Wandering Knight Episode 13 Photos

Episode 13 of Wandering Knight Podcast ((direct link, We’re Not 25^th) is now online.

The photos you see here were hurridly snapped by Paul Haan.

 

The scene at the start/end point before the rally begins. I would later learn that 22, of a possible 25, teams would enter the rally. A pretty good turn out considering it is winter and many people probably would rather stay inside. 13:49.

On the road again. Heading for our second geocache. 14:39.

We found the second cache. We could hardly believe it especially since we found it very quickly. Sure pausing for a minute to snap a couple photos cost us precious time but hey sometimes you gotta just go for it. 14:46.

Triumphal Return. We would finish 15^th. We actually were checked back in a bit before this photo was shot. 15:00.

The Gathering, November 2008 - Part 2

Episode 11 of Wandering Knight Podcast ((direct link, The Gathering, Part 2) is now online. You may also find Episode 10, part 1 of the two-part series, of interest.

I did not take any photos Saturday and only a few on Sunday. However, fortunately for us I was not the only one with a camera. Debi Pilkington took several photos on Saturday both of the short hike group and inside the Schoolhouse. I hope you enjoy what you find.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 12:04.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 12:06.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 14:13.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 16:23.

On Sunday our small group did an approximately 6 mile long hike that covered the North Country Tail and the Coolbaugh Natural Area. During much of that hike I kept a GPS log of where we went. The map below gives you some idea of where we hiked.

Photo by Ken Knight, 12:49.

Photo by Ken Knight, 13:12.

Photo by Ken Knight, 13:58.

A map showing, pretty accurately, the hike we did on Sunday along the NCT and within Coolbaugh Natural Area.

North Manitou Island, August 2008, Conclusion

Episode 7 of the Wandering Knight Podcast (direct link) is now online. While I took a lot more photos and shot a great deal of video (which you'll get to see in due time, I'm still catching up on video from The Great Outdoor Challenge hike of last May) I wanted to share at least a handful of photos from our first day on the island.


Photos

Morning dew still sits on these flowers that abound around our campsite not far from Swenson’ Barn. August 16, 2008 08:20.

I enjoy walking through changing scenery. The island is full of open spaces like this one. This though is the only one I saw with a swath of these purple flowers. Anyone know what they are? August 16, 2008. 12:08.

Part way up the steep ascent of the second, I think, major climb to get to the top of the sandy hills around Old Mont Baldy. This is a bushwhack plain and simple, tough going but worth the effort. August 16, 2008. 15:21.

After passing a cloudy night with just a hint of rain at our final campsite we would be treated to one last day of great sunny weather. August 17, 2008. 07:00.

Bushwhack Map
During the afternoon of our second day Andy, Doug, Matt, and I would venture forth on a bushwhack hike that would take us up to Old Mount Baldy, down to the southwestern shoreline, around teh beach, from the forests, onto Dimmick Point, and eventually to our campsite. The total trek was only a few miles but they were invigorating miles and we had a superb island experience visiting portions of the island that I feel certain most people do not bother with. You can get a bit of a sense of what we did by looking at the map below.

North Manitou Island, August 2008, Part 1

Episode 6 of the Wandering Knight Podcast (direct link) is now online. While I took a lot more photos and shot a great deal of video (which you'll get to see in due time, I'm still catching up on video from The Great Outdoor Challenge hike of last May) I wanted to share at least a handful of photos from our first day on the island.


Photos

Some remains of rusting out hulks of cars that were probably brought to the island back in the logging days over half a acentury ago.

Jerrilyn framed by Lake Michigan at the overlook at the end of the unmaintained trail that we followed through the “Pot Holes.”

The beach at the cliff just below the overlook. The hike along this stretch of beach would be splendid.

Moonrise. With the moon rising and the sun only just setting well after 10:00PM at night we had ourselves a very full day.

Wandering Knight Podcast Is Born

Some of you know I have been working on a lot of audio and video lately. It's material from trips I've taken primarily this year. Trips as varied as my cross-Scotland trek in May, building trail along the NCT, hiking in Sedona, going to Ground Hog Day in Punsxultawny (sp), and attending music festivals, to name just a few. Some of these adventures have been shared on my website and/or blog (www.wanderingknight.org and this blog respectively). But that hasn't been the best way to share them. With this in mind I have created a new podcast. The Wandering Knight podcast will feature, in time, I hope more than justmy own personal trip diaries and experiences. I hope to make it more than that with contributions from other people in the form of interviews and the like. You can access this new podcast in a variety of ways.

From its blog
From its RSS feed
itunes Podcast Feed

You should see subscription buttons in the navigation sidebar of the blog. You can click those to access the podcast's feed as well. Also direct download links to the most recent episodes can be found just below the subscription buttons.

Right now you will find part 1 of my adventure across Scotland as I took part in the Great Outdoor Challenge of 2008 last May. Subsequent episodes will appear on a more or less weekly basis.

I hope everyone enjoys what they find. Please do visit the podcast blog over at wanderingknight.libsyn.com to comment.

Happy Wheatland

The 35th Wheatland music festival Is winding down and it has been pretty good if not quite as good as last year. The music has been varied (as has been sound quality), people fun, vonversation pleasing, and the various kid a source of boundless e energy.

You come for the music but a hood festival is more than that. The vibe at a good event raises the spirits of everyone present. The Main stagfe here really does that well. I saw performers ok side stage venues here who took it up another level on the big stage. Audiences do the same thing. Hours fly by under hot sun and. Crisp star filled nights. All have fun and rejoice in good company.

I must close now, before I want to so I can save battery, but I'll have more later. Signing off from Wheatland.

** Ken **

Sent from my iPhone

The Birds of North Manitou island

Last weekend I joined 8 other people as part of a Western Michigan North Country Trail Chapter sponsored trip to North Manitou Island. This 15,000 acre island is part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and sits just off the Leelanau Peninsula. The island is a wilderness area and a great place for easy yet very interesting backpacking and exploration. You can go off to places that will challenge you as you scramble up steep forested hills or across tall sand dunes. You can take your time relaxing on the sun drenched (hopefully) beaches that look out upon the blue waters of Lake Michigan. The island offer plenty for the novice and experienced backpacker alike. I'll be providing a much richer trip journal in the not too distant future but I wanted to share this one little bit of video first.

The island used to provide home for many families. Long ago companies even did some forestry and if you go to the right location you can find rusting chunks of old vehicles that probably date back more than 50 years. You can also find the slowly decaying, though some buildings do get upkeep, buildings. Reminders of the people who used to live, and die, on this small island. Swenson's Barn is one such place. Within it you can still see where they brought their cows to be milked, the stalls they entered, the chute for hay to be dropped for the cows to consume. You can gaze upon the massive beams of the old barn and ponder life as it once must have been. Then you might gaze up at a sound faintly heard and notice a bird's nest. Within that nest, sitting very quietly waiting for their next meal, you spot a couple bird chicks. Enjoy the video.

Birds of Swenson's Barn from Ken Knight on Vimeo.

Besides seeing these little birds and their parent we were fortunate to do so much more. Chances to swim in the chilly, though not nearly as cold as expected, Lake Michigan waters; swat at numerous biting bugs; visit portions of the island that see very few people because they require off-trail bushwhacking to reach; and so much more. The trip though just for a short weekend gifted us all with many opportunities of great enjoyment and I am sure most of us will return to North Manitou Island.