Deam Wilderness Sycamore Loop

In May of 2012 Mary and I took our son on his first "real" hike.  We were visiting some close friends in Indiana and decided to visit a very special place.  Mary and I have many fond memories of the Deam Wilderness just south of Bloomington, Indiana.  We deciced to day hike a popular loop trail called the Sycamore Loop.  PDF on the Deam Wilderness  The loop is about 6 miles and makes a nice, but short over night backpack if one wishes.  I have done it several times.

We arrived at the trail head, which has an old fire tower.  You can climb the fire tower but we chose not to since we both have done it before and with the baby it wasn't a good idea.  We decided to let Liam play in the grass while we checked our gear for the hike.  Liam was amazed by the different textures of the grass, sticks and rocks.  We hiked for an hour or so and decided to take a break near a stream for lunch.  We found a campsite right on the edge of the stream and sat down on a nice log for some sandwiches and cheez-its.  After we ate we thought Liam would like a cool dip in the stream as the weather was warm.  This would be his first time playing in a stream.  We are pretty sure he loved it!

After lunch we completed the rest of the loop.  At one point during the hike, Liam managed to get in a nap.  I wish I would fall asleep like him!  Mary, Liam and I had a great time and we are looking forward to future adventures in the wilderness as a family.

Halloween in Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area

On October 31, 2008 me and 3 of my friends ventured into the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness area. There is not much information on the web about this Michigan gem. It is the only designated wilderness area in the Lower Peninsula. It is located between Manistee and Luddington Michigan on Lake Michigan.

We arrived at the trail head late Friday evening. We had to detour because the road to the trail head had a bridge out. Once we arrived, we paid the $5 parking fee for the weekend, and headed into the darkness.

Night backpacking is always exciting. It was even more exciting this time because it was Halloween. Also, the trails are not well marked here since Nordhouse Dunes is a wilderness area. We eventually ended up along the shore, and the view was spectacular! There was not a cloud in the sky and the stars were out in full force. We could see a lone lake freighter in the distance also. While hiking to the beach we scared up a porcupine. I had never seen one in the wild and once it saw us, it lumbered off in the opposite direction. We eventually found a nice place to camp near the timberline around 9pm. By this time we were starving and made some dinner. After dinner out came the box wine!! A good time was had by all around the campfire.

The next morning we awoke to a beautiful November day. We decided to look for a better site, as in the daylight our previous night's site did not look very good. However, just on the other side of a ridge from our first night's camp we found the perfect site. So, we packed up camp and moved to the new site. After breakfast, which was had close to 10am, we decided to explore. We walked the beach for a few hours discovering all kinds of "pirate treasure." Pirate treasure is anything washed up on the beach that is interesting. We found countless fishing lures, a frisbee, tennis balls and even a flag from a commercial fishing net. One of my friends decided to strip down to his skivvies and take a swim in Lake Michigan! We returned to camp and made a light lunch.

After lunch 3 of us, Brett wanted to stay in camp and "be one with nature", decided to hike more of the trails. What awaited us to discover was breathtaking. The view of Lake Michigan from the high bluffs was amazing. We followed a ridge trail that gave us a bird's eye view of the tornado swath. Apparently a tornado went through the area in June 2008. The DNR denies it was a tornado. Everyone I talked to who knows the area says it was a tornado. Anyway, this area was spectacular too. The force that created this destruction is definitely something to respect. In some ways I wish I could have been there to see it and in other ways I am glad I was not there!!

After dinner we got a nice campfire going and busted out the box wine again. Much fun was had around the campfire that night. In the morning the four of us packed up camp and polished off a bottle of blackberry schnapps to get the day started. We dropped our packs near the dune area to further explore this area before leaving. We managed to take the rest of our box wine with us on this little expedition. Some awesome dune jumping and swimming in Lake Michigan was conducted after the wine took affect. We also found a dead fox well preserved but half buried in the sand. Brett decided to dig him out. We wanted to take the fox home and keep it. Instead, he gave it a burial at sea. Dead foxes can really fly through the air!

We had a great time in the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness area. There are about 10 miles of hiking trails. Some of the trails are closed due to the tornado destruction. This is a great area to base camp like we did. If you love to beach walk, this is the place. Nordhouse Dunes is now on my list of favorite places to backpack in Michigan!

Backpacking: Manistee River Loop

The Manistee River Loop is a backpack I have done more times than I can remember. I have primarily hiked it in spring and early winter. It is located in the Huron-Manistee National Forest near Cadillac Michigan. At the end of this post are some links for more information.

The loop itself is made from the North Country Trail and the Manistee River trail. I always start at the Red Bridge River access. There is a nice parking area on the left hand side BEFORE the bridge. You do need to hike the road and cross the river to get to the trail. Here, there is a pit toilet and water. Be careful hiking the road. The trail will be just across the bridge on the right hand side.
To get to Red Bridge, drive west of Cadillac on M55. Look for Warfield Road on your right hand side. Turn right on Warfield and follow it to Coates Highway. Turn left on Coates. When you reach Red Bridge River access you are there!

The part of the loop I start with is the North Country Trail side. In the first few minutes of hiking you will cross under some massive power lines. Shortly after that you will cross a dirt road. Get ready for a long steep uphill! Some call this Mount Manistee! You will not reach the North Country Trail until you get to a trail junction. Follow the trial to the right to continue in the right direction.
I prefer the North Country Trail side of the loop because you can camp anywhere 200ft. from water. That is easy beacuse there is no water for quite some time! After 7 or 8 miles the trail will decend and a small stream can be found. There is also a pine plantation here. This is my favorite place to camp. There is evidence of previous campsites within the pines. Pack in what you pack out and keep the place clean. Follow Leave No Trace too OK?!?

The trail continues on for a few more miles. Look for a connector trail on the right hand side. This is important because it will connect you to the Manistee River trail. If you miss it you will reach a dam. I have done this before. Turn around and hike back. The connector trail crosses the Manistee River with a big suspension bridge. It is nicknamed Little Mac.

The next section of trail is the most beautiful. Epic scenery of the Manistee River can be seen atop the bluffs. Caution: The trail does follow the edge of the bluffs closely in a few spots. A small waterfall can also be seen. You must camp in designated sites on this side of the river. Eventually you will reach Coates Highway and the parking lot.

This trail is a great weekend hike. It's approx. 20 miles of hiking allow a great work out and allows spectacular scenery. You could hike this in 2 days as I have done before. However, it is more enjoyable in three. Check out the links below for more information.

http://mrtassociation.com/thetrail.aspx
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/Recreation/Manistee/cm_manisteeriver_trail_txtonly.pdf
http://www.lnt.org