North Manitou Trip

Woke up Friday morning to 38°. We had to meet at the dock at 9:30 to head out at 10. So we knew the boat ride was going to be a chilly one. What we didn't expect was the amount of people also going to the islands. 4 of our group where not able to get tickets. They used on of the alternate plans and did the Manistee River Trail loop.

We got to the island around 11:30. Had to wait around for the orientation talk. We then came up with a plan and headed out. We had 9 with us, all but 1 where hammock users. The hiking wasn't bad, though this was really the first time pushing the right knee after the break in February. We hiked 6.5 miles and found an area to camp. We did our set-up and got water from Lake Michigan for the group. After dinner, most of us hit the coast for the sunset. There was some dramatic clouds so the sunset was really great.

Saturday morning was a slightly lazy time. We took our time having breakfast and breaking camp. The goal was about a 3.5 hike to the next hang area. That wasn't quite what happened. We generally became separated during the hiking. A few stuck around and picked blackberries for awhile, while others continued to go. Turns out I missed the gather spot and walked another 2 miles. Meant up with 2 others that did the same thing and we ended up finding a great spot to hang. The bonus was that we where only a 20min hike to the dock to pick up the ferry.

Got up Sunday to a nice sunrise and headed to the dock. Really great weather, lot's of great guys. Turned to be a fun time.