After completing the full Maumee River last year, I decided to finish up the other four Great Lakes via river thru-paddles. But I wasn't sure what to do next.
Fate would do the work for me when a friend of mine planned on doing the Manistee River in northern Michigan, but had some plans change when his paddling partner couldn't make it. So we agreed to give it a shot together. This time I would take my Perception Carolina 12', much more appropriate for the tight and twisty river. I did a test pack the night before it the gear fit perfect but with only a little room to spare.
(The photos show up for me, but please let me know if you can't see them. I'm trying a different host this time.)
Day 1 - 18.07mi: The alarm rudely woke me at 3:50am. I skipped the coffee and just quickly downed a bowl of cereal, washed up and hit the road by 4:30am. After arriving to my friend's home around 8:30am, we loaded the kayaks up onto his vehicle and continued north for 90 minutes. The weather was absolutely perfect - about 65° and mostly sunny by the time we hit the water around 11am. Our put-in was Deward, MI, an old lumber town long gone (1901-1912). This is basically the start of the navigable portion of the Manistee River. Any farther north and you get into swampy/marshy/grassy terrain. Paddling was fairly easy compared to what we had in mind. No log jams or strainers to speak of...only one downed tree we just barely slid over, thanks to the recent rain. With the late start we only had one goal of making M-72 before setting up camp. We hit that, took a break, and finished up a decent amount past that. It got down to 34° but I was totally fine with my 30° Pincubator UQ and 40° Burrow TQ.
Day 2 - 33.64mi: Hitting the water at 6:50am, out goal today was to get past M66. We had no idea where we would camp and just planned on finding whatever presented itself. It was another beautiful day, reaching about 56° with sun and clouds. Around mile 30 it began to rain lightly, so we donned the spray skirts and jackets. Luckily it was the kind of rain that never seemed to get you very wet. We started to run low on energy and I was getting a bit cold. We were now at the point of "just find anyplace to land". We found a few questionable spots with poor trees and kept going. All of a sudden I saw a small muddy/sandy bank with an 8' bank, but climbable. I got out to check it quickly...BAM! There it was. Once I got high enough to see over the top I was presented with a clean, flat, piney area perfect for hanging. So I went back down, we unloaded the kayaks then pulled them up one at a time with some rope. We had a small fire to warm up a bit. After dinner we both hit the hammocks before 9pm. It was a long day, but after checking the map and doing some math we realized this was going to be our daily routine. I didn't get a low temp this night, but it felt warmer than the forecasted 33°. I would guess 36°.
Day 3 - 50.11mi: A late-ish start today at 7:10am. This was one of my favorite sections. The weather was dreary but calm and warm enough to avoid cold fingers. The scenery had a very eerie and northern look to it. I kept thinking this could pass for the UP or someplace in Canada. The skies quickly cleared. A bald eagle, river otter and some deer complimented the backdrop of pines, birch and cedar. We started passing some cabins; some so neglected you wondered how long it has been since anyone was there. Eventually the high sand banks, the rollways, started popping up. This is where the loggers would cut and launch the logs down into the river via 200-300 feet slopes! These were then shipped off to build Chicago...then it burned down. Anyway, the views were spectacular and the falling sun added a beautiful warm glow to everything. By 7:00pm we were actively looking for a nice camp spot for the night. We found a suitable landing in the sandy bank around 7:45pm and quickly set up camp. I had no idea until typing this right now that we would have paddled 50 miles!!! We figured about 40 at the time. Another cool and comfortable night recharged out batteries until the alarm rang at 5:00am.
Day 4 - 31.90mi: We were in the water by 6:12am. Steam fog tickled the river's surface, sometimes so thick my paddling partner was practically invisible just 50 yards away. After 5 hours of solid paddling, we hit M-115, the beginning of the backwaters. This initiated a fairly slow slog through Hodenpyle Dam Pond. Once we reached the dam, a short portage was in store for us along with a well-deserved break. After portaging around the hydro dam we saw everyone and their brother, including their sister, relatives, next-door neighbor and dog. We were now at the north point of the Manistee River Trail/North Country Trail loop. A trail I'll likely never hike again. It's been getting SWAMPED with traffic lately, exponentially worse since I first hiked it about 8 years ago. It's just too busy for me on poor weather days, let alone this 72° and sunny day. Kayaks and fishermen everywhere. Hammocks and tents dotted the river like a plague, all beyond the 200' rule. Hell, one girl was even rocking her two-tone Eno directly OVER the water between two cedars. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was a camp about every 100 yards. Some spaced only 75' apart. I even saw a stroller parked next to a tent!!! The river was absolutely beautiful and a bit wild in this section. The current below the dam was nice and swift. I had a camp site marked on my GPS, but decided to grab whatever looked quiet before getting there so we wouldn't run out of river before hitting the next dam pond. We eventually got out at a sandy point and went into the woods. After setting up and walking back out for a bath in he river I noticed two people sitting up on a 100' bank on the opposite side. This place was absolutely packed. After another map check and some calculating, we realized we weren't 32miles from the end, but 38 (actually ended up being over 41)! We miscalculated those miles somewhere and were not so excited about adding time to the last day. But at this point we were committed and would be finishing in 5 days instead of 6. I was in my hammock by 7:45pm, prepared for one last, long push.
Day 5 - 41.65mi: Into the water at 6:20am. It was a cold morning with frost. Even more steam fog today! My fingers were very cold and I soon realized gloves didn't help...and possibly made things worse. The paddling was beautiful though. We saw plenty of deer just above Red Bridge. We were now approaching the backwaters above Tippy Dam. Those long straight shots got a little boring but we kept chipping away. At the portage we both agreed "we can't mess around". After landing and a quick 2 minute break we picked up the fully loaded kayaks and started up the road. Then down the next road to the boat ramp. After putting in below the dam and zig-zagging thru the fishing lines from anglers, I looked down into the water to see a ton of massive, yet elusive, fish. I don't know much about them but I think steelhead trout? It was like looking at little sharks in a aquarium at the zoo. Amazing! The current was again swift for a while and the sun was beating down at full strength. The scenery starting trading woods and high banks for flat swampy sections. We paddled past the bayous and saw how difficult it would have been to camp anywhere past our last night. I'm not sure it would even be legal if we did. A few quick rest breaks and more heavy paddling put us to Manistee Lake. Even with a firm headwind, the 1-mile stretch across the lake was no problem. We were now into the channel to Lake Michigan, the final mile. The excitement and anticipation grew as I paddled along the northern breakwater. Then with a few final strokes I cleared free of the breakwater and out into Lake Michigan! What a reward! I just sat there bobbing up and down for a while to let it sink in. After all that, my first thought was "that's two Great Lake terminations down, three to go". I will be doing the Au Sable next to bag Lake Huron.
I was absolutely blessed to have a fantastic paddling partner, amazing weather and wise gear selection. The only thing I would have added? Insulated leather gloves or mittens for the first few hours paddling those cold mornings.
Partial gear list:
Warbonnet Blackbird 1.6SL
Warbonnet Thunderfly
Hammock Gear 40° Burrow
Hammock Gear 30° Phincubator
Various OR dry bags
Hawk Vittles meals for dinner
BRS 3000 stove & Toaks 600ml pot
Tsla zip-up shirt (Nothing fancy, $16 on Amazon. "Sun shirts" are all marketing BS)
OR Sun Runner Cap
And of course, the unbeatable Crocs!
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Originally Posted by Dirtbaghiker
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