Michigan


Yoopers and trolls, who knew Michigan was so cool!



Packing an preparations


Water- Packing our water has proven to be one of the best ways to avoid contact with people and limiting the waste of plastic bottles purchased at gas stations. We packed four 32ounce bottles (these are super easy to grab if you want to make coffee or need water for cooking), one 3 gallon jug to easily refill the bottles and one 6 gallon jug, stowed away to refill the 3 gallon towards the end of the trip. On this trip, we rarely had access to water when washing dishes so we went through a lot more than usual. Luckily we were able to find two water sources to fill up.

Tip: have you heard of overlander? It’s an app that shows you free campsites (not as thorough as the free camping website), as well as dumping stations, wifi, short term parking and water!


Gear- This trip was all about relaxing and taking it easy, so the only gear we brought with us were two inflatable stand up paddle boards. Let me tell you, these things were awesome! Purchased online for ~$170 each, the boards were smaller than most and may not be recommended for a large human (Adam and I are both around 120lbs and 5’5” and they were perfect for us!). Along with the sup boards we also brought lifejackets and a small watershed drybag that we strapped to the board to store our snacks, drinks, phones and extra layers as we explored. 


Camping- the usual… 1 tent, 2 comfortable pads, 2 sleeping bags and a rumple.  


Kitchen- a two burner coleman stove and fuel, a collapsible bucket to wash dishes held a camp toaster, spatula, knif, small cutting board, lighter, clean up kit (biodegradable soap, sponge and scrapper), jet boil and fuel, pot, coffee pour over set up, two bowls and silverware. 

Tip: Even when I am car camping and have a two burner stove, I prefer to make coffee with my jet boil. It takes less than a minute to boil and then you just pour the water over the grounds and into your cup. The whole process is as quick and easy as possible (which is how I like my coffee)

Tip: the camp toaster, designed to fit on top of one burner on the coleman stove, is a damn game changer! Nothing makes you feel boujee af like a hot, toasted bagel in the middle of the woods. 


Other random gear- running shoes and crocs were thrown in a bin. Solar powered bug zapper, solar shower, two collapsable chairs, a hammock, rain fly, chess board, monopoly deal and extra straps were all in a secret compartment under the floor of my trunk. Three fully charged battery packs and the cords to charge everything in one small bag. Rain jackets, pack towels, toiletry bags and wet bathing suits were all held in a net basket attached to the ceiling with bungee cords for easy access. One bag of “important things” (headlamp, toilet paper, batteries, medicine) hung on the passenger headrest and one bag of “safe things” (wipes, mask, gloves) hung on the driver’s.


Food (the most important part)

All food was packed behind the front seats for two reasons: It’s easily accessible & the coolest part of the car. 


One food bin held food for meals and one held the random things; reusable baggies from grove.com, oil, balsamic, spices, coffee and mini almond milk containers (awesome for coffee, plus they don't need to be refrigerated until opened, so it saves space in the cooler.)

Quick snacks, like baby food (don’t judge, it’s a fruit smoothie in a squeezy to go container), granola bars and tuna packets, were kept in a cardboard 12pack container accessible from the front seat. 

In the cooler: chicken salad, taco dip, spinach and artichoke dip, salsa, single packs of guacamole, cream cheese, pedialyte (replaces electrolytes after working out all day), soysage, dark chocolate, and pickles in bags (for less mess). We opted for large freezer bags instead of ice. This kept the cooler cold for the majority of the trip & no water mess. Totally worth the investment. 


To ensure food stayed fresh as the cooler became less cool, we did not open a container until the one before was totally empty. For example, we ate chicken salad on hotdog buns topped with pickles as a snack 4 or 5 times in a row before we switched to taco dip. (Both killer snacks!)


Breakfast & lunch consisted of a combination of snacks and cooler food. We pretty much ate non stop throughout the day.


Itinerary-


We drove through the day Wednesday and found a free camping spot in the middle of the woods somewhere near the west coast.  


