite variety of blooming wildflowers on either side of the trail. Why had I never heard of this trail before?
My next walk was in the Fernwood Botanical Garden in Buchanan. You get clues, but I hiked north of the river dock instead of south and never found where to take the photo, so I went back days later, purchased a Fernwood membership, and set out in the opposite direction, south along the St. Joe River. The Selfie Station was right on the riverbank, opposite a stream that fed into the river. I sat there for the longest time – I just didn’t want to leave. Ironically, before I learned about the Challenge, I thought Fernwood was the only nature preserve in the county.
There was a cluster of forest preserves just north of Three Oaks on the Chickaming Open Lands map, so I put together the perfect plan: I would drive to town, find the trail, hike it, and then come back to get food in Three Oaks afterward. I hiked the Sugarwood Forest Preserve, the Edward & Elizabeth Leonard Wildlife Preserve, the Chris Thompson Memorial Preserve, the Robinson Woods Preserve, the trail near the Episcopal Church of the Mediator in Harbert, and the Love Creek County Park. That’s eight. Done!
The last two hikes dropped me off at the shores of Lake Michigan – one near South Haven named perfectly for me! The Pilgrim Haven Natural Area. It’s where families and couples walk along the beach collecting fossilized rocks. The Selfie Station was higher up on a bluff overlooking the beach and the endless stretch of fresh blue water. It was the ideal combination of forest bathing and real water bathing, if you wanted it.
The last hike was kind of bittersweet. I knew Warren Dunes State Park was going to be the tenth when I set out and I loved that I actually did “Collect All 8!” But I took my time, trying to hang onto the experience of the forest, the dunes, and the icy cold breeze off the lake. Still, I haven’t climbed up a dune since I was a little kid, and every step up slides you back down nearly ankle deep in sand. But I had my hiking pole and I was smart enough to wear my water shoes. I just told myself – “Hey, you’ve got all day to do this.” And an hour later, I had my selfie and was on my way back to Niles.
This series of ten hikes was every bit as challenging as any day on the Camino. I found that I wanted to get out and spend time in one of these forest preserves. I wanted to explore the trails and the differences among them. And in so many ways, I could experience some of what I love about the Camino: the trails, the beautiful forests, the myriad of wildflowers, and ultimately, the challenge to do it.
This is the map I used. Remarkably, a new trail is opening in August, just north of Buchanan (https://www.chikamingopenlands.org/our-preserves/myron-perlman-nature-preserve) . There’s more info on the Chickaming Open Lands here: https://www.chikamingopenlands.org/
If you’d like to read more about the Camino de Santiago or the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, click on MY BOOKS on the menu.
Buen Camino!
Tumbleweed Pilgrim 