Ren Brabenec | Author
Not Your Average Trails
April 8, 2023
The sunlight in your eyes may seem sharp after months of gray, but it’s a welcome reminder that we did it; we survived another Michigan winter. Now you want to get outside, but you want to kick the season off with something unique and special. Rather than the typical hike, you want ...
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The Devil’s Element
March 4, 2023
Dan Egan, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the author of New York Times bestseller The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, will take the stage at the City Opera House in Traverse City March 10 for an event in partnership with the National Writers Series and ...
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Off the Beaten Path
Jan. 21, 2023
A Finnish friend in the U.P. recently defined the term sisu for us. She says sisu refers to the extraordinary determination the Finnish Yoopers use to not just survive the winter but to thrive in it.
During the cold months of January and February, it’s easy to forget the nat...
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Fire Means Flee: Hiker’s Firsthand Account of Isle Royale’s Mt. Franklin Wildfire
Nov. 12, 2022
No one expects a wildfire when backpacking an island, not until smoke is heading your way and park rangers evacuate your campground.
The morning of Aug. 13 found me hiking Isle Royale National Park’s iconic Greenstone Ridge, a much-anticipated adventure my father and I had b... Read More >>