Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

[Freed Roger]

Enjoyed the heck out of a 3 day backpacking trip to No Manitou Island Michigan. I have car-camped and day-hiked quite a bit, but this was a first backpacking.

Thanks to HJ for providing sage info on this place

Adapting to backpacking was not hard at all. In many ways its easier than messing with the 3-ring circus I oft take with when car-camping. Granted -the conditions and elements on this excursion were G-Rated.

The island is a great place to explore around this time of year. Went with a hiking buddy. I'll probably take the little Freed with me in a few years. If you have a S.O. that is outdoorsy, this would be a great place to take her/him - miles of great beaches and sunsets to yourself. I am secure enough in my manhood to endure the "how was Brokeback Island?" comments when we returned.

About the only real hardship endured was a black fly swarm on the leeward side of the island. I had heard of black flies being a hazard, but now I have new found respect/disdain for the damn things.

Among the things I learned about "wilderness" camping is that even though this generally means you can camp anywhere, you just can't camp anywhere - some places are still restricted (100 yds from water, etc) and other other places are just not feasible physically. Thus you typically find a clearing that has been camped at before.

Anyhows- since backpacking is something I'll probably do more of in the future and will have to buy some stuff -I'll have a separate post with some gear-related comments and questions.

Still on mainland - but this is a good sign

[SHOW]

Jonesy approaching the western side of island.

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Deer were brought to the island at one time. Also heard coyotes at night. No other major mammals, but the island is loaded with the North Manitou Tigers (aka chipmunks).

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Don't tell the riff-raff that Lake Michigan beaches in summer > than Florida etal. X 10

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The village/dock/ranger area of the island. A nice place to hang out and load up on the luxuries.

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Back on the mainland

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[thrill]

Great pics, Freed!

Were there many other campers? I've been looking for a cheap, beach front camping situation for next summer but hadn't considered the great lakes. My only prerequisite is that I want to see as few people as possible.



Here are some pics I took from a day trip to the Cascades when I was in Seattle.

[SHOW]

The fog was really thick, like a ceiling at 5,000 feet. The volcanic black sand on the river banks was really cool too.

[cards2468]

my roommate and I wanna start doing some occasional weekend camping trips if anybody has any recommendations for places within a couple hours of StL

[Freed Roger]

Gear -I was duly impressed with how evolved all this stuff is. My friend outfitted me, so I'll be in the market to acquire some of this stuff.

The taste of freeze-dried meals was pretty dern good- The breakfast- eggs scramble stuff especially. Some may not like the price - but well worth it for convenience. No way would I go for an extended energy bar type diet when backpacking.

Jet-Boil burn system was pretty good too - gotta get one of them.

Those Starbucks instant coffee (Ava?) are great.

Tent - used an REI 3 person. (insert Brokeback Island jokes here). Definitely would not skimp and get a 2 person or solo tent - need the room to put gear when it rains.

All the mini stuff is cool - toiletries, medicine, utensils, towel, eco-friendly concentrated multi-purpose soap, etc etc.

Sleeping Bag -already splurged on one from Mountain Hardware -am amazed something so comfy can be stuffed in such a little sack.

For a while I'll stick with my old thermarest sleeping pad with a few feet cut off (old school not the inflatable). I don't see the need to upgrade right now. If ever I do some major climbing I'd probably upgrade to a more streamlined inflatable.

Water purifying - I liked my buddy's Katadyn filter. I'd be curious for feedback on these. I see Popeye's endorsement of Steripen - but ran into someone who's went dead -probably batteries. Using tablets doesn't appeal to me either. If you purify skunky crudwater using steripen or tablets - won't the taste and crud still be in the purified water when you drink it? Filtration seems the route to go.

Stuff sacks. I'm getting some more of those regardless of backpacking. The waterproof kind.

Of course I will need a backpack too. Probably will start off with one that's versatile -not too engineered for specific activity like climbing. REI's version appeals to me, since they have a store close to home and are good about returns if I have problems.

Had this little stool on the trip- a nice luxury to have. You can park it and get off our feet for awhile without being in the dirt

[lukethedrifter]

my roommate and I wanna start doing some occasional weekend camping trips if anybody has any recommendations for places within a couple hours of StL

Hungary Jack has some great Southern Illinois recs.

[Freed Roger]

Were there many other campers? I've been looking for a cheap, beach front camping situation for next summer but hadn't considered the great lakes. My only prerequisite is that I want to see as few people as possible.

The ranger told us there were about 50 campers on the island (8 mile by 4) at the time we were there. On North Manitou, you see people hanging around at the village/dock/ranger area -they have water faucets, a latrine, and a few campsites. But it wasn't bad- We used mostly main trails and came across about 3-4 people on them. With the capacity and schedule of the ferry boat - I can't imagine 200 being on the island at once -and most would be concentrated near the village. Its manageable.

We camped 2 nights on the popular western side -lots of campable area, wind that blows away bugs, nice beaches etc and saw only few people- typically up the beach off in the distance. This sort of place draws a variety of folk of all types. Typically they are kindred spirits, if you will-not the asshat type. I saw this cute gal who came over on the ferry ride with us and her bf frolicking in the waves- so I let the wave currents take me close enough to check out whether she was au natural (she wasn't). Camped last night in the village area and shared a campfire with a nice stoner couple, and a dad with his two boys.

So for beach camping in great lakes, HJ would be your go-to guy -he's been around up there.

my roommate and I wanna start doing some occasional weekend camping trips if anybody has any recommendations for places within a couple hours of StL

Hungary Jack has some great Southern Illinois recs.

Concur-HJ will help you with that too. By camping - do you mean backcountry, or car camping? There are lots of good places around STL for both - but I dare not do them until it is cooler weather. Car camping - Hawn State Park is a delight - but getting overcrowded. You can also backcountry camp there too. Ozark Trail has a bunch of stuff that I am going to check out eventually.

And don't spread this around too much - St. Charles MO Parks has a delightful new little campground, Klondike Park by Augusta MO, that is on the bluff with close access to the Katy Trail.

[cards2468]

back country

We'd prefer to park somewhere and then maybe mountain bike or hike and set up camp somewhere

[G. Keenan]

Great pics Freed! I need to do some Great Lakes camping one of these days. Just about the only thing I miss about StL these days is proximity to the Ozarks, but the Great Lakes might be able to make up for that.

my roommate and I wanna start doing some occasional weekend camping trips if anybody has any recommendations for places within a couple hours of StL

I'm a big fan of canoe camping on the little Ozark rivers. Load your gear into a canoe and make camp at a couple different spots along the riverbank as you float back to your pickup point. If you do a longer float you'll avoid most of the people who are up there for a day trip. Just be smart about setting up near high ground in case of a flash flood.

[Freed Roger]

back country

We'd prefer to park somewhere and then maybe mountain bike or hike and set up camp somewhere

Never been there personally, but I have heard good things about the Berryman Trail.

http://stlbiking.com/Trail-Berryman.htm
http://www.ozarktrail.com/courtois.php

[Radbird]

Great pics, Freed. Getting together with my high school buds right after Labor Day in Saugatuck Michigan for a long weekend of biking, beach, golf, bowling, boating, chartered salmon and steelhead fishing on Lake Michigan, and late night drunken card games. Not up where you were - it's basically directly across from Racine - but should be fun. And not completely roughing it as we're staying in cabins.