Pure Michigan: North Manitou Island

Since we only have two weeks of vacation a year, we have to save up to go on long hiking trips. This year, we decided that our big trip would be up to Michigan to explore Victor's favorite place on Earth, North Manitou Island.

A small island in the middle of Lake Michigan, North Manitou is accessible only by boat. Keeping this in mind, be sure to take 2 extra days of food with you on your hike (more on this later).

The ferry leaves from the Fishtown dock in Leland, MI at 10am on different days depending on the season. Check the website for days the ferry runs to the island. 

We drove over from Traverse City so we left super early and got to the docks around 8am. We parked up in the remote lot available for long-term Manitou parking and took a walk around the few blocks of Leland, MI. A super cute coffee shop was opening up and we snagged two cups of coffee and bagels for $8. We got back to the dock around 9am, when the ferry workers were starting to open the ticket shop and park service employees began to open their store.

You'll need a round trip ticket from the Manitou Island Transit company for transportation to and from the island ($35 for adults and $20 for kids 12 and under). Be sure you're getting a trip to North Manitou Island. South Manitou Island is much more popular because they offer day trips, paved trails and driven island tours.

You'll also need to purchase a National Park Pass ($10), in addition to a backcountry camping fee ($5/night). If you purchased a park pass within 7 days, or if you have an annual pass, you only need the backcountry camping permit. We also recommend purchasing a topo map here. It'll come in handy for planning your trip on the ferry ride over. 

Waiting for our ferry to load. S. Manitou ferry in the background.

The ferry ride is about an hour long, so grab a seat and settle in. If it's nice out, then climb the exposed ladder and sit up on the roof. You'll get some beautiful views and a nice lake breeze. They also sell snacks and sodas/water on the ferry, so be sure to have some cash on hand. Chocolate after 3 days of backpacking is the best chocolate you've ever tasted.

 Once you get to the dock, unload quickly! There's only one ferry to/from North Manitou each day and the people waiting are ready to get home. Get in line and help with the hand-off of packs from the storage hold out onto the dock. It moves very quickly and everyone is off to the island in no time.

Our fellow ferry riders descending upon N. Manitou

 Everyone has to sit around for the quick "Friendly Ranger Chat," but it'll only last about 8 minutes and we were on our way. Potable water is available only at the Ranger Station, so be sure to fill up, pack in water AND bring a filter or steripen. We recommend a filter like this one for a Manitou trip. There can be some large algae blooms in the lake and while a steripen would sanitize the water, you'd still be drinking any algae that gets into the water bottle. A filter makes the water safe to drink and gets out any particles. 

N. Manitou map

We decided to hike out of the ranger chat as fast as possible to put some distance between us and the 15 other people about to start hiking. The trail we picked started south of the ranger station and cut almost straight across the island. The middle of the island is beautiful dense forests with deer, snakes, chipmunks and wild blackberries! You'll hit National Wilderness shortly after leaving the Ranger Station. Bury natural waste, hike out all trash and debris and always camp at least 300 feet away from water, ruins or established trails. We pick up trash we see on our way in an effort to leave the park better than we found it.

Beautiful forest!

Wild blackberries!

Our little snake friend after having a snack

Beautiful wildflowers and high grass

 

Once we reached the beach, we took off our packs for a quick jump in the water to cool off. We went the week before Labor Day and the water had already started to get a little chilly. Luckily we had almost no bugs, which was a relief. There are horror stories of the North Manitou black flies, but we never ran into an issue with them or mosquitoes. 

After our brief swim break and a Cliff bar, we start hiking south along the water, enjoying the view and the breeze. The rest of our hiking trip was along the waterline in the hard, compacted wet sand. 

We hiked for a few more hours until we saw a great dune for camping. It was more than 300' from the water and was perched high for a great water view. There's nothing like sleeping on sand!

Our first night campsite.

When camp was set-up, we went back down to the water for a quick swim and to boil water for a Backpacker's Pantry Sweet and Sour Chicken for dinner.

Out of habit, we eat and prepare food away from our campsite, as well as hang a bear bag. The rangers say there aren't any bears or raccoons, but Victor and his dad have both seen raccoon tracks on the island and bears have been sighted on South Manitou. The lake does freeze enough in the winter that a bear could possibly cross to N. Manitou. 

(You'll notice that we're overly cautious hikers. Victor is a Wilderness EMT and we're both experienced hikers as well as total type-A's, so we like to have a plan and be prepared for multiple emergency scenarios. Better safe than mauled by a bear!)

Our second day, we continued to hike south along the coast.

The water was so crystal blue!

The perfect beach hike.

We made it down to Dimmick's Point before stopping for lunch.

