Empire Bluff Trail

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

I recently revisited one of my favorite hikes along Lake Michigan's shoreline. It is the Empire Bluff Trail near Empire, Michigan. 

The view from the top is amazing.

 Two years ago, a strong storm with shearing winds blew through the area knocking down many trees. Those trees have been decaying, returning to the earth, giving habitat to creatures. 
The loss of those mature trees also opened up the canopy allowing more sunshine to reach the forest floor. New trees are taking their place. 

Some of these downed trees are taking on a sculptural quality as they lose their bark and weather away.

Some trees reveal how the wind has twisted them over time.

 This excellent spider lives along the trail, too.

30 Seconds on Lake Michigan

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

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

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

There is so much to explore in our Great Lakes region. Here is tonight's sunset as seen from the beach in Empire, Michigan.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

I'm often asked about my favorite parts from my over 3,000-mile exploration of the Great Lakes.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 
on Lake Michigan is always on that list.

While touring with my newest book, I took some time to hike the Empire Bluff Trail along this stretch of lakeshore.

And I played around with the panorama setting on my camera to try to capture the scale of this overview...

 This last shot bowed the water out into an arc giving new perspective on that junction of land meeting water.

A Snowy, Brilliant, Book Launch!

A snowy April launch week!

What a fantastic beginning to my new book tour!

I had several appearances around the Traverse City area after formally launching the book at Brilliant Books.

Brilliant Books in Traverse City hosted the formal launch 

of A 1,000-MILE GREAT LAKES WALK 

Any writer appreciates the support of friends and family,  

and I have the best!

Beach at Empire

I took some time to walk the beach 

a bit along "my lake." 

The Glen Lake Library hosted me to give 

my Great Lakes lecture at the Empire Town Hall

Wild turkeys were on the move

Signing at The Cottage Book Shop

Icy pier at Charlevoix

Near Charlevoix

Sleeping Bear Bay near Glen Haven

Always time to stop for chocolate! (Empire, MI)

Pamela Grath (owner of Dog Ears Books, Northport) 

introduces me to the crowd at Brew North 

Time to hike with my friend, Jan, on 

the new Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail

My final event of the week was at 

Great Lakes Book & Supply in Big Rapids

 Thanks to all the great indie bookstores that hosted events this first week of my new book tour! A 1000-MILE GREAT LAKES WALK is only available through select indie bookstores until June 1 when it goes into distribution nationwide. To find out where the book is currently available, go HERE.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Here are a few more photos from
the place recently voted
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN AMERICA!

And the winner of the MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN AMERICA is...

When people ask me about my favorite stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline, I answer without hesitation:

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore!

Well, it's no longer a secret because it was just voted the most beautiful place in AMERICA by viewers of Good Morning America!









I hope this honor encourages the Great Lakes States (and the nation) to protect and preserve Lake Michigan and the entire Great Lakes system. Funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is an important step in this direction.

We have a national treasure here and it needs our attention and protection so it remains "The Most Beautiful Place in America"!

Segment 5 Complete!

Segment 5 took me from Ludington to Suttons Bay, May 14-20. It mapped out at 107 miles and took 7 days. A gear mishap on day one of this segment necessitated me omitting some miles from Ludington to Manistee. I will head back north this coming week to cover those missed miles.

I passed the 350 mile mark in the trek, and the total now stands at 355.

The lake has a wild side and I got my first real taste of it in this segment. There were bobcat tracks and deer who had been taken down by a larger predator. While camping in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore I heard owls and coyotes and deer and one extremely loud raccoon.

I visited one new bookstore in this segment. Check out the link for Brilliant Books in beautiful Suttons Bay. And I stopped in at The Bookstore in Frankfort again.

UPDATE: On June 3, I went up to Manistee and covered the missing 18 miles between Manistee and Ludington.

Segment 5, Day 5 Platte River Campground->Empire 9 miles

High of 59 degrees.

After a long, cold night, I packed up camp and hiked the two miles back out to the lake and walked the length of Platte Bay up to the city of Empire.

Though I only traveled 9 miles this day, it was a tough hike because the wind pushed the lake up on shore for the last 6 miles and I had to hike in the rolling dunes.



It was a gorgeous day, and the meticulous stone pyramid on the beach was an interesting sight (below).

I was glad to reach the city of Empire, though, and was able to catch a ride to Glen Arbor from George, a crafter of fine writing instruments (he gave me a lovely wooden pen) and an enthusiastic kayaker. I didn't have the stamina this day to trek the middle part of Sleeping Bear Dunes, but this section is the one that I had explored many times before.

I had a restful afternoon in Glen Arbor so I could put in a long day on day 6.