Segment 5, Day 3 Arcadia->Frankfort 12 miles

High of 61 and windy!

I had hoped to hike all the way to Platte River Campground this day, a distance of over 20 miles. After hiking 17 the day before, though, and waking up not feeling very well, I wisely decided to split this distance between the next two days and stay the night in Frankfort.

I hiked US22 from Arcadia to Frankfort since it hugged the lake and also had several scenic turnouts which gave me sweeping views of the lakeshore. It climbed several steep hills along the way, the tallest was over 1000 feet (according to my GPS), a distance of over 400 feet above the lake.





I took a break in a cemetery and remembered the saying 'you can rest when you're dead!' In Frankfort, I drank from the town's mineral spring which promised healing properties.


I also visited The Bookstore there (check out link in sidebar). I had stopped in to this store in the winter before the trek had even started and it was kind of amazing to stop in again and tell them that I'd hiked all the way from Chicago to their store.

Segment 5, Day 2 Manistee->Arcadia 17 miles

High of 68.

From Manistee north to Portage Lake, it was a lovely hike. I saw dozens of crayfish along this stretch along the waterline and congregating in the shallows. I also saw my first round goby, an invasive species from central Eurasia which was brought to the Great Lakes in ballast water. (in photo below)






Portage Lake is crystal clear and lets out into Lake Michigan in a wide channel. Two high school teachers from Muskegon's Orchard View High School, Tom and Brent, had a day off and were fishing when I got there. They graciously agreed to give me a ride across the channel (saving me an inland hike of 6 extra miles). With my larger pack and a hike of 17 miles this day without the inland diversion, this was a welcome jaunt on their shiny fishing boat.

North of the Portage Lake outlet, the shoreline quickly got more rugged and remote. Alongside a small stream, I saw my first wild cat prints, probably bobcat. This wild stretch of lakeshore is quite a contrast to some of the industrialized miles I walked earlier in my adventure.

Segment 5, Day 1 Ludington->Manistee 3 + 18 miles = 21 miles total

High of 63 degrees.

I began this segment in Ludington's State Park. I wore my larger pack on for this portion of the trek because I would be camping part of the time.

Since my pack was new, I had to figure out where to store everything in it. I decided to attach my filtering water bottle (which allows me to drink Lake Michigan water) to a strap using a carabiner clip.

Just three miles into this lovely day's hike, I reached back for my water bottle to find that it had detached at some point along the first three miles. I back tracked, hoping to find it nestled among some of the driftwood piles I had climbed over, but had no luck. The waves were reaching up the beach that day, so it was probably swept out into the lake.

I called my brother and he came back to the lake and picked me up. I was hoping to find a replacement bottle in Ludington and resume my day's walk (~17 more miles to Manistee), but we couldn't find one in Ludington. We heard about an outfitter store in Manistee and went there, but they suggested trying Traverse City. By this time, it was getting too late to complete the miles for that day, so we drove to Traverse City, got a new filtering bottle, then Phil dropped me in Manistee where I resumed this segment the following day.

On June 3, I covered the 18 missing miles in this segment.

It made sense to begin in Manistee and hike south to Ludington, but it felt strange to have the lake on my right side the entire way. The day was gorgeous and most of the way I had flat beach to hike on. There were areas where the lake was cutting into the shore and old, wooden seawalls. I had to climb the rolling dunes to get around these obstacles. In a low spot in the dunes, I almost stepped on a sleeping fawn. We scared each other, and it jumped up and ran off.

Below is the lighthouse at Big Sable in Ludington State Park.

Segment 4 Complete!

Segment 4 took me from Grand Haven to Ludington, May 6-10. It mapped out at 75 miles and took 5 days. I broke my record for the longest day on the trek. It now stands at 24 miles.

I reached the 250 mile mark during this trek. I had some great company along the way and a wide range of weather and scenery.

I visited one more bookstore in this segment. Check out the link for the Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague.

Segment 4, Day 5 Pentwater->Ludington 10 miles

High of 50.

Milene bought enough goodies at the fantastic Cosmic Candy Company in Pentwater to keep us walking to Ludington! She even bought a bag of Pentwater Gourmet carmel corn that was bigger than my head. Today's weather was much more pleasant and the lake was calm. We walked the beach up to Bass Lake, then jogged over to Lakeshore Drive. This gave us occasional views of the lake and also allowed us to climb the bluff that almost meets the shore on the way to Ludington. Some rain tried to follow us, but mostly stayed to our south.

It was also necessary to go inland because there is a power plant south of Ludington that takes up a chunk of the shoreline (and you can't walk there). We saw our first morel mushrooms along the way.

