Photos

Below you will see a very small sampling of photos from recent (and a few less recent) adventures.

North Manitou Island High Adventure Backpack Outing - Summer 2007

The High Adventure Outing for 2007 was a backpacking trip on North Manitou Island. North Manitou Island is part of the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. It is a special area because it is designated ‘backcountry’. This means that hikers and campers on the island enjoy a true wilderness experience, i.e. there are no wood fires allowed, there is only one well on the island that provides drinking water (all other water used for drinking must be filtered or purified), there are no outhouses/bathrooms in the backcountry….so, hikers on the island are truly “roughing it”. Indeed, this was the attraction to the scouts.  See here for more information, including photos!

Manistee River Trail backpack outing - Fall 2006

Picture 1 (large - 1.3MB)

Picture 2 (large - 1.3MB)

Picture 3 (large - 1.3MB)

On Saturday the 21st of October 14 scouts and 4 adults set out upon the Manistee River Trail from the Red Bridge just north of M-55. The temperatures were cool and the skies were grey, but the conditions were very good for backpacking. It didn’t take long for everyone to get into a rhythm as we began to work our way along the river. An early break afforded time to make adjustments to gear and communicate a few important backpacking reminders.

Soon the clouds disappeared and the sun came out along the Manistee River that was all decked out in spectacular fall colors. A few boys were heard to say “are we still in Michigan?” The remainder of the days seven mile hike was pretty uneventful except for the fabulous views of the river from vantage points that were often as high as two hundred feet.

Tents seemed to go up quickly as the group reached the evening’s camp site and rain drops began to fall. A light drizzling rain afforded us all enough time to set up camp and prepare meals for dinner before the sky really opened up and began to pour for the next fourteen hours.

As morning dawned, and the rain continued, our leaders made the decision to adjust the day’s plans for a shorter hike on the last day. The rain dampened enthusiasm and slowed the work of breaking camp. All were quiet as the group headed out for the morning’s short three mile trek. The day wasn’t going to be as planned and the weather wasn’t ideal, but all agreed that Saturday was a great day and well worth the planning time and effort it took to make the trip.

The rain stopped as everyone loaded their gear into vehicles for the two hour ride home. The boys were tired and damp, but the cars were warm. The trip home was filled with less conversation and a lot more snoring from a small group of backpackers that were a little more experienced than they were the day before.

Summer Camp at Camp Gerber - Summer 2006

Summer Camp - 2006 - large (1.8mb)

Summer Camp at Camp Gerber - Summer 2005

Summer Camp - 2005 - large (2.1mb)

Summer Camp at Camp Gerber - Summer 2004

Summer Camp - 2004

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