After killing some time in Leland, we were able to board the ferry. The only other ferry I'd ever been on was the Jet boat ferries that go to Mackinac Island. This ferry was not nearly as fast. Also, we had to make a stop at the North Island first to drop off some passengers, which added to the length of the ride. But we still had fun. We had a great group of guys on the trip, so we took the time to talk, laugh at stupid jokes, and tell crazy stories.
After our quick stop at the North Island, we launched again and headed towards South Manitou. Early in the day, the rain had stopped, leaving us with just cloudy skies. On the boat ride between the North and South Island, there were a few more intermittent showers. Most decided to head below, but a few of us decided to stay on top so we could catch the view as we got closer to our destination.
After an hour and a half or so, we finally pulled into the dock at South Manitou.
Once off the boat, every body had to line up and help unload all the gear. It was like a good old fashion bucket brigade. You kept passing the bag down the line until it came to its rightful owner. Once everything was off the boat, we had to go check in at the ranger station. At the station, we had to sit through a quick 10-15 minute orientation where we were basically told to keep the campsites clean and watch out for the chipmunks.
With that done, we hoisted up our bags and headed down the trail to our campsite at the Weather Station Campground. Just a little ways down the trail, we passed the South Manitou Lighthouse.
One of the nice things about this trip was that our campsite was only about a mile and a half away from the dock and the ranger station. Because of the short distance, you really didn't have to worry about weight as much as you would on a normal backpacking trip. I ended up bringing a bunch of extra stuff that I normally wouldn't have brought. As well, people who didn't own backpacking specific gear weren't precluded from coming. We had people carrying a cooler, camp chairs, a full sized camp stove, and a twelve pack of Coca-cola. In the end, we ate better and were more comfortable at camp than any other trip I'd been on.
(Duffel-bagging it)
After the short hike in, we quickly set up camp and explored the surrounding area. Just a little bit from camp, there was beach access to Lake Michigan. From there, we had a great view. To the left was a view of the lighthouse and to the right was unspoiled beach and water as far as the eye could see.
A few of the guys decided to go for a quick swim. I decided against it since I had to start making dinner for everybody in just a little bit. But still, I stayed on the beach and looked for Petoskey stones. One of the guys made a cairn.
Later, back up at camp, we were just finishing dinner. Suddenly, the sky opened up. In the down pour, we quickly scrambled to gather up our gear to keep it from getting soaked. With all my pots and cooking gear still dirty, I ended up doing dishes in the rain. In my haste, I quickly threw my food bag on our food line and ducked into the tent to escape from the torrent. In the morning, I would find out that I placed my food bag too close to a tree. Consequently a chipmunk was able to jump from the tree to my food bag, chew a hole through the bag, and eat part of one of my sandwiches.
(Hiding out in the tent during a rain storm)
In the morning, the rain had stopped. Two of the guys got started working on breakfast. I have to say that it was the best breakfast camping I've ever had. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. As well, the guy who brought all the Coke's shared some with us. It was amazing.
After breakfast was all cleaned up, we headed off for a long day hike.
(Florence Lake: A lake on an island in the middle of another lake)
A little ways down the trip, we made it to the wreck of the Morazan, a ship that ran aground in 1960. First, we had to go down a steep bluff. I slipped on the way down once or twice.
Once we made our way down to the beach, a few of us decided to try to swim out towards the wreck. We made it a good ways out when we started to notice the current slowly dragging us out. At that point, we realized that swimming out to the wreck probably wasn't the smartest decision. So we had to fight the current and the waves to get back to the beach.
After the ship wreck, we continued down the trail through a cedar grove. The grove is one of the few stands of trees in the state that were spared from logging.
Past the cedar grove, we continued to the western edge of the island to the sand dunes. We decided that the top of a dune was as good of place as any to stop and have lunch.
After snorkeling for a bit, we headed back to the campsite for dinner. The rest of the night was spent either around the fire at the campsite or down at the beach. In the morning, we had another great breakfast; this time it was pancakes. We didn't have a ton of time that morning. So we quickly packed up and headed back to the docks to catch the ferry.
We did have a little time before the ferry got there, so we decided to set up the hammock.
Once the ferry arrived we loaded up and headed back to the mainland.
Overall, it was a great weekend. We had a great group of guys and there was a lot of fun things to check out on the island. My one complaint was that the trip was too short. We only had one full day to go exploring. There was so much on the island that we didn't get to see. I guess I'll just have to go back again some time.
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