What a lunch spot!

This late in the summer, the entire point is open. Dimmicks's Point is closed earlier in the summer to protect the nesting grounds of the Piping Plover, an endangered bird species. There are only 30 nesting pairs in all of the Great Lakes.

After rounding the point, we headed north back towards the ranger station. Our goal was to make it to the graveyard ruins. We didn't want to get all the way back to the ranger station, but we wanted to be a short hike away, as there is only one ferry per day and we had a tight vacation schedule. 

About six in the evening and a quarter mile from the old graveyard trail, we ran into the first people we saw since leaving the ranger station the morning before.  

Once again, we set up camp and headed back down to the water for a swim and another Backpacker's Pantry dinner. We hung out outside of the tent for the amazing sunset and then went to bed early as we wanted to catch the sunrise. 

Sunset from our campsite

Evening shot of our campsite

Enjoying the sunrise

Luckily, we were awakened by a crazy windstorm around 2AM. The stars on North Manitou are just incredible. There is so little light pollution and everything just sparkles. Wake up at least one night you're there to check it out. You'll even see some shooting stars!

Our second campsite was only about a mile away from the ranger station, so we were able to have a slow morning. We left our campsite around 9AM, so we could get to the ranger station with more than enough time to spare. The windstorm from the night before had brought in clouds, a steady wind and some pretty crazy gusts. We walked along the water and noticed that the waves were pretty strong for a protected cove.

When we got to the ranger station, we threw out our trash, refilled our water and started boiling water for tea. The wind was so strong, we were having issues keeping the small burner lit. We sat down at one of the picnic benches and met a great couple on Manitou celebrating their anniversary. After 30 minutes passed and there was no sign of the ferry, they went to talk to the ranger. 

This is when we were thrilled to have brought 2 extra days of food. In the past, storms on Lake Michigan have made the waves so high that it is unsafe to send the ferry boats out to the islands. The North Manitou ferry has a harder time in the waves since it's the smaller of the two boats. Our new friends told us that the ferry was delayed due to weather and the transit company was considering canceling the ferry, or sending over the larger South Manitou ferry to get us.

Posing for a picture while waiting for the ferry

About an hour late, the regular ferry showed up and we quickly loaded onto the small boat as dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. We picked up some Reeses Peanut Butter cups. (Awesome decision) 

Victor enjoying his chocolate

As we cleared the protection of the island, we could see the massive waves. Unlike the ocean, Lake Michigan's waves bounce off the multiple shorelines and the waves come from every direction. We even heard the captain mention that they hadn't taken this ferry out in waves this big before. 

Luckily, no one on our ferry got sick (unlike the ride out to the island earlier that morning) and we made it back to Leland safe and sound.

We ducked into the sandwich shop in Fishtown and were not disappointed. We both got sandwiches with homemade bread, smokedd smoked turkey, brie cheese, apples and cranberries. They had a ton of different gourmet sandwiches, drinks and even a nice selection of wine. Right after we got our sandwiches, it started pouring, so we took a seat along the side of the building, covered by the roof.

Amazing sandwiches!

Our amazing trip was finished with hot chocolate at the coffee shop in Leland. Warm drinks in hand, we walked back to the long-term parking lot and found our car exactly as we left it. No bugs, beautiful forests, cool fresh water and amazing stars, Manitou was the perfect summer hike. 

If you're planning on hiking N. Manitou, remember: 

1. Bring extra food with you in case you get stuck on the island.

2. Get a filter instead of a steripen for water sanitizing.

3. Hang a bear bag and prepare food/eat away from your tent just as a precaution. 

4. Definitely stop in the Leland sandwich shop for an after-hike treat.

Have fun!! Let us know how your trip goes by leaving a comment below!

Toccoa River and Benton MacKaye Trail

The weekend after we adopted our sweet black lab, Hampton, we decided to spend Easter in the best church out there - the great outdoors. 

Just a two hour drive from downtown Atlanta, we got to the trailhead around 9pm. Once off the paved road, we took a nice climb with switchbacks on a rough road for about 4 miles to reach the trailhead. 4 wheel drive is definitely required for this portion. A small car with 4 wheel drive would likely have clearance issues. Truck or SUV is your best bet. 

Hampton was all ready to hike in with his new dog pack, stuffed with his food, water, treats and toys for the weekend. At 75lbs, his supplies for the weekend ad an extra 15lbs to our pack and he's more than able to carry his share.

Hampton and his new pack!

Hiking in with headlamps, we made sure to have bear mace handy and talked loudly. After calling the ranger station earlier that week, we knew that there had been some bear sightings in the general area and we weren't going to take any chances. Scraping our feet in the dead leaves on the ground and shouting the occasional, "Hey! Hey bear! Hey-o!" ensured that we wouldn't walk up and surprise a bear. 

