Steve traded cars with Curt so that we would have his Avalanche to take on the trip. If I had taken our van, then Dale would not have a car at home that he could drive at all. I picked up Tamara and none of her family were teary eyed as she left this time. Dennis did run down the street after us to let us know the tailgate was down. We stopped at Birch Run for some shopping and a bite of lunch before arriving at Linda’s in Sterling at about 2:30 pm. We were greeted at the door not with a cheery "Hello" but "There’s a mouse in the basement!" We did see it run by once but were unable to catch it. Linda had already set traps and set out poison. Cheryl was to meet us there but had already talked to Linda and would be arriving later. We had talked about spending tonight in Traverse City, but decided we would just stay at Linda’s and drive over early in the morning. We did the final packing on our packs. Linda went to the bank and brought back chicken dinners from Iva’s. Then Cheryl called again to say she was just hurting too much to go. She was clearly disappointed as she really wanted to go and had been working very hard to be in shape so she could, but a recent fall on a bike did her in. We were not as convincing over the phone to get her to go, as we were in person last year with Linda Runyon.

And then there were three! We got up at four in the morning, packed up the truck, and headed out by five. We encountered no traffic or problems and arrived in Leland in time to have a nice breakfast at the Early Bird. When I checked in at the ferry, I was told we would be taking the larger ferry that usually goes to South Manitou. I asked how many people were going to the island. There were only 17 going there but 80 returning! It was a very warm day already. I took the truck to the parking lot and walked back to the dock. The ferry left as scheduled and we found a spot on the top deck for the one-hour ride. Once on the island we had to register with the park ranger and listen to an orientation. We were informed that all the pesky raccoons we had read about are gone, victims of disease. So we only needed to hang our food to keep out the chipmunks. We had to give Ranger Kevin a rough idea of our itinerary and he actually told me the good spots to stay and which one to spend two nights at. It was hot, hot, hot! The trail was large and easy and went through a nice bunch of blackberries. We headed south a little over three miles and found a nice spot to camp between the ruins of Old Stormer Dock and the cemetery. We set up both tents. Then we walked along the shoreline to the tip at Dimmick’s Point. It was very sunny and hot and the flies were biting. It must have been about three miles round trip. We were anxious to get back and went swimming as soon as we did. It was wonderfully refreshing cool water with a nice sandy bottom. Afterwards we enjoyed our wine (Rosemont Shiraz 2001), brie cheese, and crackers on the beach. We sat there until the sun went down. Linda then fixed us a tasty chicken and noodle dinner (one for the three of us). A neighbor sailed in and came over to say hi. After eating we went to bed. It was only 9:00! Tamara went in Linda’s tent and I slept alone. Didn’t think I needed a sleeping pill, but slept fitfully.

Was up about 7:00 am and had a leisurely breakfast. The sun came up as a giant red ball, very pretty behind the blowing beach grass. It was warm and breezy and the flies were already starting to bite, so we took down the tents, loaded our packs, and took off. Except for the biting flies and a few mosquitoes it was a lovely site. We stumbled upon the cemetery and walked around there a bit. Took the cemetery trail back to the main trail and headed to the west side of the island. We intended to do the loop to Stormer Place, but missed both of the side trails to it. We did see a sign for Fat Annie’s and stepped into a clearing full of blackberries! We ate our fill then moved on until we hit Lake Michigan again just south of Fredrickson Place. We found a lovely spot to camp then Linda discovered a tent tucked away around a corner. We looked a little bit further south and found an even nicer spot on a bluff overlooking the lake. We relaxed without any flies, ate some lunch, set up the tents, and headed down to the beach. We washed up and played in the waves for a long time. Except for one steep gravelly section at the shoreline, it was all sand bottom. We pumped water to fill all our bottles, filled the pan and bucket, took photos, looked at rocks, sat on the beach awhile, then headed up the bluff again. It was a lot easier going down. The bucket got spilled, so I went back for more water then started up the sand dune. Fortunately for me, Linda took a load of stuff up and came back to carry the water bucket the rest of the way up. It was a tough load. Our site is very comfortable with a nice breeze off the lake, logs to sit on, shade, and a beautiful view. Linda napped, Tamara started knitting a sock again after an unsuccessfull first attempt, and I wrote. We sat around and chatted, then had a leisurely dinner starting with wine and crackers. This evening we enjoyed the flickering flame of a candle. No fires are allowed on the island except at a campground at the village with a fire ring. Tamara knit by the light of her headlamp. She went to bed first, then I did, and finally Linda. There are no designated campsites on the island, but it is easy to see where others have camped. There are lots of little trails and those leading near the lakeshore will generally go to campsites. I took a sleeping pill tonight and slept a few hours, then was wide awake. Since I am alone in the tent, I turned on my light and read for awhile. It was very warm and clammy inside the tent. I do wonder if being in the tent alone is part of the reason I am not sleeping well.

