Manistee National Forest -- 2010
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I first attempted the Manistee River Loop Trail ten years prior. The lower peninsula of Michigan receives a lot of snowfall, which makes snow travel challenging. In addition, completing the entire 23-mile loop in Winter with heavy snowfall is a stout challenge.
I worked with a person who snowshoed and camped on this trail every Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend for many years. Occurring in January, the MLK Jr weekend is amongst the coldest weekends in the region, so I was very impressed with my co-worker. He invited my friend and I to attend, and I was looking forward to the challenge. We all met on Friday night at the Red Bridge MRT Parking, where there is a small park. My friend and I slept in our vehicle, but my co-worker and his group camped in the park overnight. I was very impressed. On Saturday morning, we head west on the N. Coates Hwy bridge over the Manistee River, first joining the Manistee River Trail, and then the North Country Trail heading north. The snow wasn't as high as it was 11 years earlier, but still a significant impediment to our travel. After a few hours, I was asked (or challenged) to lead the group at a pace that would get us to the northernmost part of the loop, the suspension bridge of the Manistee River. I was much younger and stronger. It was a fast pace that even exhausted me. My friend led the final half hour to the suspension bridge. We arrived there at about 3pm.
While my friend and I setup our tent, sleeping bags, and made dinner, the rest of the group scrounged wood and branches from all around the dam area. Once collected, they created a huge, sustained fire. Having been in a lot of Winter camping situations, this was a very welcome relief and helped us enjoy the time outdoors. Although we already ate, the others were eating all kinds of unusual things, i.e. brussel sprouts, fried cheese, etc. in their JetBoil and campfire. We were laughing long into the night.
The next morning, we had another long day to return to our vehicles at the Red Bridge. He hiked back south along the Manistee River Trail to our vehicles, arriving around 2-3pm. Afterward, they admitted that they've never been able to circumnavigate the entire the loop trail. I think they were more tired than they wanted. Perhaps that is why we were never invited to join them again?