Lake Trek Anniversary

oreen 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

Today is the 9th anniversary of my 
first 1,000-mile hike. 
Lake Michigan has been my favorite place my entire life, and in 2009 I decided to get to know it  by walking all the way around it. It was my way of internalizing this special place, to record it in my muscles and bones.

Here are some photos from this amazing journey.

The book about my walk around Lake Michigan.

Now available on Audible as an audiobook:
HERE.

Hiking Alligator Hill

"Alligator Hill" is a strange name for anything in Michigan. However, when viewed from the top of the nearby Dune Climb, this wooded dune resembles the outline of an alligator's snout.

This area was devastated by a brutal, summer storm in 2015. Thousands of trees were felled in a matter of minutes, and the trails on Alligator Hill were blocked for months by fallen trees.

I recently hiked this fascinating area on a cool and rainy February day.

Deer track

Devastation from the storm is still evident

More info on this area HERE.

Beaches of Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan 

I recently moved closer to "my lake," Lake Michigan. Here are some photos from my favorite beaches before and after the ice formed.

 Leland Beach in January (below)

A Shining City on the Lakeshore

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 January, I spent some time in the largest city on the Great Lakes: Chicago.

I love this city in the winter. 

I began my first 1,000-mile Great Lakes Adventure here in the final days of winter in 2009. 

My hike around Lake Michigan began on Navy Pier.

Enjoy these photos from this shining city on the lakeshore.

Ice on the Chicago River

Lake Michigan and the Chicago River

Ice on Navy Pier

Ice on the lake and one of the water intakes for the city

 Chicago's water comes from Lake Michigan.

*Over 30 million people get their drinking water from our Great Lakes.

Navy Pier and the lake

Navy Pier

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

The Empire Bluff Trail is one that I revisit many times each year.  Here it is in late fall.

Enjoy:

2017 is Record Year for Great Lakes Piping Plovers

I once spent a week with piping plovers.

Great Lakes Piping Plover with colorful leg bands

This small shorebird is endangered, so the population is monitored during nesting season. 

I volunteered to help monitor the population nesting on North Manitou Island as part of my 

1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure.

Piping Plover on the edge of Lake Michigan

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At the lowest point in the 1980s, the population of this diminutive bird had dwindled to just 13 nesting pairs.

Scoping to identify individual plovers

Keeping track of the birds was a meticulous and difficult task. Each bird has a unique set of colorful bands on its legs and that code had to be deciphered in order to know the identity of each individual bird.  

Piping Plover nest 

Putting a protective cage around nests is the best way to keep predators from stealing the eggs.

Protective netting around a nest

2017 was a milestone year for these little birds as a record 76 breeding pairs were recorded this summer.

And, it was the first year that this bird nested on all five Great Lakes since 1955. The Fish and Wildlife Service called this "a remarkable development for the recovery program."

Nesting areas are restricted and protected

These little birds still choose Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (including the Manitou Islands) as their primary nesting site. This year a record 41 pairs nested there.

Tiny plover tracks

Learn more about this record year HERE.