Lending A Hand For A New Trail

Posted on November 11th, 2013

There are new backpacking trails on the horizon for Michigan but they could use a helping hand in the planning and development of them. Read about them in the latest Trail Talk or check out other recent blogs at our newly re-launch MichiganTrailMaps.com website (www.michigantrailmaps.com). By Ji… read more

A Trusted Friend: My Dana Backpack

Posted on January 30th, 2013

Editor’s Note: In the latest Trail Talk, Jim DuFresne writes about the Dana Design backpack he used for 25 years. The final adventure with it was while researching our new map of North Manitou Island last summer. The map is now out and available from our e-shop. The large format map measures 11 b… 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

Pic Rock Yo-Yo Madness!

Posted on October 21st, 2012

Editor’s Note: This edition of MichiganTrailMaps.com Trail Talk was written by our favorite ultra-hiker, Roy Kranz of Midland. It’s titled Pic Rock Yo-Yo Madness! and in it he tried to explain why he hiked the 42-mile Lakeshore Trail at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore twice (there and back… 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

Elk Rapids: Michigan’s Retro Bike Paradise!

Posted on July 13th, 2012

Editor’s Note: It’s been too hot to hike so Jim DuFresne has been hanging around his cottage in Elk Rapids the past week, trying to stay cool, and filed this blog for MichiganTrailMaps.com. For more on the Ride Around Torch see the Cherry Capital Cycling club web site. On Sunday there wil… read more

Paddling & Surviving the Au Sable Marathon

Posted on June 8th, 2012

Editor’s Note: At both ends of the river weekend festivals are staged as part of the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon Race. Grayling calls it’s event Au Sable River Festival and it includes the Black Bear Bicycle Tour, a 100-mile bicycle ride to Oscoda on Sunday that finishes near the end of… 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

Going Extreme on Classic Michigan Trails

Posted on May 3rd, 2012

I received two emails recently from what only can be described as “extreme trail users,” people who push it to the limits and then some. The first came from Roy Krantz of the Midland Hiking Club. In 2003, Roy and a friend hiked the entire Lakeshore Trail in Pictured Jim DuFresne Rocks National Lake… read more

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