More entries here.
Showing posts with label Camping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Camping. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Wordless Wednesday August 1, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Wordless Wednesday July 25 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Are We On The Map Yet?
Post Started on July 16th
This will be a long post and I will continue to make additions to it 'till it is done!
Day 1 July 12th
Clear sky
Rain dripping from the trees hitting my back
Fire in my face burning my knees.
I pine for the cadence of the paddle.
Chided by the invisible shanty calling me.
Still awaiting nature to paint the shadows with color.
This is a poem I wrote well sitting by the fire Thursday night.
The trip was from Thursday July 12 until Sunday July 15, 2007.
I left my house at 5:30pm after a long hot shower because I knew I may not get one later. I arrived at Jim and Brad's (names changed) house, loaded their gear up, and we were on the road at around 6:00pm.
The beginning of the trip was quite mundane. After passing the Newago exit about 30 minutes north of Grand Rapids, Michigan, an awesome gray, all-encompassing front moved in heading southeast. I called my wife and she informed me that www.weather.com seem to indicate that it was just a "lake effect" band and it would end quickly. Sure enough, after stopping for a while down the road at the Big Rapids exit for some awesome breath-altering-wife-repelling Doritos and a soda, the rain subsided and quit.
And, on the road trip went.
All of a sudden, the GPS piped up "exit ahead on right point eight miles." Exiting on a not-so-good paved road, I thought to myself - this isn't right! It doesn't look familiar. But with my complete trust in all things techy (especially GPS's), onward we plodded.
Driving through some of the prettiest farm land I have ever seen, we saw a full double rainbow form. It was spotty at first. Then, it presented itself to us in all of its untouched glory. I couldn't control myself - stopping the car as quickly as possible to take some photos. I took one with pine trees on the left and a tall grassy meadow on the right. In that grassy meadow, a faint two-track disappears off in the distance. All this framed on one side by this awesome rainbow. We followed this thing for 20 minutes. I have never seen anything like it.
Remember the road? Well, it got worse. The pavement ended and the gravel began...luckily only for about five miles. After passing The Old Log Resort where we were going to bed for the night and then receive one of their high-speed vehicle portages to our entry point in the morning, I did a police-style flip-flop on M115. Twelve-year-old Brad was impressed anyway.
Arriving at the Old Log Resort, we met with Jeanette to square away the money for our little adventure. I purchased a pair of water shoes and Jim and Brad each bought a hat and one bundle of firewood.
I still wasn't sure of the route we wanted to take so she took out her Canoe Michigan guide and we queried the different trip descriptions - looking mostly for times and miles. They were pretty vague. She told me that it was 12 hours from Jonesville Rd. Bridge to M61. Unfortunately, I didn't hear her mention the subsequent 3 hours from M61 to M115. So that actually would be a 15 hour trip. But, I had 12 hours in my mind. Here was my thought on that - 12 hours is nothing we need something longer.
I asked about the longer route which I thought I had most of routed on my GPS.
"Well, that would be Cadillac Rd. Bridge."
"What do you think, Jim?" I said
"I don't know are you sure?" he said with trepidation in his voice.
"Well, it is a river and we have some current to help us. Sure!' I responded. So we signed up for the second longest trip they offer. Then, it was off to the campground.
We then arrived approximately where Jeanette told us to. We unloaded the canoe, pitched our tents, unfurled our sleeping bags, and wow! Instant home.
After lighting a campfire, we stayed up and talked 'till 2 am. Just before turning in, I shined my flashlight out in the woods, scanning it for black bear. What was that!? We were treated to a white-looking creature trudging through the bush. Upon further inspection and a few animal noises from me, it stood up. Okay, this is not raccoon! It was all white. Not a opossum. Oh my! It was a large river otter, eyes all aglow.
Clambering into bed, I set my alarm for 6:30 am. As Jeanette told us we would need to be at the office at 8:00am.
Day 2 July 13th
Morning came earlier than the alarm was set for. I didn't sleep very well and was rousted by the excitement of another canoe trip. I dressed and headed out to see about taking another one of my last showers.
With only one eye open, thoughts of fresh coffee filled my mind. I remembered a gas station convenience store on the way in not too far up the road so i cleaned a spot off in the car. And, after asking Jim if he needed anything, I headed out to get some coffee.
I arrived at the store at around 6:00 am just in time for it to open. I chatted with the owner long enough for me to fix my 20 ounce coffee. Then, I was on my way back to the livery.
I arrived to find Jim riffling through his gear. I started to pack up some of mine. Then, I headed up to take a shower. Now the word "shower" - that is an understatement. On a rating of one to ten, I'd give it a two. And that is not because of the 25 cent per minute charge. I think that's probably is a good idea because I would have been in there for twice as long. It is because of the extremely low water pressure. I probably wasted the first two quarters on the water heating up. However, the shower ended up being a great pick-me-up for the morning and, at a cost of $2.25, it was worth it. After my shower, I dressed, donned my new sporty water shoes, and headed back to camp.
