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Tim
McHugh was born and raised down state near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
He began his venturing into the U.P. wilds after graduating
from South Lyon High School in 1986. At first backpacking
and winter camping were the priority, but these activities
opened the door to telemark skiing, mountain biking, and rekindled
his passions from youth for canoeing and fishing. During the
summer of 1993 he finally decided to move to the Marquette
Area as he was constantly planning the next trip to the U.P.
and found it progressively harder to leave when the time came
to go home. Tim spent one year wandering in Alaska from October
of '96 to October of '97. He worked mainly as a cook or handy
man for several restaurants and lodges. Although Tim says
it was a wonderful experience of grand proportions he realized
that he missed the U.P. and decided to move back to the Marquette
area. Telemark skiing had become his greatest passion after
spending the winter of '96-'97 at Girdwood, Alaska's Aleyeska
ski resort. As wonderful as the U.P. is Tim was disappointed
with the lift service skiing in the U.P. and was planning
on another move somewhere out west to be near bigger mountains
with more snow. That all changed when the Mt. Bohemia ski
resort opened up in the winter of 2000-01 near Lac La Belle
in the Tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Tim says it's not as
big as the resorts out west, but acre per acre it's just as
good and it has the best snow and most challenging terrain
anywhere in the mid-west. It was just what the doctor ordered
to keep Tim in Michigan. After the first season at Mt. Bohemia,
Tim was inspired to join the local ski patrol and went through
the training in the summer of 2001. Tim and Sam Raymond (Keweenaw
Adventure Companie's owner) worked together briefly at Mt.
bohemia this last season. Sam was looking for new guides and
Tim was ready to step to the plate and try something new.
Although Tim has spent literally 1000's of hours in a canoe,
his kayaking experience had been limited until recently. Tim
went through the American Canoe Associations Instructor Development
Workshop in Big Bay, Mi. this May, along with Sam's other
new recruits, and is looking forward to guiding groups of
kayakers in the Copper Harbor area this summer.
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