As fall settles over northern Michigan, the forests seem to exhale — a mix of color, quiet, and the faint crunch of leaves underfoot. This season always feels like an invitation to slow down, look closer, and take to the woods. For my wife Johanna and me, that movement lately has meant hiking.

We’ve spent the past few months walking stretches of the North Country Trail as training for our recent Rim-to-River-to-Rim adventure in the Grand Canyon — and, in the process, discovered something beautiful right here in our own backyard.

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