North Manitou Island: Tropical paradise meets backcountry trek

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Courtesy: Google Maps

This trip easily goes into my top five favorite destinations.  North Manitou Island sits just off the west coast of Michigan in Lake Michigan.  It's accessed from the small harbor town of Leland by ferry which runs between the mainland and the island twice daily during the summer months.  The island is like a giant playground for anyone who loves the outdoors.  On the ferry ride over we rode along side other serious backpackers going to hike the trail system that circumvents the island and Manitou Lake in the center of it's namesake island.  We also saw casual campers with massive loads not looking to trek more than a few miles from the dock where they would set up a base and either day hike or lay on the sandy beach listening to the waves crash into the island's shore.   

Once on land my wife and I along with two of our good friends, Elliott and Joy set out for a three day hike around the entire island.  We headed south on very easy, level trails and finally bushwhacked for several miles to a secluded perch not on any of the trails (more details on that campsite in my BACKPACKER magazine writeup). Throughout this entire trip we were rewarded with amazing views of Lake Michigan... after all we are on an island and you don't have to go very far in any direction to see the lake.  

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Camp 1 on a beautiful and isolated perch with 180 degree views of the southern half of North Manitou Island.

On the second day of our trip we started out walking along the beach which I found to be very enjoyable and relaxing.  The beaches on North Manitou look as pristine as any you'd find on a tropical island in the Caribbean and the water was as blue and clear as you could imagine.  We bounced back and forth between beach and woods as we hiked north along the west side of North Manitou.  Stopping for lunch we reclined on the beach and soaked in the sun while we ate.  In addition to the stunning views, the history was rich and very visible.  Just down the coast from our lunch spot sat a long abandoned dock probably, at one time, the only access for boats to that side of the island.  We saw abandoned logging camps - one of which was full of rusted 1940's era pickups used during the logging days.  Clearly marked on the side of many of the trucks was a company with an 8 Mile address in Detroit.  We hiked the rest of the afternoon and did not decide exactly where we'd camp that night until the trail split and we had to make a decision which way to travel.  The decision was made that we'd head inland and camp near Lake Manitou which lies in the center of the island.  Originally I saw this lake on the map and envisioned a small pond-like lake that you could easily see all the shoreline from camp.  Quickly I learned that wasn't the case at all.  This was a substantial lake, which sat in the middle of an island which was sitting in the middle of another lake!     

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A truck cemetery full of gutted and abandoned logging trucks, from a former life, when the island was used for logging. 

Day three was short.  We only had about 2.5 miles to go to get back to the dock where our ferry would pick us up.  We hiked through the woods over flat terrain until finally we emerged into an open area known as Manitou Village where the ranger's quarters and dock as well as several old structures are located.  We relaxed under the shade of a few trees while we waited for our ferry to arrive.    

To see even more photos from this trip visit my Flickr page. 

For more information on North Manitou Island and the entire Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake shore visit their website. 

Look for a writeup on our North Manitou Island trek in BACKPACKER magazine in 2014.  

Pine Mountain Trail: Moonshine, Murder and getting lost in the woods

Deep in the woods of eastern Kentucky along the border with Virginia lies a mountain with a somewhat shady past.  The Pine Mountain Trail follows the namesake ridge and the longest piece of that trail is the 35 mile Birch Knob section which runs from Elkhorn City, Kentucky to Pound Gap right off U.S. Highway 23 on the Virginia border.  The trail is challenging if you hike it from east to west with over 8,000 feet of elevation change (mostly up).  Blazes are almost non-existent in places and switchbacks climbing up the steep mountainsides are even more scarce.  Your gentle frolic in the woods comes when you're walking along the ridge line.  While the trail is challenging and poorly marked in areas, for your effort you are rewarded with numerous views of the surrounding valleys which boasts the chance to eyeball five different states depending on which direction you are looking.    

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An old rusted bed frame near the foundation of house in the woods just off the Pine Mountain Trail. 

History: If you're interested in a little history with your hike, the Birch Knob section of the trail has a lot to offer in that department as well.  Stone foundations from old homesteads, stories of moonshiner camps, murders, burial sites and plane crashes are just some of the rich history of the mountain which can be discovered in the deepest sections of the woods.  At around mile eight there's a cemetery where a man was buried that allegedly got into a gun fight with 'the law' over his profession as a moonshiner - at least that's what one of the locals told us.  Hike eight miles further to Dutton Bottom where a man was murdered in cold blood by a posse of men led by the sheriff of Dickenson County in Virginia over moonshine.  Why all the moonshining?  Well... it is Kentucky but beyond that Pine Mountain is speckled with natural springs high in the mountains with some of the purest water you can find.  Perfect for making the highest quality moonshine - so I'm told.  In addition, being so close to the state line makes it easy for alleged moonshiners to bounce between states with their stills.   

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Turtle on the Pine Mountain Trail

Wildlife:  Never in all my hiking have I seen such a diverse array of wildlife in the woods. I imagine I might get more if I went to the jungles of South America or Serengeti of Africa but for the Appalachian region of North America it was a zoo.  We saw deer (including a buck), hawks, vultures, turkey, turtles, salamanders, oh yes and a black bear.  This area of the woods was full of life as it is one of the main thoroughfares in and out of the "real" mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.  I had read about the possibility of encountering bears while on the hike but imagined we would be too loud and threatening to actually come face to face with one.  In addition to seeing bruin, thanks to recent rains and muddy trails we saw hundreds of bear tracks during the hike.     

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Scrambling on one of the exposed sections of the PMT. 

Adventure: If you're looking for a hike but still want a since of adventure instead of blindly following a path in the woods... yeah... this is your hike.  Blazes were hard to come by in areas and four-wheel tracks often times split the trail into three different paths making is a thrilling backwoods game show at times - "Do we choose trail #1, trail #2 or trail #3?"  Hills were steep and during heavy rains sections of the trail could easily become impassible.  When you're not huffing and puffing up the incredibly steep sections, you may be scrambling across the numerous rocky, exposed ridges with class 2 and class 3 scrambles as well as one small section that may even be pushing class 4 climbing... er... hiking.    

The Pine Mountain Trail won't leave you disappointed if you're into a wild, sometimes sketchy adventure.  It's definitely not a tamed trail like others in the region.  Want to go? 

To see even more photos from the trip you can check out my Flickr page.   

For more information about the entire PMT visit the Pine Mountain Scenic Trail's website. 

Look for a complete turn by turn 'Rip & Go' article on the Birch Knob section of the PMT in BACKPACKER Magazine in 2014.