Arriving back at the camp site, I found Brad starting a new camp fire and Jim packing gear. I opened the food pack and we choked down a couple of granola bars and some chocolate. After our ad hoc breakfast, we loaded up all the gear and Jim help me put the canoe on my back. I portaged the canoe up to the office with Jim and Brad in tow. I met Jeanette and her husband up at their van. I helped move a canoe off the roof of their van and then load an Old Town 15-6 Discovery which we rented for the weekend which made a nice partner to my 16-4 Discovery.
As we loaded the boats, I pulled my Inuit paddle from inside the hull and showed it to the owner. I explained to him it was in fact a paddle that works really well with a kayak. And that my brother had always bugged me to take a kayak paddle to use canoeing. Well, I finally was willing on a last minute decision to take his advice and loaded it up.
For the non-paddler-kayak folks, an Inuit paddle was traditionally crafted from a long piece of drift wood collected on the beach. Its proportions are derived anthropomorphically i.e. custom fit to your body. They are almost never wider than 3 1/2 inches the stock width of a common 2 x 4. So, it actually looks like something that you would burn or pry against things. Anything but a paddle. I explained to him that to buy one cost around $200 and I made mine in about 4 hours with some instructions I downloaded from the net for a grand total of about $8.
Once the canoes were secure, they opened the van up and we stuffed it full of gear. I moved my car and we were off. As we pulled out on the highway, Jeanette anounced "I hope you don't mind but we are going way into the booneys so I need to get gas."
Well, with one more chance for coffee, I was in jubilation.
....
I place what I thought maybe my last phone call to my wife.
This will be a long post and I will continue to make additions to it 'till it is done!
Day 1 July 12th
Clear sky
Rain dripping from the trees hitting my back
Fire in my face burning my knees.
I pine for the cadence of the paddle.
Chided by the invisible shanty calling me.
Still awaiting nature to paint the shadows with color.
This is a poem I wrote well sitting by the fire Thursday night.
The trip was from Thursday July 12 until Sunday July 15, 2007.
I left my house at 5:30pm after a long hot shower because I knew I may not get one later. I arrived at Jim and Brad's (names changed) house, loaded their gear up, and we were on the road at around 6:00pm.
The beginning of the trip was quite mundane. After passing the Newago exit about 30 minutes north of Grand Rapids, Michigan, an awesome gray, all-encompassing front moved in heading southeast. I called my wife and she informed me that www.weather.com seem to indicate that it was just a "lake effect" band and it would end quickly. Sure enough, after stopping for a while down the road at the Big Rapids exit for some awesome breath-altering-wife-repelling Doritos and a soda, the rain subsided and quit.
And, on the road trip went.
All of a sudden, the GPS piped up "exit ahead on right point eight miles." Exiting on a not-so-good paved road, I thought to myself - this isn't right! It doesn't look familiar. But with my complete trust in all things techy (especially GPS's), onward we plodded.
Driving through some of the prettiest farm land I have ever seen, we saw a full double rainbow form. It was spotty at first. Then, it presented itself to us in all of its untouched glory. I couldn't control myself - stopping the car as quickly as possible to take some photos. I took one with pine trees on the left and a tall grassy meadow on the right. In that grassy meadow, a faint two-track disappears off in the distance. All this framed on one side by this awesome rainbow. We followed this thing for 20 minutes. I have never seen anything like it.
Remember the road? Well, it got worse. The pavement ended and the gravel began...luckily only for about five miles. After passing The Old Log Resort where we were going to bed for the night and then receive one of their high-speed vehicle portages to our entry point in the morning, I did a police-style flip-flop on M115. Twelve-year-old Brad was impressed anyway.
Arriving at the Old Log Resort, we met with Jeanette to square away the money for our little adventure. I purchased a pair of water shoes and Jim and Brad each bought a hat and one bundle of firewood.
I still wasn't sure of the route we wanted to take so she took out her Canoe Michigan guide and we queried the different trip descriptions - looking mostly for times and miles. They were pretty vague. She told me that it was 12 hours from Jonesville Rd. Bridge to M61. Unfortunately, I didn't hear her mention the subsequent 3 hours from M61 to M115. So that actually would be a 15 hour trip. But, I had 12 hours in my mind. Here was my thought on that - 12 hours is nothing we need something longer.
I asked about the longer route which I thought I had most of routed on my GPS.
"Well, that would be Cadillac Rd. Bridge."
"What do you think, Jim?" I said
"I don't know are you sure?" he said with trepidation in his voice.
