Manistee and the NCT

Last weekend Kevin and I went on our first backpacking trip since we moved to Michigan. We had planned to do this the summer of 2015, but instead went car camping with some friends who drove over from Chicago. I do love a good car camping trip, but what I really love is backpacking, the kind of backpacking when I can hike in a few miles, stay the night, hike in a few more miles, stay another night, maybe even a third night, and then come back. When we left Seattle, we went to one of my favorite spots in Washington state, the Elwha River and packed in a few nights. Not since 2014 have we been able to do this until last week. What it took was putting on our calendars that we would go backpacking on this particular weekend, and then protecting that weekend from other plans.

After exploring places to go, we decided on the Manistee River Trail, which is about 2.5 hours north-west of Lansing. It is a trail that connects on two ends of the river, and is about 23 miles around. One side is the Manistee River Trail, the other the North Country Trail (NCT). I almost don't want to write this, because then everyone will know the secret, but Michigan is quite beautiful. It's like a hidden gem of Midwest beauty. The further north on the lower peninsula, the more hilly the landscape. Also, the region here means there are so many different kinds of trees, and thus, fall colors are amazing. Don't get me wrong, I love (and miss) the rugged majestic landscape of the NW, but Michigan offers a more rural, rolling, nuanced landscape, with spots of lakes everywhere, rivers, and geological variation (hello Petoskey!) to keep me happy in the outdoors.

Our Friday through Sunday trip was the perfect getaway, even though it rained a little and despite being slathered in bug juice I came out of the woods with about 30 mosquito bites. It was a much needed time outside before the indoor word of school begins.