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

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

Selling A Book and Taking On Amazon

Posted on February 28th, 2012

Jim DuFresne It was a Sunday when the new MichiganTrailMaps.com e-shop was launched and then those of us who had worked tirelessly for three months to build it … waited. Patiently. What else could we do? The first order is always the hardest and as Sunday rolled into Monday and Monday rolled into Tue… read more

Alone in the Winter Woods

Posted on February 20th, 2012

I was the first skier to arrive at Wilderness State Park on Saturday morning after this corner of Emmet County was blessed with three inches of lake-effect snow the night before. I stepped into my skis and headed south on Swamp Line Trail, alone in the woods, surrounded by winter’s stillness. Jim Du… read more

In Search of Snow and a Groomed Trail

Posted on January 30th, 2012

Editor’s Note: Jim DuFresne wrote and filed this blog for MichiganTrailMaps.com on Friday morning, Jan. 27. That evening five inches of snow had fallen on most of Emmit County and on Saturday Mother Nature added two more. There is good Nordic skiing from Gaylord through most of the northern half o… 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

Pondering Life & Death on the Trail

Posted on September 21st, 2011

On the day of Greg Hokans’ funeral I was hiking in Emmet County, recording trails for MichiganTrailMaps.com and enjoying a beautiful September day in northern Michigan. At the Elk Rapids Library that evening, my Internet connection when I’m in this corner of the state, somebody emailed me con… read more

Lessons From Alaska’s Chilkoot Trail

Posted on July 12th, 2011

You’ll learn a lot hiking the Chilkoot Trail. You get a history lesson on the Chilkoot and a sense of the feverous attraction gold can have on men. You learn a little about personal perseverance as you struggle over the Chilkoot Pass on a rainy morning when the clouds are so low and so thick you have to p… read more

Reaching the Top of an Alaskan Mountain

Posted on June 9th, 2011

Editor’s Note: Jim DuFresne, the main contributor to MichiganTrailMaps.com, made it to Alaska and sent in his first blog entry. In Los Angeles, you cruise the Sunset Strip; in Paris, you stroll the Champs-Elyse’es; and in Anchorage, you climb Flattop Mountain. This is the first mountain… 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

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