Woke suddenly at 7:00 am to the sound of a snort. I suppose it could have been a deer, but I suspect it was me! Anyway I was awake and got up. Another nice day today. The rain flies were wet with dew but dried out as soon as the sun came over the hill behind us. Tamara and I picked blackberries from bushes right next to the tent to put in our oatmeal for breakfast. We packed up our campsite and hit the trail at our usual 10:20 am. It was already a hot muggy day. We headed north along the trail on the west side of the island. The going was slowed by the numbers of blackberries along the trail. We each even had one ripe delicious red raspberry. There were lots of raspberry plants, but they were clearly past their season. The trail was easy passing through fields at Fredrickson Place and Johnson Place. There were lots of milkweed covered with caterpillars, numerous monarchs flitting about, large centipedes, asters, and the same purple flowers Steve and I found so abundant on South Manitou earlier this summer. It rained lightly for a little while, a much appreciated event while hiking in the heat. The trail went through woods full of baneberry, jack-in-the-pulpit, herb robert, blue-eyed grass, ferns, and false solomon’s seal. Many places trees had fallen over the trail and not yet been cleared away. Going over one I slid down onto my bad knee and reinjured it. Walking wasn’t bad but getting started was a little rough. Fortunately the trail is so easy, mostly old roads. We saw the trail to Tamarack Lake, but missed the one to Swenson’s through the big field. We took the trail past Swenson’s barn and followed a trail through a low wet area to a nice site by the lake with a great beach access and sandy shoreline. By now the temperature had dropped dramatically and there was a stiff wind off the lake. It took all three of us to set up Linda’s tent, then all three of us set up mine. We had some lunch about three and then filled water bottles and went swimming. Waves were crashing in and the wind was strong out of the NW. The sky was still cloudy with some signs of clearing. Linda and Tam went in their tent to knit, read, or nap. I sat outside on this great log with a tree for a backrest and read, then went to the beach and just watched the clouds and waves. Linda and Tamara came down to the beach with the wine, cheese, and crackers. We stayed there until sunset by which time all clouds had been blown on. It was dark when Linda cooked our beef stroganoff. Read some more outdoors, then to bed under a clear sky and very prominent Big Dipper. Still very, very windy. No sign of anyone else camping anywhere near us.

I slept fitfully again. I have to talk to my physician about these new sleeping pills. Sometime during the night the wind died down. Woke again at 7:00 to clear skies and little wind. It feels like we are the only ones on this side of the island and we could be. Lots of people from our ferry were going back today and may have stayed nearer the dock last night. I went down to the beach to sit and enjoy the peacefulness. I couldn’t help but think about this date last year when we were so blissfully unaware of the terrorist attacks taking place. The skies are just as blue and cloudless as last September 11^th. I am glad to be in this beautiful spot with good friends. When Tamara and Linda got up they joined me on the beach. Then Linda started water for breakfast. No blackberries near enough for picking today though. It was cool in the shade of our campsite but very pleasant. We found a spot out of the breeze and began our craft project. We painted on leaves and printed on fabric on top of Tamara’s therm-a-rest. Blackberry leaves were prickly on the back and seemed the easiest to work with as they didn’t move once you put them down. We tried cedar rather unsuccessfully, but did use strawberry and wild geranium. We even tried feathers and the flower from queen anne’s lace. We practiced on a large piece of fabric, then each did a scarf (or basket liner) and one for Cheryl. Tamara put leaf prints on two shirts, one pair of shorts, and an additional silk scarf. They turned out even better than I ever thought they would. A day hiker came through while we worked and chatted for awhile. He took a picture of all three of us together. When we finished printing we ate a late lunch then went swimming. It was cool and pleasant at our shady campsite, but sunny and hot on the beach. Just a wonderful day. We read and knit on the beach, and looked along the shoreline but no one ever got up enough energy to walk along it. We kept expecting other campers to show up from today’s ferry, but no one did. When first thinking of North Manitou as a destination for this year’s trip we were concerned that it would be too crowded. That is not the case at all. Most of the time we feel like we have the island all to ourselves. Our campsite was pretty mosquito infested, so we stayed on the beach to drink wine, and eat edam and crackers. We didn’t see a green flash as the sun set but a definite green aura was visible momentarily just as the sun slid below the horizon. When we went up to fix chili mac with beef for dinner the mosquitoes were gone. No wind tonight so we were able to enjoy our candle again. Tamara thought she heard something as we ate. Then as we ate our chocolate for dessert a lone hiker with a headlamp went by our campsite on the trail just on the edge of the bluff. So we were not alone. When I went to see where they were going, they were already out of sight. Could it have been one of the ghost campers from Lake Superior? Linda volunteered to sleep alone in my tent tonight and I let her. Thought I might sleep better with Tamara to protect me. Today could not have been any nicer. Perfect weather for all of our activities.

