Jim DuFresne has a deep rooted passion for two things; sunsets and shoreline, no doubt the result of living his entire life in the two states that have more coastline than any other; Alaska and Michigan.After graduating from Michigan State University with a journalism degree, it didn't take Jim long before he was moving to Juneau, Alaska. As the outdoors and sports editor of the Juneau Empire, he became the first Alaskan sportswriter to win a national award from the Associated Press. More significant than the writing award, he discovered his passion for the mountains and wilderness travel while living in Alaska's capital city.In 1981, Jim spent a winter in New Zealand to backpack and write his first book, Tramping in New Zealand for Lonely Planet. He followed up with the first edition of Lonely Planet's Alaska and later Hiking in Alaska and then returned to Michigan to write Isle Royale National Park: Foot Trails & Water Routes. The guide to the wilderness areas of Isle Royale has been in publication in various editions for almost 30 years and today is known as the "backpacker's bible" to the Lake Superior island.Today Jim lives in Michigan where he's never more than an hour's drive from the shoreline of the Great Lakes.

He is the main contributor to www.MichiganTrailMaps.com, a resource web site devoted to trail users and the promotion of trails in his home state. In Michigan, Jim can usually be found out on the trail, hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. Among his other tiles are Backpacking In Michigan and 12 Classic Trout Streams in Michigan: A Handbook for Fly Anglers (University of Michigan Press), Trails of M-22 (MichiganTrailMaps.com), 50 Hikes In Michigan (Backcountry Publications) and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (MichiganTrailMaps.com).