It was fascinating to walk by the pumped storage hydroelectric plant. There is a reservoir at the highest point on the hill that measures 2.5 miles by 1 mile and over 100 feet deep. This holding area is up the grassy hill in the photo below (left).

Water is pumped from the lake uphill into this holding area using electricity during the time of day when the rates are the lowest, then electricity is generated by allowing the water to flow back downhill during peak usage hours when they can charge more money for the energy.


There were plans to add wind turbines along the lakeshore to use the Lake Michigan wind to generate power. This could be used to assist in the pumping of the water, but we did not see any as we passed the facility.

Segment 4, Day 4 Mears->Pentwater 12 miles

High of 44 degrees, 20+mph winds.



The weather was wild this day, wet and windy. Les and Milene were envisioning more of a stroll
on a sunny beach, but they geared up for the challenge.

Once we got out to the lake, the wind picked up and the waves were rushing up the beach. The rain had turned little streams into obstacles that we had to carefully cross.

Milene got caught by a couple of huge waves and had to change socks. Good thing she'd painted her toenails! The garbage bag method of crossing worked pretty well for us, but the streams were growing larger as we walked, so we went inland to get out of the wind and away from the reach of the waves. We were delighted to reach Pentwater (and the spacious Channel Lane Inn).

Segment 4, Day 3 Montague->Mears 24 miles

High of 64 degrees.

It was finally warm enough on the lake to wear shorts!

This day's trek was supposed to be around 18 miles, but when I reached Flower Creek, I had to go inland. The creek opened up to a wide wetlands. There is good and bad about wetlands. The good: they are great for the lake because they filter water and give wildlife a haven. The bad? You have to walk miles to get around them.







It was a gorgeous day and I passed farms and flowering orchards in the miles I walked away from the lake. I even passed some woods filled with flowering trillium.









Back on the beach, the ladybugs were all over the shoreline. My stopping point for the day was in Mears on the shore of Silver Lake. Little Sable is one of my favorite lighthouses on Lake Michigan and I was glad to see it emerge as I walked.

My sister and cousin, Les and Milene, drove up to meet me in Mears and to walk with me the last two days of this segment, and they met me at the lighthouse.

Segment 4, Day 2 Muskegon->Montague 12 miles

High of 67 and foggy.

My friend, Mary Vermeulen, was able to join me for Day 2. We began in Muskegon and traveled through the fog to just shy of the lighthouse on
White Lake (which is between the cities of Whitehall and Montague).

The fog horn was sounding as we walked the channel and out to the beach at Muskegon State Park. Muskegon has done a wonderful job of setting aside its lakeshore for all to enjoy. South of Lake Muskegon, there is a long stretch of park, and north is the Muskegon State Park.

Mary packed us a gourmet lunch.

It was a little eerie to walk and watch the trees and dunes reveal themselves out of the mist. It wasn't too cold, but we did hit a thick patch in a cooler spot which left us with condensed fog droplets covering our clothing and, especially, my glasses.

The shoreline was impassable just north of Duck Lake, so we had to double back and go up to a road. The lake is high this year, so there have been several places which are currently underwater which were not just last year. We were just 1 mile south of the boat launch into White Lake when Mary's husband and girls (Dave, Anneke, and Abby) caught up to us on the road.

Strangely, by hiking the 100 yards inland, then 30 feet up some stairs to the road, we left the fog behind, down on the lake. It was a completely different weather day up on the road, sunny with no fog.

After a foggy, long walk, it was great to stop in at the Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague (hot chai tea, PLEASE!).

Segment 4, Day 1 Grand Haven->Muskegon 17 miles

High of 72 degrees, sunny.

I was glad to get back to the lake after a three week break between segments 3 and 4.

Grand Haven is a lovely town, and I began this segment on the north side of the Grand River and went north.

I soon was into P.J. Hoffmaster State Park and spent some time exploring the trails and visitors center there. This park has preserved a 3 mile stretch of coastal dunes for everyone to enjoy. In the visitors center, there are interactive displays which explain how the dunes were formed over thousands of years of sand being blown and then held in place by dune grass.
I met Mary Jo on the beach. She was gathering trash, something that she does often between Musekgon and Grand Haven. She's one of my Lake Heroes.

In Muskegon, quite near the end of this day's trek, I passed by a house with a sign which said "COME SIT ON MY PORCH." There was a man sitting there, so I pointed to the sign and asked if I could sit with him. Lawrence is a watercolor artist in Muskegon, and after we had chatted for a bit, he showed me his work in his studio/gallery.

The Lake Trek has taken me many interesting places and I've met some great people along the way.