• Friday-What'sUP March 20 - 06:45 pm

Nathan Miller and friends did something that I've always thought would be neat to do during the winter months…they visited Mackinac Island. This adventure took place a bit earlier this month, so the ice was stable, which by now with the warmer temperatures is probably not the case anymore.

For their adventure, they started in St. Ignace and hiked across the trail that the snowmobiles use to travel back and forth. Nathan said that along the way, they stopped to check out the clear black ice, which was super spooky to stand on miles from shore. He said they could see cracks in the ice quite far down though so they knew it was thick enough for the trek out to the Island.

Once they reached the Island, they continued into the downtown area. Nathan said they expected it to be close to as majestic as it is in the summer months, but he said that was not what they found. Everything was closed (which they expected), but it was also all boarded up or under construction. He was disappointed that the main street downtown was filled with loud snowmobiles, which he also mentioned were stinking up the place with plumes of exhaust. Very different from the summer, where there is usually only pedestrian, horse and bicycle traffic. When they were done touring downtown, they headed up to Fort Mackinac, one place the snowmobiles couldn't get to. Then they trekked on over to Arch Rock along some cross country ski trails. Nathan said there they found some peace and quiet.

After that, Nathan pulled out his kite to get a few shots of Mackinac Island from up above. He said it was quite windy, so the kite flying was short lived, but he did manage to get a couple shots of the docks and the downtown area. He figures he'll have to come back in the summer with his kite to try again, when he won't have to hike over there and back, too.

The last two shots were taken as they were preparing to leave for the hike back to St. Ignace. Nathan said from the downtown area, the distance is 5.5 miles. They made it back to the mainland just in time for darkness to set in and he said the last mile or so they hiked was guided by the lighthouse they have at the St. Ignace docks. That sounds like quite the adventure and I'm sure glad Nathan took us all along with him, because I don't think I could hike across the ice like that and then turn around and do it all over again to get back home.

Truly very neat.

Thank you Nathan.

JT

Now that's what I would call a real 'adventure'. The photos are beautiful!!Thank you, Nathan.

That would be some fun snowmobiling!

I would love to visit Mackinac Island in the Winter.

Cool...the Mackinaw Ice Bridge.

http://www.9and10news.com/story/28047180/the-ice-bridge-connecting-saint-ignace-and-mackinac-island-opens

... in case you miss it, this is part of the story: First responders also remind people to never try and cross from Mackinaw City.

Very cool pictures :-)

Nice pictures. Sure looks different in the winter. I must say however that this adventure is very high on my list of things to never do.

MAGNIFICENT. WOWOW!

I've always loved vacationing on Mackinac Island and would like to visit in winter.