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!
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment