Just east of this Muskegon River bridge, is a small offshoot that appeared to be a possible connection between the south and north branches. After marshaling the nerve to try it, the breakout turned into a really fun run that did connect, taking several miles off last week’s route.
It didn’t take long to spend those saved miles.
Heading west down the south branch, another seeming shortcut between the two branches was irresistible – and a complete dead end, an excellent remedy to unwarranted overconfidence in navigational prowess.
Check out the “one step forward, two steps back” procedure in this map of the trip.