Thread: Bull Gap

I was feeling adventures, so I decided to travel deeper into the trail system than I had ever ventured. It was a beautiful day, and the sun was bright. I stopped at the top of the sandy-stone-scattered trail. It seemed to go on forever. My ATV was in good shape, and I had a full tank of gas, so I thought “what the hell.”

Although this portion of the trail was open to both high-clearance vehicles, and ATVs, it would be foolish to try to proceed with anything other than an ATV. The sand was deep, and very loose. It would be easy to get stuck. I was at least 10 miles from any main road, but I wasn’t worried since my ATV had a winch mounted to the front of it, so I felt confident I could get through almost anything.

I was moving along at a decent clip, but not too fast since I have never been a risk taker.
Up ahead I noticed something lying in the middle of the trail. I slowed a little, but didn’t plan on stopping, so I moved to the left as I approached the object. As I passed it I looked down and recognized it as a snake coiled up, and sunning itself on the sand.

Since I was in northern Michigan I was not concerned about what type of snake it was. I have only seen two different species in all the time I have lived there. I figured that it was most likely a garter snake, or another one that I didn’t recall the name of, but to me seemed like a harmless version of a cobra. I stopped and walked back to the snake.

It was at that moment that I realized that I had now seen 3 different species in my life. It was a Massasauga Rattlesnake. The Massasauga is Michigan’s only venomous snake. I backed away even though the bite from one is the least dangerous of all rattlesnakes.

Since I always take my camera with me when I go into nature, I took a couple pictures as it tried to head for the taller weeds along the edge of the trail. I was excited to have finally seen one. I could chalk off another animal from my list of those native to northern Michigan.

As I headed deeper into the wilderness the open-sandy trail, that was cut through a young jack-pine forest, was beginning to get narrower and covered with brush. I estimated that I was about fifteen miles from my starting point, so I decided I should start to look for a trail that would head back toward the west.

I was not concerned about getting lost since I had my GPS device with me, along with my cell phone. Although, a cell phone almost never got reception in the area I was in. There were the occasional spots that you would pick up a signal for a little while, and then it would fade. I brought it “just in case.”

I found a trail that headed in the direction I wanted to go, and soon I was riding through an area that was covered by the canopy of a mature forest. The shade from the trees, along with the cool mist, coming from the cedar-swamp to my right was refreshing on this hot day.

As I came around a bend in the trail, and started to head down into a wooded valley, I noticed a white cross to my left. I stopped to see what it was all about. While reading the words on the cross I realized that this had been the exact spot that a young man had died while riding his ATV a few years earlier.

It suddenly seemed much quieter. The warm breeze was the only sound I heard. A sense of calmness with a touch of vulnerability overtook my soul. I stood still and silent for, what seemed like, several minutes.

My mind began to analyze the situation. I wondered if he was alone. I wondered if he was going too fast for the trail. I wondered if he hit a tree, or flipped and maybe broke his neck. I wondered if his friend, and or, friends had to leave him and go for help. I wondered if he lied there, alone, until another trail rider found him. Lastly, I wondered who it was that took the time to build the beautiful memorial to this young man.

As I left the spot of the tragic accident, I held on tightly to the handlebars of my ATV. Even though I was not going too fast for the trail, I slowed down a little. For the next hour I thought about how fragile life is. It dawned on me that I had once again been enlightened through the experiences of nature.

I continued toward home down the winding path of the Bull Gap trail system.

I like it. The story is filled with suspense and left me thinking you were going to be bitten by the snake or some other poisonous creature.

Sounds like the sandy places of Michigan are good for experience in exploration.

Took me a while to figure what the ATV was but when you mentioned handlebars I figured All Terrain Vehicle.

I am glad you liked it. I forget sometimes that terms we use in this country may not be used in others. I did consider calling it a "Quad," but figured that "ATV" was more of a universal term. Would you have known what a Quad (short for 4-wheeler) was?