Mid-Week Manistee River Loop Trail (MI)

When I was in university, my group of - admittedly nerdy - friends would occasionally take a "Bunbury Day" (For those unfamiliar with the reference, Mr. Bunbury was the imaginary friend of Jack Worthing - the main character in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Whenever Worthing needed some time away to relax and have some fun, he would tell his boss that his dear friend Mr Bunbury (who was always ill) had taken a turn for the worse and he - Bunbury's only friend in the world - needed to go and tend to him).

So we're inviting you to take a couple mid-week "Bunbury Days" with us and backpack Michigan's Manistee River Loop Trail.

Need the tl;dr version?
· Manistee River Loop Trail
· May 20, 2025 (optional but recommended - camp at trailhead instead of driving in the morning of the 21st)
· May 21 & 22, 2025 on Trail
· Mileage: May 20, 0 miles | May 21, 12-13 miles | May 22, 7-8 miles
· AllTrails map
· Cost - FREE!
· Departure time on 21st - 9 AM Eastern/8 AM Central (Manistee is Eastern Time)

Trip Details
The trip begins with everyone meeting by the Red Bridge parking lot. If you're spending the night on the 20th, that's where the camp sites are. And it's where we'll hit the trail from on the 21st.

On Wednesday, we’ll hike clockwise starting on the North Country Trail side. We’ll do the entirety of the NCT side, cross the suspension bridge onto the Manistee River Trail side, and then find one of the many camp sites on the MRT side to spend the night. Wednesday’s total mileage should be around 12-13 miles. Once we start on the trail on Saturday, there isn’t a reliable water source until shortly before we cross over the river, at approximately the 9 mile mark. Bring enough water to hike that distance without needing to refill. Once we cross over to the MRT side, spots to refill water are plentiful and easily accessible.

On Thursday we’ll hike the remaining 7 or 8 miles back to the trailhead and our cars.

Wildlife in Manistee is plentiful and includes black bears, bobcats, racoons, and other wild animals (like your organizers) that will find your food even more palatable than you do. Therefore, we will be doing a bear hang - or you can bring a bear canister or Ursack.

Mythical creatures and monsters purported to be in the forest include Dogman, Wendigo (preys on lost travelers so bring your map and compass), Melon Heads, Memegwesi, Bigfoot, and the Manistee Lights.

Because of the longer mileage, we don't recommend this for your first ever backpacking trip; all attendees should have gone on at least one trip with the group. If you’ve never come on one of our trips but you have experience backpacking, please reach out to one of the organizers to discuss. Also, no add-ons please. If you have friends who want to attend, please ask them to join the Meetup group and sign up for the trip themselves. No pets, children, or other dependents.

Guidelines
We practice Leave No Trace and expect that everyone attending is also committed to these principles. Read more at https://lnt.org

Participation is at the discretion of the event organizers.
And, as always, participants will need to sign a waiver prior to the trip.
Meetup messaging is unreliable, and we use email for pre-trip communications. You will be asked to enter your email when you RSVP. Respond to organizer emails in a timely manner or risk forfeiting your spot on the trip. Participation is at the discretion of the organizer.

Acknowledgement
As a member of the Chicago Backpackers Group, by registering (RSVPing) for this event, you accept that Hiking & Backpacking can be a dangerous sport and fully assume all risks associated with such participation (like being eaten by a Wendigo or chased by Melon Heads), including travel to and from the event. You agree to be responsible for your own safety and equipment. You realize that conditions, obstacles, and weather are always changing, and your personal safety cannot be guaranteed. You understand that, in the event of being chased by Dogman, the organizers can and will run faster than you. You understand the Meetup.com Terms of Service agreement which you signed when you joined Meetup (link below) and accept that participation is at your own risk. You agree to communicate with event organizers to plan for the trip and sign the Release of Liability provided by the organizers prior to participation.
Click here to review the Meetup.com Terms of Service. (https://www.meetup.com/terms/)

Looking forward to seeing you on trail,
Rob & Dermot