It was a short walk, about 7 minutes in the dark or 1/4 mile, until we hit the Toccoa Swinging Bridge. It was hard to really get a good scope of things in the dark, so we crossed the river, headed down the bank to the left and scored a beautiful level campsite right along the river. We set up camp on a cushy bed of pine needles and found a great tree further up the river to hang our bear bag. 

Victor and Hampton enjoying camp in the morning.

Waking up shortly after sunrise, we could finally see the bridge in all its glory. 270 feet long, it's the longest swinging bridge east of the Mississippi River. The Swinging Bridge over the Toccoa River is part of both the Benton MacKaye Trail and the Duncan Ridge National Recreation Trail and is located in Fannin County, GA.  

Victor took the opportunity to get some fly fishing in before we decided to take a look around. 

Can't I go fishing too?

 We did short day hikes up and down the river for fishing spots and took in the bridge during the day. The bridge is stunning and it's amazing just to see how it's supported.

Amanda and Hampton on the bridge.

After exploring, we came back to camp for lunch and a quick nap. We were rudely awakened by a few groups of people that had come in for a day hike to check out the bridge and had set up their family chat time less than 4 feet away from our tent, even though there were hundreds of feet of empty space behind us. We quickly broke camp and hiked further up into the trail to get some personal space and away from screaming children. 

Our second campsite was also right on the river and a great spot for fishing. Even though we matched the hatch perfectly, we didn't get one fish on the line. 

Upriver, a group of guys were fishing with spinner rods and caught a few small fish. They asked us what we were using and laughed when we said we were fly fishing. "You should use Cheetoes!" they told us, and it was our turn to laugh. "No, really. Use Cheetoes." Apparently, fishing guides upriver were chucking junk food into the river, getting fish hooked on junk, to ensure that their fishing trips always ended up with catches and the non-guided trips came home empty-handed. 

Enjoy the scenery and have fun fishing, but don't expect to catch much, unless you're using Cheetoes.

Second Campsite

It was really wet that weekend and we had a rough time getting a campfire going. With the tree cover most of the ground stayed wet, even after a day of sunshine. If it's been raining recently, be prepared to have an issue with fire, or no fire at all.

After enjoying our Easter Sunday in the sun and among the stunning forests of North Georgia, we headed back to the truck. It wasn't until we were all the way back in the parking lot that Victor realized he left his multi tool back on one of the rocks where he was fishing. He grabbed the bear mace and headed back down to the river to search for his brand new $80 tool. Across the river from where he said he would be, the tool was sitting out in the middle of the river on a large boulder. He jumped out to grab it, turned around and caught sight of a 300 pound black bear less than 150 feet away. Victor immediately grabbed his hiking pole, threw it up above his head and yelled out, "YARRRRRRR," in his loudest, most pirate-y voice. Like racoons, black bears are often scared away. This bear was not amused and stood his ground. Again, Victor summoned his inner Cpt. Jack Sparrow and let out another loud, "YARRRRR" and the bear scampered off into the woods.

On our way home, we attempted to stop in downtown Blue Ridge to check out the cute shops and grab some lunch. Unfortunately it was Easter Sunday and everything in town was closed, save a gas station with (ironically) Cheetoes and sodas. 

For the Toccoa River Swinging Bridge and Benton MacKaye Trail, remember: 

1. Drive a large 4 Wheel Drive vehicle to the trailhead. A low-clearance 4 wheel drive will not do. 

2. Don't camp right by the bridge unless you plan on breaking camp early. 

3. Call the Ranger Station (Toccoa Ranger District 706-632-3031) to ask about bear problems and any special regulations. 

4. Fish with Cheetoes if you're dead set on catching something. 

5. Bring bear mace and make noise when moving quickly, through heavily wooded areas or near loud water. You don't want to surprise a bear. 

Have fun and let us know in the comments below how your trip goes!!

Tough Mudder GA

The half-marathon from hell!

We went on this adventure with Ian, April and Caroline.

After training for months, we were ready to take on the 10 mile course we had been preparing for. After checking in, they told us it was an 11 mile course and during the pre-race pep talk, they said their GPS tracked it to just over 12 miles. Just 2 miles more than we trained for - no big deal...right?

April, Amanda Ian and Caroline getting pumped up. And Victor's not paying attention.

Victor, Amanda and Ian before leaving for the Tough Mudder. Mud free!