Once again I woke up at 7:00 am. Another night cool at first but then warm again by morning. I hate to admit it but I did sleep better last night. Another leisurely morning. Our water bucket dumped overnight, so I went in the lake to get more water before breakfast. We broke camp a little, laid on the beach for several hours reading and knitting, ate some lunch, then finished packing up and left our site at 12:30. Hiked back through the grasses to our ----- and to the main trail in fifteen minutes. We were to the intersection with the trail heading across the island by1:07. It started out uphill and we totally missed the trail to Tamarack Lake, but weren’t going to take it anyway. The only thing that slowed us down was blackberries. We first filled a container Tamara had to be used with breakfast tomorrow, then she said we were free to eat them and we did! We were to the other side of the island by 3:30 and began looking for a campsite. None were perfect – either too much poison ivy or not a good shoreline and all had too many flies. So we just kept heading north. We ended up at the Village Campground disappointed in how small the sites were and that there was no good access to the lake. We set up camp on site #3 trying to avoid the poison ivy. Then we packed up and headed to the beach for the evening. We walked south of the village to a not-perfect-but-tolerable spot. The shoreline was rocky but once we got out in the water it was heavenly. Being in the water rejuvenated us all. We only had a few minutes of sunshine before the sun set behind the trees, but we still stayed in the water awhile, then got out, dressed, and walked back to the picnic table by the ferry dock to enjoy our wine, cheese, and crackers. We had a record amount of wine per person on this trip – seven bottles for three people for five nights. We had more than one bottle of wine every night, and as Tamara put it, "That’s not all bad!" We watched the seagulls setting on some old pilings in the lake. I walked over to the toilet. You know you have been backpacking when you reach the luxury of a pit toilet! We sat at the picnic table until it was dark and then went back to our campsite, packed up dinner supplies, and went to the group fire ring to cook, surprised to find no one there. We knew the kayaking couple were our neighbors at site #2. We enjoyed our candle one last night and ate lasagna and chocolate. Didn’t stay up much past dinner. Tamara and Linda went to bed in her tent and I in mine. I am not worried about sleeping tonight. What was not an ideal situation turned out just fine.

Woke up at 5:30 after a good night’s rest. Couldn’t go back to sleep so I turned on my light and read, listened to the birds, and chased chipmunks away from our packs by slapping on the tent. I thought crows were going to rip up our hanging food packs at one point but no they didn’t. About my usual 7:00 I got up and out of the tent. Began packing up slowly. Tamara and Linda got up too and we packed up and headed to the picnic table by the dock to cook breakfast. We enjoyed the blackberries we picked yesterday with our oatmeal. Really gourmet! We ended up sitting on top of the table because the flies were less bothersome that way. With DEET on they didn’t bite too badly. We were eating breakfast at the dock by 8:30 and probably looking pretty anxious to leave the island since the boat doesn’t come until 11:00. It was a great trip! I am sorry to see our time on North Manitou come to an end. The big ferry came again, bringing about 40 people this weekend. We shared the top deck with Alan and Sheila, the kayaking couple, and really had a an enjoyable visit with them. Ran into them in Leland again later in the day. We walked around town, got an ice cream, looked in a couple of shops, made reservations at the Grand Traverse Inn in Traverse City for tonight, swam at the public beach, got cleaned up, had wine, bread and cheese at a picnic table by the marina, then went to dinner at the Cove. Drove in to Traverse City and got stuck in traffic about a mile from our hotel when an accident closed all lanes of traffic for awhile. We finally made it there though and headed right for the pool and the hot tub. The pool was unheated and cool, but the hot tub was very hot!

I was awake very early again and read by the light of my headlamp for awhile. When we were all up we went to Mabel’s for breakfast, then shopping downtown. We went to Sandy and Patty’s Backcountry Outfitters and looked at tents and a new backpack for me. We went in the basement and crawled in tents and checked out the space. We were there for hours and when we left we had bought both. Had fun visiting with them too! Headed back to Linda’s stopping for dinner at the Willow Tree in West Branch. Charley was already there when we arrived and had already gotten rid of two mice from the basement.

Up fairly early, ate a little breakfast, and Tamara and I took off for home.