"Well, it is a river and we have some current to help us. Sure!' I responded. So we signed up for the second longest trip they offer. Then, it was off to the campground.
We then arrived approximately where Jeanette told us to. We unloaded the canoe, pitched our tents, unfurled our sleeping bags, and wow! Instant home.
After lighting a campfire, we stayed up and talked 'till 2 am. Just before turning in, I shined my flashlight out in the woods, scanning it for black bear. What was that!? We were treated to a white-looking creature trudging through the bush. Upon further inspection and a few animal noises from me, it stood up. Okay, this is not raccoon! It was all white. Not a opossum. Oh my! It was a large river otter, eyes all aglow.
Clambering into bed, I set my alarm for 6:30 am. As Jeanette told us we would need to be at the office at 8:00am.
Day 2 July 13th
Morning came earlier than the alarm was set for. I didn't sleep very well and was rousted by the excitement of another canoe trip. I dressed and headed out to see about taking another one of my last showers.
With only one eye open, thoughts of fresh coffee filled my mind. I remembered a gas station convenience store on the way in not too far up the road so i cleaned a spot off in the car. And, after asking Jim if he needed anything, I headed out to get some coffee.
I arrived at the store at around 6:00 am just in time for it to open. I chatted with the owner long enough for me to fix my 20 ounce coffee. Then, I was on my way back to the livery.
I arrived to find Jim riffling through his gear. I started to pack up some of mine. Then, I headed up to take a shower. Now the word "shower" - that is an understatement. On a rating of one to ten, I'd give it a two. And that is not because of the 25 cent per minute charge. I think that's probably is a good idea because I would have been in there for twice as long. It is because of the extremely low water pressure. I probably wasted the first two quarters on the water heating up. However, the shower ended up being a great pick-me-up for the morning and, at a cost of $2.25, it was worth it. After my shower, I dressed, donned my new sporty water shoes, and headed back to camp.
Arriving back at the camp site, I found Brad starting a new camp fire and Jim packing gear. I opened the food pack and we choked down a couple of granola bars and some chocolate. After our ad hoc breakfast, we loaded up all the gear and Jim help me put the canoe on my back. I portaged the canoe up to the office with Jim and Brad in tow. I met Jeanette and her husband up at their van. I helped move a canoe off the roof of their van and then load an Old Town 15-6 Discovery which we rented for the weekend which made a nice partner to my 16-4 Discovery.
As we loaded the boats, I pulled my Inuit paddle from inside the hull and showed it to the owner. I explained to him it was in fact a paddle that works really well with a kayak. And that my brother had always bugged me to take a kayak paddle to use canoeing. Well, I finally was willing on a last minute decision to take his advice and loaded it up.
For the non-paddler-kayak folks, an Inuit paddle was traditionally crafted from a long piece of drift wood collected on the beach. Its proportions are derived anthropomorphically i.e. custom fit to your body. They are almost never wider than 3 1/2 inches the stock width of a common 2 x 4. So, it actually looks like something that you would burn or pry against things. Anything but a paddle. I explained to him that to buy one cost around $200 and I made mine in about 4 hours with some instructions I downloaded from the net for a grand total of about $8.
Once the canoes were secure, they opened the van up and we stuffed it full of gear. I moved my car and we were off. As we pulled out on the highway, Jeanette anounced "I hope you don't mind but we are going way into the booneys so I need to get gas."
Well, with one more chance for coffee, I was in jubilation.
....
I place what I thought maybe my last phone call to my wife.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
I'm nearly out of time so I'll be brief. NOT!
This was my seventh backwoods canoe trip. It was a 16 mile loop - where you start on a lake and portage and canoe in a big circle. The loop included about 6 miles of portaging and 10 of canoeing. The trip was taken in September of 2006 and lasted 5 days. This was the shortest of all of my trips. I traveled from SW lower Michigan around the bottom of Lake Michigan through Chicago entering Wisconsin above Rockford IL. Then we travel completely through Wisconsin entering Minnesota at Duluth. From there, we travel all the way along the coast of Lake Superior to Grand Marias. Man, is that a long trip. The next morning, we drove another 65 miles down the Gunflint Trail passing the Lurentian Divide which I thought was cool. At the entry point, we were only about 2 miles from the Canadian border.
Total time I have spent doing this is about 55 days. Oh, my wife and I rented this cabin for a week and did the same type of canoeing/hiking. All this for our honeymoon - what a girl! Having said all that, over the years I have trimmed things down quite a bit so the list is short but here goes.
1.) Five Gallon buckets: They are for: mainly carrying food and breakables like the gas stove and water filter. I think they also cut down on the food smell as to not attract bear and other animals. They also come in handy for washing dishes and carrying water for bathes.
