North Manitou Island, MI

[Oms]

Trip report of North Manitou Island, MI

My self, brother-in-law, his two sons and my son took a four day trip to Manitou Island.
The ride out was a beautiful day in the upper 70’s. Did the whole orientation thing with the ranger and off we went. Made a b-line for the area just North of the cemetery. It was forecast to be the nicest weather day.

Spent the day swimming and playing on the beach. That night the clouds rolled in. Soon the wind was howling and the atmosphere changed. At first thought, not being able to swim would be a real bummer. Instead what we got was to see nature in a different light. Thankfully there was no lightning, but a great view of the clouds which were flying by at incredible speeds.

Woke up to wind and rain. This is the first time I spent lots of time camped in the rain using tarps. We lifted the sides to make a nice area to cook and hang around in. This has reinforced my decision in changing to a hammock and tarp set-up. After breakfast we headed out for a hike. Kcwins had made a few suggestions for things to find. Unfortunately I had forgotten the topo map of the island and was reduced to using the basic map handed out. So off we went with the directions given to me. We were in search of the “spring”. What we found was a 5’ pipe with three faded rings of duct tape, but no spring. Did you plant this Kcwins? After that we went for a hike throughout the Southeast and cemetery area. We returned to hang and dry out at camp. Later that afternoon the rain stopped and the sun came out. We were blessed with the most intense, colorful, sea to sea rainbow I have ever seen. What a sight!

Next day was spent looking for Old Baldy. Because it had rained so much the day before my print out of directions and things to look for had gotten soaked and fell apart. Going by memory we made it to Stormer’s Place and headed up a hill. After bushwacking around for a while we figured out it wasn’t working and we would not find it. We did have fun though.

Spent the following day hiking to the West side to watch the big waves roll in. Boys had fun playing by the water. The temps were great for hiking and the rain held off. We found an old car which the boys thought was very cool.

Our hike out was enthusiastic. We had eaten all of our food, and lets face it, it was time for some pancakes. The wind was so bad there was concern the boat would not come, lucky for us it did. Well some folks might have begged to differ. Short time out the cabin was pretty much empty. Lots of them were out getting fresh air, if you know what I mean?

We intended on backpacking around the island for three days, but instead elected to stay put due to the weather. Didn’t want to risk getting things wet, especially with the boys. I believe this was my 5th time to the island and I have to say it looks great. The trails were in fine shape and didn’t notice any loose paper lying around. The bugs weren’t bad at all with the wind being up. Thanks Kcwins for the places to check out. We will head back in a couple of years. It seems there is always something new to see and discover. I love the freedom of the island. To me it’s the best place to hike in the Midwest.

Here’s a few pictures from the trip.
A lot are of the kids, but I do have a few hammock/tarp set-ups.

http://picasaweb.google.com/GeorgeG6...S89-KHlP2UggE#

[gargoyle]

Thank you oms. That brings back some great memories. Took that boat ride three times. We had an old grizled Cap'n on our boat,I'm sure he's retired now, what a tough old bird. I remember my freinds all "looking for fish" on the ride over and back.
We camped at a big group site on the opposite side of the island from the bay, what an awesome place. BBUUURRRR, swimming in that water was so painful, yet refreshing. Is that old shipwreck still visible? We swam out there and dove off the towers, what a riot!!

Thanks for the I'm now wearing.

[Oms]

That's the beauty of the island. I'm not sure where the shipwreck is so now I'll have to find that. August is usually a good time to go. Makes it nice to jump into Lake Michigan. Bring goggles and you can see quite clearly. Glad you enjoyed the pictures.

[gargoyle]

Good links here.S. manitou shipwreck that we swam to.S. Manitou map, we camped at the Popple site. My memory must be fading, I didn't remember camping allowed on N. Manitou. I assumed you meant S. Manitou. My apologies. Its still a great place.

[Oms]

On the North island there is a campground area where fires are permitted. Otherwise you can camp anywhere on the island as long as your 300' from the trail, water, or historical sites. I've been there on Labor Day weekend when the island was busy and ran into very few people. There's plenty of room to get away from others and is a lot of fun to bushwack. Hard to get lost on an island of this size , but don't think it won't be a challenge. Those sand hills in the dense areas are really tough.

[pgibson]

Wow Great pics Oms, I have always wanted to explore your area of the contry, maybe some day. Thanks for sharring with us, good times.

[Oms]

Thanks, I certainly enjoyed the Sawtooths up your way.

[pgibson]

They are amazing for sure, I can't spend enough time up there. Just wish I had the millions it would take to buy some land up there. but hey maybe some day Hey a guy can dream can't he.

Paul

[Shug]

Looks darn good Oms ..... good to see your rig a flyin'!!
Shug

[Oms]

Had lots of fun rigging the 8x10 in different ways. My son loves hammocking. As a matter of fact, I can't get him up and moving in the morning. Just keeps sleeping away. Need to throw a pebble in his hammock before he goes to bed .