Thursday- After waking up, rearranging the car and a quick breakfast, we made our way to Ludington State Park. This place was awesome! Right on lake michigan, you can access the sandy beach without ever entering the park or paying the very reasonable day use fee. After enjoying the view, we went in and found a picnic table near the boat launch to a much smaller lake. We inflated the sup boards and got to exploring. By mid afternoon the park was totally packed, but we had no idea because we were on our very own private island. Something that was very prevalent on this trip; no matter where we went, snacks and naps were a must! After island hopping and floating around crystal clear water full of wildlife, we made our way back to the shady picnic table for lunch. Pre seasoned, wild caught salmon (cooked on the cast iron), rice (mixed with powdered miso soup for flavor), sautéed kale and mushrooms. This lunch was so big, it also served as dinner. From here we made our way up to the Betsie river to camp. 



Friday- Thanks to a wonderful and hospitable friend, we enjoyed coffee and a lazy morning in the sun. From there, we rode bikes on the rail trail that led to a public access point on crystal lake. This was one of my favorite places we visited! The water was crystal clear, very warm and so beautiful. Next we stopped at a local fish shop for lunch and made our way to the Frankfort beach where we had so much fun jumping off the pier into lake Michigan. We traveled north towards the Upper Peninsula and drove through the town of Charlevoix, a small yachting town. The gps took us directly past a goodwill, which I had to stop in (always check consignment shops in rich areas) and scored a new suede jacket, leather gloves, silk shirt and a mini cast iron pan. We camped a few minutes away from the UP bridge at Redman’s campground. Even though there was a free camp spot close by, this campground was recommended to us and it did not disappoint! Cheep, quiet and right on the lake with an awesome view of the sunrise. 




Saturday- Egg sammies with cheese, onion, avocado and hot sauce on a toasted bagel for breakfast then it was off to Pictured Rocks National Seashore. We entered from the east and drove along the main road, stopping at different viewpoints where we would both say “oh cool, a lake.” for the 500th time in the last week. Eventually my adventure partner, Adam, started yelling at me to turn around and park. Once I did, he started hiking up dunes that I assumed was a trail. It was not. However, we climbed up, ran down and maneuvered around big sandy tunes held together with small grasses. Since people obviously did not frequent this area, we saw millions of tracks from birds and small animals. The path we followed eventually led directly to lake superior and we were able to walk along the lakeshore completely unbothered by the typical tourists. Another benefit of being in an area inaccessible to the people that only follow marked paths, I found a ton of beautiful stones along the shore! After stumbling upon Joeida, a brand new campground not on any map, and setting up camp, we broke out the SUP boards and spent the evening exploring Kingston Lake, where we saw lots of wildlife and a beautiful sunset. Thanks to exploring off the beaten path and the nearly empty campground, I was under the impression that the national lakeshore was virtually empty (I was wrong). Dinner was a quick and easy quesadilla, taken up a notch with sauteed onions and garlic, dipped in black bean salsa and single serve guacamole.




Sunday- We finally found the people. Our initial plan was to visit Chapel Falls trail and do a loop that led to Lake Superior. We were about a mile from the trailhead when we started to see cars lined up along the road (never a good sign). Instead of bagging the whole day, I decided to hike down to the trailhead and go from there. The map at the trailhead pointed out the most popular viewpoints and concluded that while everyone was heading right towards Chapel Falls, we should head left towards what looked like nothing exciting. We saw virtually no one as we hiked, eventually making our way to a group of primitive campsites only accessible through backpacking. Adam insisted on checking out the sites and followed a small path that led away from the main trail. The path did not lead to a campsite, but instead an unknown shoreline of smooth shelf rocks separated by a system of caves somewhere near mosquito beach (we did not see any mosquitoes). We spent the whole day lounging in the sun, crawling through tunnels and jumping off of cliffs. Truly a 10/10 day with the added benefit of avoiding the massive crowd of people. We eventually made our way back across the UP bridge and to the east coast of the mainland, but not before stopping at a local fish shop for a whole smoked white fish (paired with triscuits and cream cheese, this was pretty much our dinner). We ended up camping at one of the many public land nature preserves that take up the northern part of the state. These are super easy to find and are usually very secluded. 



This trip was stunningly beautiful and very relaxing, a great compliment to our previous trip in Maine. I actually had no idea Michigan, or lakes for that matter, could be so cool. While the trip was amazing, I probably would not take it again until I have kids or I’m 65 years old and traveling in an RV.



To my adventure partner,

When you tell me to turn around, I know that we’re about to do something epic. Thank you for always exploring off the beaten path with me.


I hope this blog inspires you to do some traveling, exploring and people avoiding of your own.


Lots of love,

Leah







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