(616) Overlanding Jeep the Mac-Drummond

Come along for our 1st ever adventure of overlanding Jeep the Mac!

We know and understand overlanding isn't for everyone. Although this is going to be an epic trip and event, please read everything in it's entirety below when deciding to sign up to join us on our trip.

Jeep the Mac's Facebook Event Link: (PLEASE READ IT! YOU MUST REGISTER ONLINE BY May 1ST TO ATTEND THIS EVENT!) Jeep the Mac

The plan would be to have the convoy meet up at the Meijer parking lot in Cascade (5531 28th St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512) at Noon. We'll have a little “drivers meeting” between Noon and 12:30 PM, and promptly leave to head north at no later than 12:45 PM. We have a generalized planned route, but will be dependent on our group size, trail conditions, and timing. Trip leader: Kyle Kelly.

I will list the unofficial plans below.

The group will be doing dispersed camping on national forest land or state land. So pack accordingly and have your ORV stickers. This time of year is finicky with the weather. It could be 70 degrees and sunny or it could be 30 degrees and snowy. So pack accordingly. Ground tents, rooftop tents, off-road campers/trailers, sleeping in a hammock, or sleeping in your vehicles are all great options. However you’d like to camp out.

The group will need to stay together while camping at night, so no hotels or airbnbs are permitted for this event. Too much timing and meeting up to worry about all of that.

Everyone is on their own for food and fuel. If some wants to cook for the whole group, more power to them, but a safe bet is to plan on bringing your own food to cook and eat. We might go through towns to stop for fuel, but plan on being “off the grid” when it comes to packing for the ride.

Unofficial Plans:

Thurs: Head north to find camp near Mackinaw City or St. Ignace. It'd be great if we could camp in the Mitten Thursday night, but if it doesn't work out, we'll cross the bridge and find camp in the UP. Set up camp. Cook dinner. Sleep.

Fri: Breakfast. Tear down camp and load up. Head to Little Bear East Arena to pick up Jeep the Mac Registration Packets and to get staged (put in line) for the bridge crossing. Need to arrive at registraction pick up no later than 9:30 AM. Everyone will hang out at the staging area awaiting to leave to cross the bridge. There's typically some vendor booths set up as well as little concession stand and on-site food trucks. Everyone will leave together for the bridge crossing. After the group crosses and comes back, we will all get a group photo with all of the 616 members in attendance for Jeep the Mac. We'll then head to the trails in search of an epic campsite. Set up camp. Have dinner and hang around a fire. Anyone that would like to do some night wheeling can go do so once we've established our campsite. Some may decide to stay at camp if they're already set up (ex: Rooftop tents, trailers, etc). If so and you'd still like to tag along for some night wheeling, I'm sure some of us won't mind picking up a passenger or two to ride along. Sleep.

Sat: BRIGHT & EARLY, we'll be having breakfast and packing up camp to head to the De Tour/Drummond Island Ferry. We want to get to the ferry landing no later than 7:45 AM since the ferry is scheduled to depart De Tour Village at 8:00 AM. Once we're on the island, we'll give everyone time to air down if they'd like, fuel up as needed, before we head out onto the trails. The plan would be to head straight to Marble Head, taking the fastest route possible. With the Jeep the Mac event taking place, and Marble Head being a Jeep Badge of Honor Trail, it will get busy very fast. So we want to go there first before it gets crowded. From there we will hit up whatever trails we'd like to as a group. We'll plan to stop and have lunch (potentially at a very scenic spot), and time pending, we may stop along our trail route during our ride in the day to establish a campsite before they get taken. If we do, we'll continue riding trails until we're ready to head back to camp for the night. If we set up camp during the day on our ride, we'll still plan to continue riding after we set up items that can be left to mark our spot. If worst case scenario happens and we're unable to find an adequate campsite, we may decide to take the ferry back to the UP and find camp there. Once we get to camp we'll cook up some dinner, hang around a fire, and have a great time as a group for our last night. Sleep.

Sun: BRIGHT & EARLY Breakfast. Pack up camp, and depart back towards Grand Rapids. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! :)

All in all, it should be a fun time as a group! For some this might be a good learning experience, and for others this is just a relaxing time in the woods. There will be some cool scenic views, some easy to moderate trails (specific trails are TBD), and a great experience for everyone. It’s going to be an easy going event, and if anyone has to peel for whatever reason, we can help assist you to where you need to go. The Jeep the Mac event itself is always a really fun event to attend. You'll see SOOO many Jeeps for the bridge crossing as well as out on the trails. Come join us for some overlanding fun!

GMRS Radios are required for this trip.

Any questions, issues, or comments can be sent to:

Trail Lead: Kyle Kelly-(812) 584-5163

Trail Tail: Dave Rice-(269) 760-8241

If you're unable to attend this ride and have already signed up for any tickets, please reach out to anyone on the Facebook page so we can open up your tickets for others who can attend.

Important Club Member Notice: GRJC tickets will be used for member check-in. One ticket is required per person. Each club member that wishes to receive club credit for attendance to this event, even if part of a larger party attending, must register for their own separate ticket so that they can be checked-in and their attendance linked to their personal membership account.

As of February 2, 2016, per DNR rule, no more than 20 persons per group are allowed to attend an event on state land.

Do Not Interrupt Public Land Use -or- Unfairly Use Public Resources:

"Unlawful to hold an event without appropriate DNR permit(s). 'Event' means a single, structured, organized, consolidated, scheduled meeting or occurrence, on State land, which may have a fee/ donation required for participation or attending and/or involves more than 20 persons. ... The focus is balancing the event use with other public access and use."

Sources: SLU Rules R 299.921, Rule 21 (item #e) and R 299.922, Rule 22 (item #n).

We GRJC and its members, will abide by this rule.

Disclaimer: Participation in any GRJC Event is at your own risk. GRJC is not liable for any injury/damage/etc that could occur. Also, any attendee to a GRJC even may be asked to leave if their behavior does not meet our family or safety standards.