North side of Superior

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

This spring, I headed north to catch the ferry to Isle Royale out of Grand Portage, MN.

I headed over the Mighty Mackinac Bridge and into Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The Mighty Mac

Then, I headed over the St. Mary's River in Sault Saint Marie, MI...

The Sault Locks

...since I had decided to drive the route on the NORTH side of Lake Superior in Ontario.

I had not been on the north side of this largest Great Lake. The land was rugged and stony with wild rivers feeding into the vast lake.

The Pinguisibi River ("The River of Fine White Sand")

There were many places where the geology was exposed.

Sandstone layers near the NW side of Lake Superior

The views were often spectacular

A GRAND Finale

On October 26, over 40 friends and family and followers of my adventures gathered on 

Mackinac Island for the Grand Finale of my 

1000-Mile Great Lakes ISLAND Adventure.

We had a gorgeous day for the hike 

Hiking final miles with Stephanie "Stew" Lyon 

Over 25 people hiked the final miles of this adventure on Mackinac Island.

 I brought along the walking stick carved for me by Bette Hartig of Big Rapids, Michigan. It was an honor to hike the final miles of my final adventure with this custom walking stick.

Hikers ready to head out

Milene, Leslie, Marlene and Theresa stand and wave to the crowd (photo by Shelly Kehrle-Sulser) 

The final steps up to the Grand Hotel (photo by Shelly Kehrle-Sulser)

Giving a short talk before dinner (photo by Shelly Kehrle-Sulser)

Mighty Mac

I was looking through my photos from my 

1000-Mile Great Lakes Walk

and came across these summertime shots of

the Mighty Mac Bridge.

This bridge stitches together the two peninsulas

of the state of Michigan.

It spans the gap, leaping over the 

Straits of Mackinac.

It lofts steel and stone over water,

...the towers hike up the road in the middle to allow lake freighters to slip underneath.

Tales from the BOOK TOUR...part 10

The book tour took me all over the region in July.
The final week of the month had me heading Up North once again.

A big thanks to the bookstores and libraries
who hosted me along the way and to the indie booksellers who recommended
A 1000-MILE WALK ON THE BEACH
to their patrons, and to their patrons who told
friends and family about the book.

July has been a great month for the book, and you are all part of its success!

Revisiting the Lake Trek: Segment 7

This segment spanned the 161 miles between Mackinaw City and Escanaba, Michigan (I walked the bridge later, on the Labor Day Bridge Walk). This was the longest segment of the Lake Trek in both days (10) and miles (161).

I walked this segment alone, but was shadowed by my brother, Phil, who would drop me off at the beginning of the day, then pick me up 15-20 miles further along the lakeshore at the end of each day.

I walked the wide beaches near St. Ignace and Manistique and scaled the natural limestone walls that appeared in between. Much of the lakeshore was studded with limestone boulders or paved with a limestone shelf that seemed to lift from the water. It was rough going for much of the way, wilderness and rugged landscape. By the end of this segment, I had to retire my boots and break in a new pair on the next segment.

Note: You may want to press the 'play' button, then pause it and let it completely load before resuming play. This will allow it to play smoothly.

You can find all videos from the Lake Trek on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/lniewenhuis

Revisiting the Lake Trek: Segment 6

This segment spanned the 147 miles between Suttons Bay and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It included both the Grand Traverse and Little Traverse Bays, and Fisherman's Island State Park and Wilderness State Park.

I reached the half way point of the trek on this segment, reaching 500 miles within sight of the Mighty Mac Bridge.

Some of the most interesting geology was on this segment in Antrim County where there is an enormous deposit of shale. I was joined along part of this county by Gerry and her two fun dogs, Miss Sadie and the Cowboy.

Then, my college friend, Rick, joined me for a few hours along Little Traverse Bay.

Near Cross Village, I saw the biggest collection of zebra mussel shells tossed up on the beach and bleached almost completely white by the sun.

Note: You may want to press the 'play' button, then pause it and let it completely load before resuming play. This will allow it to play smoothly.

You can find all videos from the Lake Trek on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/lniewenhuis

Walk with me:

Annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk!

There is only one day each year when pedestrians are allowed to cross the Mackinac Bridge: Labor Day. So, I backtracked to connect Segments 6&7 by walking the 5 mile bridge which spans the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan's two peninsulas.

My husband, Jim, and youngest son, Lucas joined me on this warm, foggy morning's walk. This is an elegant bridge and an engineering marvel when it was built. It was completed in 1957 and, at that time, was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Two bridges have surpassed it in length, but (in my opinion) not in grace.

While the Brooklyn bridge is all macho and stayed, the Mackinac Bridge -- the Mighty Mac -- is all lightness, elegance and style.

We walked 6 miles which brings my Lake Trek total to 917 miles.

Lake Trek at Halfway Point!

Push 'play' to watch video.

Segment 6, Day 9 Wilderness State Park->Mackinaw City 15 miles

High of 77 degrees.

This was the last day of Segment 6, and I ended the day's hike in Mackinaw City at the top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. I hiked out of the Wilderness State Park and hugged the shoreline for miles on nearby roads. I was unable to walk at the waterline for the beginning part of the day because there are large tracts of wonderful wetlands up here.
I was able to hike along a short stretch of sandy beach (even barefoot) before heading into The Headlands nature preserve. I hiked through the preserve and out to the lake, then around the bend where I saw the Mackinac Bridge just 3 miles away.





























The Mackinac Bridge spans the Mackinac Straits and is the marker which divides Lake Michigan from Lake Huron. When I reached the bridge, I had completed the Lower Peninsula's shoreline of Lake Michigan.

It was during this day's hike that I also passed the 500 mile mark, the halfway point of this adventure. Next month, I'll continue the journey along the southern edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, around the west side of Wisconsin's Green Bay, and across the Door Peninsula to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.