mmm...well I feel like it has been forever since my last post! A lot has gone on...from the few days I spent hangin' around N.Manitou to my current destination, Traverse City.
I was supposed to head out to the island on a Sunday, as previously stated. But since the weather was really ferocious the ferry was postponed. So I rambled around this small town called Leland until Monday.
The ferry took off around 10am or so and was about a two hour ride, stopping first to let the folks off at S.Manitou. The ride was terribly cold and somewhat wet. So I didn't enjoy that too much. Eventually I started to think and realized that I was sitting in a spot where there was no wind coverage. Moving to a different seat helped a lot. ; )
N.Manitou was absolutely wonderful! The weather was perfect (can't say that for the group who went there before me.) The island was much larger than I anticipated and had a lot of variety for an island. I hiked straight away to the big lake within the island and set up camp on a hilltop overlooking this magnificent scenery. The water was the perfect temperature to take a dip in...so of course I took the opportunity.
After walking about the woods for awhile I came upon a group of gentleman camped out on the south-side of the small lake in order to fish for small-mouth bass. Apparently, this island is one of the (or THE....can't remember which) best places in the world for this type of fishing. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with one of the members. This man has read many books on Zen/Buddhism, works for bettering animal rights, and is working toward certification for hang-gliding, among other things. Some of the people in this group have been friends for 40+ years. That is absolutely incredible! It says a lot about their character.
I woke up early in the morning and, because of the cloud coverage, thought I was getting a late start. So I hurriedly packed up my gear and headed north. I decided I was going to walk the perimeter of the island. This route was where I met most of the groups. During this early part of the trip, I came across a truck body graveyard consisting of really old trucks that were from Detroit. I didn't expect to see that! The island used to have people living on it, so there are buildings scattered about.
Since I spent so much of my time walking the perimeter, I didn't get to see some of the really cool side-sights like the giant gaping sand pits going down into the earth. How exciting! Had I known it wasn't as late into the day as originally thought, I would've taken more time to see these areas.
All in all, I hiked a little under 27 miles. Half of that was with my pack on. I guess you could say I got a lot of exercise! I walked the entire perimeter of the island. This way, I got a good feel for the layout and see where I would like to spend more time hiking and camping in the future (the southwest side.) The water surrounding the island is beautiful enough to remind you of the vacation hotspots down along the equator! Except for the temperature...it was enough to take the breath out of your lungs while bathing. ; )
I actually made it around the entire island by 5pm. I was whooped! So I set up my tent in the campground where I met the biggest group. They were camping out for their last Senior high school get-together. The entire senior class was under 20 people and everyone hailed from different regions of the country/world. The school was specialized and took a more individually tailored approach to learning...one that probably could have benefited me growing up. They were nice enough to invite me to eat dinner with them. A few of the guys I talked to earlier in the trip.
All in all, everyone that I met was really cool and I enjoyed seeing all of the different people come together for some backcountry experience! I had the opportunity to meet some really unique characters. We were so remote that there weren't even rangers on the island!
So what did I do after that? Well...I drove to TC to sleep on a couch and get a fresh shower and shave. Thanks Irene and Emily! This gave me the rest I needed in preparation for the upcoming ceremony in Leland at Pure Prana Yoga.
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