6th Anniversary of My Great Lakes Walk

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/

October 20 is the 6th anniversary of my second Great Lakes Adventure. 

This 1,000-mile hike took me along portions of all five of our magnificent Great Lakes.

Yellow line is my route for this 1,000-mile hike

This journey allowed me to get to know the unique personalities of each Great Lake.

If I had to describe each lake in one word, I'd choose:

Lake Erie:  Fishy

Lake Erie has the most fish of any Great Lake. It is shallow and warm and teeming with life.

My sisters dropped me off at the beginning of this adventure

Along the shore of Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Huron: Limestone!

The edge of northern Lake Huron is rimmed with limestone and is the site of several large limestone mines.

Blue Water Bridge

Massive truck at the Calcite Limestone Mine north of Rogers City

40-Mile Point Lighthouse

Hiking the rocky edge of Lake Huron

Puddingstone

 Lake Superior:  Wild!

 Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, coldest, cleanest, and WILDEST Great Lake.

Hiking the middle of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

My son, Ben, joined me along Lake Superior

Ben at the tip of the Keewenaw Peninsula

Lake Ontario: Friendly!

I hiked Lake Ontario on the Canadian side. The weather was mild and the people were welcoming.

Lake Ontario

Hiking the Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario

Lake Michigan: Home

I live at the edge of this Great Lake, so hiking its shores always feels like home to me.

Sunset at tip of Leelanau Peninsula

Along Lake Michigan

Sanderlings along Lake Michigan

The finale of this hike took place along the Niagara River. My finish line for this 1,000-mile hike was Niagara Falls.

The enthusiastic group that hiked the final miles with me!

The magnificent finish line

Niagara Falls in motion:

The book about this adventure!

[Available wherever books are sold.

Find the audiobook HERE.]

Great Lakes Walk Anniversary

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

Five years ago today I completed my 1,000-mile hike exploring all five Great Lakes.

The yellow line in the map below traces the route of this adventure. I spent time on each Great Lake and also hiked some of the watery connections between the lakes.

The yellow route is my Great Lakes Walk

 Here are some highlights from this journey:

Pictured Rocks along Lake Superior

Hiking along limestone-strewn Lake Huron

Niagara Falls

St. Clair River and the Blue Water Bridge

Hiking along Lake Erie

Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake St. Clair

Hiking the Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario

Group that hiked final miles with me to finish line of Niagara Falls

  I learned so much about our Great Lakes on this adventure. Each lake has a unique "personality." The geology differs in each basin. And each lake has unique conditions for aquatic life.

The full story of this walk is in my second book (also available as an audiobook):

Tadpoles

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/

Amphibians are sensitive to pollution. There were many times on my hikes where I saw shallow pools filled with tadpoles. It always made me happy to see evidence of a healthy environment on and around our Great Lakes.

Here's a glimpse at tadpoles along Lake Huron:

Rogers City Library

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

My speaking tour took me to the Lake Huron town of Rogers City.

Lakeside Park sculpture

Rogers City has an enormous limestone quarry that is over a century old.

Calcite mine is in the distance

I gave my Isle Royale talk at the community library.

Eager audience awaits...

The Day I Held a Lamprey

The United States Geological Service (USGS)

 has a research facility on northern Lake Huron dedicated to studying and controlling the invasive lamprey. This creature (it resembles an eel, but is actually in a separate class) suctions on to large fish and literally sucks the life out of them.

I interviewed Dr. Mike Hansen, Field Station Supervisor, for my second book. 

While back in Rogers City recently to give a talk at the library, I stopped in at the facility to see 
Dr. Hansen and tour the facility.

USGS Station signs

 Lamprey entered Lake Erie through the Welland Canal in the 1930s. Prior to this, the lamprey had populated Lake Ontario, but were prevented from moving into the other lakes by Niagara River and the mighty Niagara Falls.

Lauren (a communications rep) with the eggs from just one female lamprey 

A single lamprey lays tens of thousands of eggs. It is impossible to eradicate them, so controlling the population is the best option.

Lamprey are kept in these containers for study

 This facility studies the lamprey, organizes monitoring of streams and rivers where they spawn, and coordinates the treatment of waterways to kill lamprey when they are in the larval stage.

It's best to keep your eye on the lamprey...especially if it's got an eye on you

The multi-toothed suction mouth of the lamprey

Juvenile lamprey. Not so scary, but they'll latch on faster than the adults 

You can stop in and get a tour of the station located on Hammond Bay just north of Rogers City on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2pm, or by appointment.

Learn more about the station HERE. 
And read about this important work in my second book, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk.

Six Year Anniversary

Six years ago, I began my first hike on Chicago's Navy Pier. The completion of that first 1,000-mile hike led me to undertake two more 

Great Lake Adventures.

Chicago's Navy Pier reaches out into Lake Michigan

Now, I've hiked, kayaked, biked or boated over 3,000 miles exploring the Great Lakes basin, the shoreline, cities and towns on the edges of the lakes, wild areas, and dozens of the islands afloat in their waters.

In this video, I take a moment to look back to where this all began.

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)

Second Anniversary of Great Lakes Walk

Two years ago, I completed my

1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk 

at Niagara Falls.

The dramatic finish line

The final miles were along the Niagara River 

Many friends and family members hiked these final miles with me

Gorgeous fall hiking!

The enthusiastic hikers!

Now, two years later, I am on the cusp of completing my 

1,000-Mile Great Lakes ISLAND Adventure

on Mackinac Island.

I'll blog about that finale soon!