I will leave them behind next year because they are a little awkward to carry and on the longer portages (anything over 1/2 mile) they start cutting through your hands. They are a whole lot of fun to hang at night when it's dark and someone says "hey, we going to have to hang the food". This is usually done for me about 1000 feet from camp and that walk at night can be pretty scary at times. These will be replaced maybe with a sea bag-type duffel which is waterproof so it should be smell-proof.
2.) I also have a paddle that is bent so it is more ergonomical to paddle. You can see it sticking out to the right of the white 5 gallon bucket that is laying horizontal. This paddle cost me $125.00. It is very pretty but it is very useless in my opinion.
I will leave it behind next time because it is shaped in a very subtle way. And, when you are portaging your canoe, the goal is to take as much as you can in as few trips possible. Well this paddle is like trying to carry a sheet of plywood on the roof of your Ford Focus. You can do it but it is a pain.
3.) As for boots, I think I will just get a pair of portaging shoes or a sacrificial pair of tennis shoes ( NOT CHEAP ONES) they are much lighter than boots.
4.) I will also try to leave my jeans behind. These are heavier than nylon or a light cotton pant and just don't dry out very fast despite being very durable.
5.) I never take these items:
a. Fishing gear
b. Books
c. Friends who you really don't know
d. A comb because I'm bald (Hint for next weeks WW)
6.) Things you can't leave behind.
a. First aid kit
b. Maps (I use Topo USA Parks version): They have all the contour lines and can be printed to any scale you want. So every boat gets a set of custom maps showing route and waypoints for campsites.
c. Route programmed GPS unit. I use a Garmin III Plus which works well for navigation.
d. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER (I can't stress this enough) get into a canoe without a life jacket! "You may not make it if you dump but at least they'll find your body" was my brother's saying
e. Water filter and water storage bag
f. A good camp cook! Not including yourself. Although I enjoyed it, cooking for three people on fire and camp gas stove with no refrigerator is not a lot of fun.
For the comments on my canoe, I built this one back in 1999 and it has been on all my BWCA trips with me. I have a total of about 150 miles on it. I paddle solo as to avoid getting peeved with a paddling partner. It is 13'-4" inches long and doesn't paddle worth beans but it makes for a very interesting trip. Its best quality? It is very maneuverable. You aso have to be two steps ahead of the wind. It is a Laker design built out of the book from Gill Gilpatrick. The canoe is made from western red cedar strips cut 5/16 thick x 3/4. They are beaded and coved, then glued with white glue, sanded, and then fiber glassed. I hand cane all of my seats.
Anyway, I'm leaving for the U.P. at 3:am on Friday morning and it is now 12:21 am Thursday and I need to get up at 5:00 am.
Hope you enjoyed this post. If so leave a comment and please forgive me if I haven't left any comments on your site as I'm kind of just learning this blog environment. I had my moderate comments turned on and now it's too late. This will be my last computer entry until Tuesday of next week.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Wordless Wednesday: Sundries You'll Not Find on This Trip?
Check back tomorrow I will put the "Where, When, and the Story." I will also include a general list of what I don't bring on these trips and a humorous "why." I will also list what I brought on this trip which I will leave home next time.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Favorite Vacation Spot
A Photo Contest Entry
Forever indelibly marked.
This was my second trip to Lake Superior Provincial Park about 99 miles northwest of Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. The lake is Fife Lake. The trip was taken in the fall of 94. My brother is catching a brook trout while I was on the shore waiting for the moose to come out into the little bay to the north of us. He is looking in that direction, listening to the crashing sounds as they make there way through the woods.
Google Maps Find the formation that looks like Mickey Mouse's head at the tip of the lake. The photo was taken in the left bay just north of the little island. I was on the left shore across from the peninsula that divides the two bays. The trees in the background of the photo are located at the end of that peninsula.
These trips were special they can never be repeated you see I lost my brother to lung cancer two and a half years ago at the age of 44. Just memories now.
Go here - An Island Life - to vote and see the other contestants. You can vote once a day starting May 18, 19, and 20th 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Full Moon Over Tuscarora
WhereGoogle Maps Upclose : The browser should show a satellite-picture follow the coast of the penninsuala. Along the bottom you'll see two beachlike features with what looks like a dock in the middle. This was taken from the left granite-beach looking south-southwest.
Google Earth kmz File: For this you must have google earth installed right-click the link and save it to a place on your hard drive then double-click on it.
...
When
Taken on September 4, 2006 at 8:35 pm.
Taken on September 4, 2006 at 8:35 pm.
...
The Story
It was a night to remember i had just put supper on to cook and noticed the sky changing. I grabbed my camera and headed down to the granite beach to try to capture the moment.
Places Where You May Find This Photo
www.northernbranches.com , www.twolittlevikings.blogspot.com , Behind my couch printed 36" x 10.3/4" and mounted in a black frame.
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