North Manitou Island - Day 3

Day 3, our final full day on North Manitou Island. After breakfast, morning routines, and of course a swim, we sat around camp discussing a plan for the day. Mac suggested we take the trail north to the Village to fill our water bottles and explore a little. We all quickly agreed and proceeded to get all of our water bottles together and head north.

The trail isn't as well maintained as the main trail, but it was still a decent trail. The trail exits the woods at the south end of cottage row. We passed by several cottages in various states of disrepair. A couple were in decent shape, however most had started to show the signs of time.

After filling our water bottles, the ladies enjoyed using real toilets before we turned to head back. Mac had stopped to speak with the ranger, who seemed like a decent guy. He had been working on the Island for several years and really liked being there.

We resumed our journey back to camp, stopping along the way to take pictures of the cottages, and peek in a few windows of the older ones.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Once back at camp it was Mac and Renee's turn to take naps so Chrissy and I decided to explore more of the east side of the island. We followed the trail south until it met up with the main trail.

The trail was nice, skirting a decent sized hill and exiting the forest into a completely different landscape. You leave the hard wood forests and end up on rolling sandy hills. The trail splits and heads east and south. We followed the easterly trail first and were treated to a great view of Lake Michigan and the mainland.

The sandy beach and blue water were beautiful! We backtracked and continued south, eventually arriving at the cemetery. There were several grave markers from decades ago and one from only a few years ago. I wondered what their attachment to the island was.

We continued down the trail, which looked more like an overgrown two track road. We unexpectedly found our self at Bourniques. The old homestead looked like it had been neglected for several years, but some newer looking timbers indicated that somebody had tried to stabilize the home to prevent further damage.

The outhouse still stood behind the house, however biting red ants protected it from too much inspection. The barn had long since fallen and was laying in ruins. We followed the trail behind the house hoping it would lead back to the main trail, but after several minutes we decided to head back the way we had come. Since we had only planned on taking a short walk, we didn't bring any extra provisions or water. The day was hot, the water quickly disappeared, and a swim was starting to sound good.

We followed the trail back to camp and made lunch before going swimming. We leisurely passed time until sunset where we went back down to the beach to enjoy one last night on the island.

On the mainland we could see three separate fireworks shows in honor of Independence Day. After the food was consumed and the dishes were done we headed to our tents for one last night under the stars. Homeward bound tomorrow.

Estimated distance traveled: 6 miles

Hike to Day 4

More Pictures From The Trip