The 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Adventures

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

MooseWatch 2025

This month, I completed my 
on Isle Royale. 
During the week, we searched for moose bones and shed antlers, 
while collecting data on other species whose lives are interwoven with moose and wolves (like snowshoe hares and gray jays). 

Wolf print

This  is the longest-running predator/prey wildlife study in the world.
  
It has been ongoing since 1958....so this is its 67th year!

JP on antler seat

The weather this week ranged from the 30s to the 80s! We spent time cooling off in streams...something I never thought we'd do in May.

My team cooling off in a stream

A rainy morning in the field

Stacy finds a shed!

This is the first time my team found 40 sheds!!
We did 48 miles total, 21 off-trail!


Fancy lunch and antler plate



We had some warm days!

Processing a moose skeleton in the field



Karen finds her first shed!

The scientists leading the study are led by Dr. Rolf Peterson who has led the study since 1975
I'd love to hear him interviewed on Ologies with Alie Ward!

Dr. Rolf Peterson goes over our finds at the end of expedition

Dinner at our favorite place after expedition




Sometimes a set of shed antlers are found

For the past six years, I've been a team leader. 

My team!

This study is now supported by the Wolf Moose Foundation
Consider making a donation to support this amazing work.





Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Specialist on Viking's Expedition Ships

The last 8 months have been quite a ride. Early in 2022, I accepted a position with Viking Expeditions as a Specialist. They were bringing their new expedition ship, the Octantis, to the Great Lakes and they needed a Great Lakes expert.


Enter...ME.


I spent the spring-summer-and fall jumping on and off the ship, giving lectures about our Great Lakes to Viking guests, and learning all about life on a ship. 


It was an amazing season on the Great Lakes and I had a blast answering questions about and explaining the workings of our amazing Great Lakes.












I was on the ship as it exited the Great Lakes out the St. Lawrence River, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, then the North Atlantic. It was amazing to travel with these waters as they transitioned from fresh to brackish to salt water.







Late last year, I had a wonderful reunion with hikers I had met on Isle Royale (and who are now excellent friends). We hiked some of my favorite trails in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.




Then, at the end of 2022, I joined Viking's newest Expedition ship, Polaris....

IN ANTARCTICA.












Many more adventures await. 

Soon, I'll join Polaris to sail the Chilean fjords for six weeks. 

Yay!

Learn more about Viking Expeditions HERE.

Sunday, June 5, 2022

Moosewatch 2022

 Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 


To learn more go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/


I was thrilled to return to Isle Royale to lead another team of women hikers on a Moosewatch Expedition.

My team has a rainy start to the week

This fox visited our first camp

Our second moose skull still had antlers attached!

Team (April, Allison, Liana) still smiling after a couple days in the rain




Moose near our camp on Feldtman Lake

Rainbow Cove



Final campsite

Hauling in the antlered skull




The team returns with 7 skulls total

All participants for this expedition

It was an amazing week on this wild island. I'm honored to be a team leader for this citizen scientist-driven study.






Thursday, February 24, 2022

Winter Hiking

I went out to the lakeshore today to hike my trail for the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes. This volunteer organization does important work to help maintain and improve the gorgeous National Lakeshore. Volunteers do a variety of tasks, including:


I have been a volunteer trail hiker for a couple of years now. I periodically hike the Bay View/Farms Loop trail and report on any down trees or other conditions on the trail.

Chilly, but gorgeous hike

Panoramic of the overlook

I'm not sure what made this tiny little trail in the snow




Lake Michigan from the trail

I love getting out on the snowy trails. 






Saturday, July 24, 2021

Moosewatch 2021 Part 3

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 


To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/



You don't have to hike far on Isle Royale before you come upon balsam fir trees that look like the photos below:






This tree is the primary food source for moose in the winter. As you can imagine, as the moose population expands, the competition for balsam branches increases.
A prolonged winter can also decrease the chances of a moose making it to spring.

On this year's Moosewatch, my team recovered bones from 8 moose, a few of which were showing signs of starvation.

Scientists have been studying the interaction of moose and wolves on Isle Royale for 63 years now. The most recent annual report can be found here.

And here's a sunset from Isle Royale.