About this time each year I get an itch to get up to Pigeon River Country State Forest and see the beginning of the fall color season. And, if I'm lucky, spot some elk in the process. Making the annual pilgrimage last week I did see some fall color, but no elk, just evidence they had been there.
One of my favorite areas in Pigeon River Country is the Green Timber Recreation Area, which actually lies along the Sturgeon River and not the Pigeon. But, the elk don't care. They frequent both river valleys.
Last fall I also made an excursion into Green Timbers and I wrote about with the disappointment that horse traffic had come to the area. That was along the eastern side of the recreation area visiting a couple of old cabins that the DNR had turned into three-sided shelters. One called the Honeymoon Cabin sits high on a ridge overlooking the river valley.
This time I hiked in off of Fontinalis Road along the western side of the recreation, which is before you reach the river. It's the only named road heading north once you leave Vanderbilt on Sturgeon Valley Road. It's about 7 miles east of the village.
Green Timbers is a designated "quiet area," which means no motorized vehicles. The wild, beautiful Sturgeon flows through the middle of the 6,300-acre tract, which is home to many elk. The tract was originally developed as a hunting and fishing retreat for McLouth Steel executives in the 1940s. In the 1950s and 60s the land was logged and used for grazing by cattle and sheep.
It was acquired by the state in the early 1980s. Today some of the area is covered by a second growth of hardwoods, cedar and red and white pine. But the area where I hiked remains open grasslands.
Where I begin the hike is a parking area along the east side of the road overlooking a large meadow, which is an elk viewing area. It's about three or four miles back along the dirt road once you make the turn on Fontinalis. A locked gate guards a two-track that leads back into the meadow, which offers wonderful opportunities for elk viewing. The parking area is designated by a circular ring of boulders.
As you head back, following the two-track across the meadow, you round a corner with a few trees and enter another open meadow-like area that has been planted with corn this year. The DNR has rotated a bunch of food crops over the years on this plot, which is a big attraction for the elk and deer. It's a great place to sit along one of the grassy hillsides overlooking the plot and watch for animal activity.
"We are getting reports that quite a few deer and now elk are coming into that area to feed," said Joe Valentine, a DNR employee with the Atlanta Field Office. "People have been seeing them, and this is the time they start the bugling. The best time to see them is a little before sunset, and they are more active on the cooler days. If it's warm they tend to stay put during the daylight hours."
It was a warm day last week when I made the trek down to the river, and all I saw was one whitetail bobbing down the lane in front of me. No elk, but I saw lots of their large hoof prints along the two-track. They are there, just not when I was. It was a warm afternoon with temperatures hovering in the mid 70s, and I had my labs with me. I have seen elk in here before, and with my labs along. This is also a popular upland game bird hunting area.
I continued my hike on down to the river, which is about 23/4 miles from the parking area. The two-track continues gently heading down to the river flanked by more open grasslands with tall wooded hills lining the valley. It's an easy, beautiful hike, and the fall colors will continue to just improve over the next three weeks. The ferns were all aglow last week.
When we reached the river, which is bridged by a commercial grade bridge probably left over from the McLouth Steel days, there was a young woman with her dog Forrest wading in the river. She was camped nearby on one of the wooded hillsides, and she was filling her filtered water bags to take back to her tent. It wasn't the first trip to Green Timbers for the Ann Arbor women.
"I love this area and have camped here before," she said as we watched the dogs cavort in the river. "It's so quiet and peaceful. You don't hear any traffic noise, just silence except for the wind and the sound of the rushing river. I haven't seen any elk yet, but I just got here. In the past I've seen a bunch of elk up around the food plot about this time of year, so I'm anticipating seeing some more while I'm here for a few days."
My dogs and I bid her farewell and headed back up the two-track to Fontinalis Road.
The hike back was just as beautiful with the sun low in the western sky casting a bright light on the golden ferns that grew along side the path.
We still didn't see any elk, but that was all right. It was just beautiful being out there.
For those that don't want to hike all the way to the river, it's less than a mile back to the food plot where you would have the best chance for some elk viewing.
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