When your favorite trail is covered in deep snow, are skis the way to go?
Tag Archives: Backpacking
Tahquamenon Falls State Park Backpacking Trip Report
A weekend backpacking trip to Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Grand Island Trip Report
Long weekend on Grand Island, off the coast of Munising, MI in Lake Superior.
Hiking the North Country Trail Through the Porkies
“Jane, why did you agree to this? Why didn’t you say, ‘Let’s go shopping and see a movie?’” I asked my hiking buddy as we slogged up a steep, muddy, rooted death-trap of a hill. Checking off all of the North Country Trail miles in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park had seemed like suchContinue reading “Hiking the North Country Trail Through the Porkies”
Least Visited National Park No More!
Trip report for Isle Royale backpacking trip, August 2025.
NCT Backpacking Trip: Rain, More Rain, then Sunshine!
A shakedown hike on the North Country Trail in preparation for a trip to Isle Royale.
Close Encounters with Moose
When you wake up to discover there’s a moose in your campsite…
Tips for planning a wilderness adventure
Research a lot, make a plan, then prepare for that plan to go to hell…
A ukelele, beads, and rubber chicken on the trail
Over the last ten or so years, I have hosted many backpacking trips for adults, and since retiring from teaching three years ago, I’ve been guiding backpacking and canoe camping trips for a local camp. This past week I took a group of twelve teens aged 13-15 on a 30-mile trip on the NCT beginningContinue reading “A ukelele, beads, and rubber chicken on the trail”
Like an old friend
“How long have you had that backpack, Jen?” I had to stop and think when a friend asked me this question a few weeks ago on a backpacking trip through the Highbanks Rollaway on the Manistee River in northwest lower Michigan. I bought my Gregory 44L in preparation for a section hike on the AppalachianContinue reading “Like an old friend”
Exploring Michigan and other cool places 