North Manitou Island

Well, life has been extremely hectic and I feel my blog has gone by the way side. So, I wanted everyone to be able to read about our amazing experience this weekend.

We had such a great time w/ great weather. We left my parents cottage Saturday morning to a cool foggy morning w/ deer spread about in random fields. It was somewhat surreal and a great way to start out our weekend. We left the mainland at 10:00 AM sharp to head out to the island. The waters were calm which I was very happy about as the last time I was on this ferry it didn't treat me so well. Truckie and I had been studying the map to decide which part of the island that we were going to focus on. It is 11 miles long and 7 miles wide so trying to explore for a weekend made it hard to decide which area to go. We decided we would stay in the Northern part and stay close to the inland lake which was Lake Manitou.

We got to the island, the ranger gave his talk and then everyone went their own way. I would say there was close to 100 people or more on this island but you would NEVER have guessed because we barely saw anyone just hiking around. It was awesome. We set off for North and it would wrap us around to the West eventually. I was so proud of Truckie and his map guiding skills this weekend. He really stepped up and took charge of where we were going and the distance to that point. It was impressive.

We set up camp about 3.5 miles from the dock. That was more than enough walking w/ our packs on. I have realized my knees are just not what they used to be and they took a pretty good beating. My new motto is, "I am getting older, NOT OLD, but older." We set up camp in the deep dark woods. It was a really remote spot and set us up to hike down to the lake and further west on the island if we wanted and we did.

We were getting low on water so decided to hike down to the lake which was about 2 miles one way. It such a beautiful place. It is so crazy that you are at a lake on the middle of an island. WE filled up our water and splashed some water on our face and just relaxed for a bit. Then we headed back for bed and to hang out in the tent because the bugs were so bad.

The next morning we woke up and had breakfast and then headed for another day hike to the north west part of the island. That was a 3.5 mile hike round trip and it got us some views of the water but we were still in the thick of the woods. Then we headed back to camp for lunch and to pack up to head closer to the dock so we would be as close as possible for Monday morning when the ferry came.

We packed up camp and headed back down to the lake for a swim and a fill up on water. Truckie was going to fish but I think we were just exhausted and we still had almost 4 miles to go until we were where we needed to go. Neither one of us complained (believe that one about me) about our packs being so heavy so that made it for a peaceful trip. My feet were getting so torn up from just walking w/ 50 lbs+ on my back and not have worn my boots for ages.

We finally made it to our camp by 5:00 or so and set up quickly because we were getting hungry. We made dinner and then went for one of the most refreshing swims of our life in Lake MIchigan. It was fantastic!! We went back to camp and were able to hang outside because the bugs weren't as bad and drank some wine. Oh yeah, we brought a bag of wine w/ us to help us sleep better at night and to be able to unwind from a long day. Really glad that we did.

The next morning we got up and ate breakfast and broke down camp and headed for the docks to head back to the mainland. Overall, it was a challenging weekend but so rewarding and am so glad that we did it.

The only wildlife that we did see was chipmunks and a couple snakes. The island is littered with deer but we weren't so fortunate to see any. Oh yeah, we also heard a coyote yipping on Saturday night for about 2 seconds and that was it.

We clocked a total of 17 miles of hiking for the weekend and I thought that was pretty good. I don't think I have hiked that much in the past 2 years total. :) I am physically tired in my legs, knees and feet but mentally I am stronger. It is such a great feeling to be out there and carrying everything you could possibly need on your back. Then, we come back to reality and have this house just full of stuff. It really makes you think about life and just how simple it can be and how much happiness it can bring you!!

So, I have decided to permanently retire my backpack for long trips like this in the future. My knees just can't handle it and I have to really listen to my body. Truckie kept saying that when we bring the kids out here and I kept having to correct him and say YOU. It makes me a bit sad to think that I am only 34 and my knees just can't handle some of the things I just love to do. I guess it is what they call reality!! We can always just take the kids over to the island and camp not far from the dock and just do day hikes.

Anyways, we took lots of fantastic fun pictures and I hope to get those out this week.