On the west side of the Manistee River is a segment of the North Country Trail. This segment takes you away from the river, and also have limited views of the river. On the east side is the Manistee River Trail. This section of trail has great views of the Manistee river as well as some fairly impressive bridges to cross.
When planning for the North Manitou Island trip we decided that we wanted to try an easier trip before jumping in with both feet. After some searching, the MRT seemed to fit the bill. It would give us the ability to be in a "wilderness" setting, but close enough to civilization for a bail out if needed. We decided to do a 2 night, almost three day trek. This will give us enough time to shake down our gear and test some meals as well. We had tossed around the idea of stowing a canoe, hiking north up the Manistee River Trail from Red Bridge and canoeing back down the river. This idea was quickly vetoed in favor of a 3 day hike.
Here is the tentative plan:
Day 1
Leave home after work and drive north to the Red Bridge Access site. Google puts drive time near 2 hours and 15 minutes. Obviously Google never was a passenger in a car I was driving. Hike approximately 1 hour on the North Country Trail until dusk. Set up camp, have dinner, enjoy nature.
Day 2
Hike north on the remaining part of the NCT, cross over to MRT and hike a few miles back. Find a suitable site for for night 2
Day 3
Hike south to Red Bridge. Drive home.
We don't have any real defined goals for the trip other than to get accustomed to our gear and each other's hiking style and preferences. There are only 2 parameters we need to work within. I won't get home from work until 6:00 pm on Friday, and have to be back home by 5:00 pm Sunday. Outside of that, we are free to enjoy the weekend in the wilderness.
