Macchina
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2006
- Messages
- 5,213
The wife and I headed to North Manitou Island this weekend. The island is 12 miles off the coast of Michigan's pinkie and is 8x4 miles in size. I've been there before for a fall deer hunt but never was able to hike the trail around the island. We had a great time hiking the full perimeter this time (around 20 miles). We left the mainland on Friday afternoon, hiked the full loop, and returned on the Sunday morning ferry. A week before the trip I proposed the option to my wife that we may want to bring our smaller packs and therefore both stay in hammocks. She was good to stay in hammocks so I started gathering up my gear. I have used my Warbonnet Blackbird 1.0 for the past couple years and I am completely outfitted to use that hammock from below freezing in the fall/spring (and one winter hike) to the summer storms. My wife got that one. From all my extra things I was able to create a second hammock kit that I could use (crinkle Dream Hammock with Whoopie cords and tree straps). I grabbed my fleece underquilt (I made it myself when I got into hammock camping) at the last second and I'm very glad I did! It got down to the low 50's and you really start to feel that through the hammock because all your insulation is compressed and not providing much warmth at all. The chance of rain was 20% on Friday and 10% on Saturday: we did not expect rain. I brought only my Wilderness Logics Big Daddy tarp for a "just in case" of a sprinkle. Saturday night was a monsoon! The rain and lightning all night long was incredible. Rain coming down so hard it was a drone, not a collection of individual drops. Luckily before the rain hit I was able to find 3 trees to rig both hammocks on and get complete coverage under the tarp. My wife stayed perfectly dry all night, I did not have drip lines on my Whoopies and got soaked. All the rain running down the tree traveled down my hammock suspension and directly into my hammock. By the time I felt the first bit of water (on my back), the hammock had already soaked completely from my feet to my chest. I got up and added some paracord drip lines (simple knots with flying leads on the suspension that provide an easier path for the water to flow before it gets to the hammock) to allow myself maybe 3 hours of sleep that night. We were then up at 6am and on the trail for the 5 miles back to the dock.
Now for some pictures:
The view from the East shore of Lake Manitou:
One of the vehicles that made it to the island in the early 1900's:
Lake Michigan (with South Manitou in the background):
Pasta with my wife's homemade hiking sauce:
A couple of the many deer we saw:
Look in the center of the photo just above the ridgeline...
Bacon and hashbrowns for breakfast:
A nap:
Both hammocks under the tarp (before the rain came):
Enjoying the last of the sun:
Risotto for dinner:
Hiking back to the dock after the storm:
There was some giant millipede migration going on. These guys were on the trail about every 20 paces the whole trip:
One of many Garter Snakes:
The village area by the dock is very well maintained. All but two of the buildings are government property and the single maintenance worker keeps them all in good shape:
Back at Fish Town for an awesome sandwich at the Cheese Shanty:
Now for some pictures:
The view from the East shore of Lake Manitou:
One of the vehicles that made it to the island in the early 1900's:
Lake Michigan (with South Manitou in the background):
Pasta with my wife's homemade hiking sauce:
A couple of the many deer we saw:
Look in the center of the photo just above the ridgeline...
Bacon and hashbrowns for breakfast:
A nap:
Both hammocks under the tarp (before the rain came):
Enjoying the last of the sun:
Risotto for dinner:
Hiking back to the dock after the storm:
There was some giant millipede migration going on. These guys were on the trail about every 20 paces the whole trip:
One of many Garter Snakes:
The village area by the dock is very well maintained. All but two of the buildings are government property and the single maintenance worker keeps them all in good shape:
Back at Fish Town for an awesome sandwich at the Cheese Shanty:
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