A Holiday Sale And A Journey To Death Valley

Posted on December 6th, 2012

Editor’s Note: Tis the season … to scramble around for last minute stocking stuffers. We’re here to help. MichiganTrailMaps.com is having its first holiday sale. Order a book and we’ll throw in one of our new trail maps, a $4.95 value! Order any book from our e-shop and fill in the “Name of F… read more

Thoughts on a Wilderness Island

Posted on October 29th, 2012

Editor’s Note: Jim DuFresne has long since departed the Manitou Islands of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore but he filed one more blog entry for MichiganTrailMaps.com since his return to the mainland. Mark your calendar for a pair of Jim DuFresne presentations in November. DuF… read more

Chipmunks & Ticks on North Manitou Island

Posted on September 22nd, 2012

Editor’s Note: This is Jim DuFresne’s third Trail Talk blog in a series from the Manitou Islands in Lake Michigan, where he was working recently on a mapping project for MichiganTrailMaps.com. By Jim DuFresne Chipmunks I have no fear of. These small, striped rodents are so numerous on… read more

The Cosmopolitan World of South Manitou Island

Posted on September 14th, 2012

Editor’s Note: Here is the second blog in a series based on Jim DuFresne’s recent research trip on South and North Manitou Islands, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. By Jim DuFresne There are two former U.S. Lifesaving Service boathouses on South Manitou Island. Th… read more

First Time Backpacking? No Worries

Posted on May 24th, 2012

Editor’s Note: Jim DuFresne has suggestions for anybody heading to Isle Royale National Park for the first time. For more on the island park check out the Isle Royale pages at MichiganTrailMaps.com. By Jim DuFresne Teresa sent me an email recently with a question about backpacking that I hav… read more

Driving Father Jack’s Buick

Posted on November 8th, 2011

I’m driving a new car. No, let me re-phrase that; I’m driving a newer car. I picked up a Saturn Vue that is three-years old and has 43,000 miles on it. It’s high tech. For the first time I can use my IPod in my vehicle. It has remote start for those mornings when the windows are all frosted up and during… read more

Prepping for the Hiking Season

Posted on May 10th, 2011

Editor’s Note: Jim DuFresne, the main contributor at MichiganTrailMaps.com, is headed for Alaska this summer and will be spending more than a month in Southeast Alaska exploring the region’s wonderful trail system. He promises to blog about his walks beginning in mid-June. We’re goi… read more

A Tree in the Middle of the Trail: The Need to Support MI State Forests

Posted on November 9th, 2010

A day after the Great Lakes Cyclone, when winds were hitting 60 mph and stronger, I was in the Pigeon River Country State Forest following the 10-Mile Loop of the Shingle Mill Pathway for http://www.MichiganTrailMaps.com. It was still windy, but otherwise the afternoon was cool, clear and crisp, t… read more

The World in a Kelty Backpack

Posted on October 5th, 2010

When I dropped my daughter off at the airport and pulled her suitcase out of the trunk , I knew the weight of it even without a scale, a hair under 50 pounds. Jessica was moving to Argentina and needed to take part of her life with her but was too cost conscious (fiscally responsible?) to allow the airlin… read more

Wolves in the Wild

Posted on August 5th, 2010

I was up north, researching trails in Antrim County for www.michigantrailmaps.com, when the press release arrived in my inbox. The tag line was intriguing: Wolf Pup Captured and Released in the Northern Lower Peninsula The release was fascinating: “A USDA Wildlife Services employee was r… read more

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