We signed up for the latest wave possible because the event was a 90 minute drive. Mistake. By the time we'd gotten to a lot of the course, big pits of mud had dried up, the huge flames had become smouldering piles of ash and all the professional photographers were gone. If you're a good drive away, either camp out near the race or spring for a hotel. You'll have a much more authentic Tough Mudder experience.

After the first half-mile, we'd crawled through drainage pipes with a mud/ice floor, took a 25 meter swim in icy cold lake water that maintained its temperature thanks to diligent Tough Mudder employees dumping ice buckets into the water and got a nice jog in to help us warm back up. 

We bypassed the first water station and dove headfirst into The Smokehouse. The smoke was awesomly thick and we couldn't see the huge mudslide we were about to fall down. The mudpits awaiting us at the bottom were thick and got us entirely covered. 

Us emerging from The Smokehouse.

Just for fun, we took some dives into the mud outside The Smokehouse. 

This was obviously still within mile 1. 

Amanda takes a dive for the camera.

We did two small loops on the inside of the motocross track, sprinkled with small obstacles, before the Tough part really kicked in. That's when we hit the tree line and began the climb. Rollercoaster Run was an obstacle that took up 4 miles of the course. These rolling mountain hills left us sucking wind and one climb required us to get on our hands and knees and grasp at small saplings to stay on the trail. 

Up in the mountains was Hold Your Wood, an obstacle where you or you and your team sling a huge log across your shoulders and jog it around a half-mile loop. 

We came out of the mountains for a mystery obstacle before heading right back up into the hills. 

Here we were SO thrilled that we not only brought Gatorade in our Camelbacks, but that we brough carbohydrate gel chews. At this point, we were at mile 10 and we started getting some muscle twitching. (We also didn't have an appropriate race day breakfast, which was another mistake.) Amanda had Sharkies and Victor had some Hammer Gel and we quickly recovered our energy. We were also really glad that our training not only included distance running, but interval training. Spiking your heart rate with a sprint and then actively recovering while jogging was probably the most important aspect of training.

Besides cardio, lower body workouts were crucial, especially for all the hill climbing required in the Georgia Mudder. Upper body was important, but specifically for the Monkey Bar portion. Grip strength, which can be defined by rock climbing, was just as important as upper body strength on this obstacle. We both made it all the way across!

Victor dominates Funky Monkey!

After Funky Monkey it was - that's right - back up into the mountains again. 

Group posing before heading back up into the mountains.

We did quite a few more up and down sections of the trail, before finally coming out for good. At this point, Amanda had dislocated her left knee (but didn't know it until the next day) and everyone was slowing down. 

Us taking a few minutes to rest up before the next obstacle

The balance beam came right before the run through fire. If we had come through earlier, we would have caught the fire in all its flaming glory. Unfortunately, we hit it near the end, as a smouldering mess. There weren't any flames, just heat and smoke to catch in your lungs. 

On the way to Walk The Plank, a 20 foot jump into a frigid lake, we passed a pile of shoes. People had been removing and throwing away their heavy, muddy shoes to make their upcoming swim easier. Luckily, we were wearing Vibram five fingers and didn't need to get rid of our shoes. We were so muddy, it was a welcome dip to clean off.

Look closely and you'll see us almost hitting the water.

After running more than a half marathon, we were hot and sweaty. Hitting the ice cold water was a total shock and shot our hear rates through the roof. Amanda had such a shock, she couldn't catch her breath, swallowed quite a bit of water and was assisted out of the lake by a lifeguard.

Dripping wet, just out of the lake and right when we thought we were about to cross the finish line, Electroshock Therapy stood in our way. We could see the finish line through the dangling live wires and just went for it. With power ranging from 10-10,000 volts, the big hits dropped a few of our group to the ground.

As we stepped away from the last wire, we crossed the finish line and were awarded the coveted Tough Mudder orange headband. 

We missed out on the after party because our start wave was so late. They had begun packing up and most of the free items were long gone. The firefighters were still there to hose us off, but we opted for the emergency blankets and headed to the car. On our walk back, three people behind us were comparing the results from their GPS watches. The trail that was originally 10 miles, then was 11 and 12 miles ended up being 14.2 miles when it was all said and done. 

1.1 miles more than a half marathon and one of the most fun trail runs we've ever done.

Definitely do a Tough Mudder, but remember: 

1. Do an early-ish wave. You'll miss the after party and the giveaways, plus the course won't be as well maintained later in the day. 

2. Interval training, strength training and distance training. We did a half-marathon plan for distance, threw in some sprinting with jogging for active recovery and then some weight training. 

3. Bring fuel! Water won't suffice for 14 miles. Carbohydrate gels and Gatoraid is a good bet. 

Did you love the Mudder? Are you planning on one? 

Tell us in the comments below!