He's Real.

“In case there was any doubt, iluvbackpacking is real. And you know how he writes without periods and never seems to take a breath whenever he writes, well he's the same way in person oh and geez I've never seen anyone run like that through two feet of snow.

Great hike - thanks SB, crazymike, joy, birch, cowpatty, sklukaz, le subtil and all the sled dogs we met.

rl - the REAL Mike”

“I have heard that each of us has a "twin" somewhere in the world. Most of us never have the chance to meet them. Today I was blessed with the chance to meet mine, Crazymike.

My first glimpse of him was as we pulled into the trailhead.He was litterally running like a madman through the nearly two feet of snow. I liked him already. After snowshoeing/x-country skiing with him (behind him actually, I couldnt keep up) I liked him more.

After meeting nearly 30 TTers it never ceases to amaze me how excited I get at the chance to meet more. Skully is like the sister I WANT but can't have. Meeting you guys is half the fun of my trips.

The weather couldnt have been better,neither could the company. I am sore and tired but fully refreshed!

BTW thanks again Crazymike for the slick new snowshoes. I will make new bindings ASAP and use them like you taught me....I will run like crazy!!!!!!!!!!!”

“I am glad you all had a good time.I am getting the pictures done up right now......:)

Crazy Mike.....:)”

“You Da Man! Thanks so much for your advance prep & choice selection of the snow place to go!

A great day of play in the snow with great company! So glad you all could be there!

FYI for pekka - I really watched closely and not one face plant was performed by any of the snowshoe newbies. They exhibited admirable skill & speed!”

“oh, I'll bet that snow is quite a sight with that full Moon shining down.”

“Yes today had FUN all over it....I had a blast you people ROCK!!!!!!!I have never meet a cooler bunch of great people I take my hat off to ya all.I look very forward to meeting all you people again.

Crazy Mike.....:)”

“weeeeeeeeeee . . what a blast! Thanks to everyone for the great time! . . . but just how long should I expect to walk this way . . . after taking off these snowshoes?

Great to meet scully and that tt'er who is a REAL character . . iluv! And lets not forget the tailgate party afterwards . . ala cow patty . . . big thanks! Apple pie . . . mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

iluvsnowshoeing . . . :o)”

“That's great news, Cow Patty! But as SB has discovered, snowshoes have a few other tricks up their webbing, LOL. Tip top toning for the inner thighs.

BTW, tell us more about the trails, etc. As I said, Ft. Custer is very close by when I visit my family in Kazoo, so it would be a great escape plan on a trip.”

“Pekka, we did 8 miles or so. There were MANY more to go...

We went through some nice thick woods, two nice lakes,rivers open fields(COLD & WINDY!!!),rolling hills. Everything one could desire.Nice picnic areas. It was my first trip out there,I will return for sure!

BTW thanks again cowpatty for the apple pie and hot coffee!”

“Oh ya the pie was great......:)


Crazy Mike.....:)”

“Oh ya by the way I just got the pictures and they are great!!!!I will start and the pic's for my website.Ok one more time for the people that have yet see my website..

http://www.geocities.com/iluvbackpacking/

don't forget to sign my guest book....

Crazy Mike....:)”

“Well, pekka, I guess no one remembered to mention that little extra detail ! Now that it's been mentioned in what seems to be a humorous way, I can't stop laughing!

Glad the after snow-frolic nourishment went over well - you're welcome!

As birch said, there are plenty of trails open to foot travel in winter - all the hiking trails, horse trails, x-c ski trails, two track roads & and room to bushwack if you like. Reformed lurker has the details, tho.”

“"Crazy Mike", have you posted the pics yet. I looked at your site and didn't find them.”

“I am working on them right now.They will be up by wed or thursday.”

“Sounds like you guys had fun. Wish I could have tried that snowshoe thing. I'll get in the next time.”

“cow patty, I've had my share of thigh toning; and since I haven't been snowshoeing in a while, I'll get to experience it again soon. Such fun learning not to let the shoes overlap. But boy, I sure recall some nice days off trail in the U.P. forests around Marquette that couldn't have been experienced any other way.”

“Glad you guys and gals had fun snowshoeing...I only had time to go XC-sking for a little over 2 hours today. Some parts of the trails here are still not fully snow covered.”

“Yah, pekka, I'm familiar with that snowshoe thigh toning method, too, and used x-c skis yesterday! There were 3 of us on skis and most of the trails, etc., we were on had been stomped through by something (dog sled, snowshoes,skis) once although we did break trail in some areas.

With a fluffy 2+ foot snow depth, there's plenty of forest to wander about on snowshoes but I had no desire to bushwack through that on skis! Lots of down trees, too, from tornado damage.”

“I wasn't sure I wanted to drive for 3 hours in the snow and ice for a dayhike, but I'm glad I did. I got to meet (2) more cool TT'ers, sklukaz and iluvbackpacking, and (2) more GLH'ers (Dave & son).

The hike was good. I was so happy to have some deep snow to play in. I couldn't stay on the trail, I wanted to wade thru the deep stuff.

The high point of the trip was when Cow patty and SB and I took a longer way back to the cars - and at every junction we all wanted to take the longer and/or more difficult turn. Kindred spirits!

The full moon and the clear skies were too much to resist; when I got home I grabbed my skis and went out for a moonlight trip. I am one sore but happy man this morning!”

“Opps - almost forgot - thanks to Mike for organizing this and prodding us into action. You musta left in a hurry yesterday. You missed the tailgate party (cow patty rocks)!”

“I had a great time yesterday, even with all the rolling around in the snow I did. Ya'll wore me out though!

No sore thighs today; the sides of my feet are achey, that's all. I want a pair of snowshoes!!!! Fun, fun, fun!”

“Yeah, sorry guys I left so quickly. I had to get back to see my brother who is in town from Seattle. More importantly, I was only operating on 75-80% breath yesterday. I needed to get into a warm car to get the rest back.

Pekka, there are probably more than 40 miles of trails/old two tracks at Fort Custer. No cars are allowed on the two tracks except for those staying in the cabins. There is a campground and several cabins to stay at. You can't legally backcountry camp, but if you are persistent and can get someone to let you, who knows?

There are three other backpacks near Kalamazoo. Allegan State Game Area has a 50 or 60 mile loop on 45,000 acres. There are 4 rustic campgrounds along the loops and dispersed camping is permitted with free permit from Sept. 15 to May 15. Less than an hour from K'zoo.

Yankee Springs SRA and Barry SGA are over 20,000 acres with 30+ miles of trail. There are campgrounds in Yankee Springs and dispersed camping Sept. 15 to May 15 in Barry. Less than an hour from K'zoo.

There is also an overnight possible on the North Country Trail in Hillsdale County. It's about 15 to 20 miles on the Baw Beese Trail and Lost Nation SGA. They were working on a bivouac area last time I checked and allow dispersed camping in the SGA from Sept. 15 to May 15. 1.5 hours from K'zoo.

There might be more.

Mike”

“Hey RL hope you're closer to that 100% mark today! There was one piece of pie left for you . . . but not anymore . . . :o)”

“Thanks for all the info, RL. I've got to get my brother out hiking with me when I visit. Are the camping date limits because of wildlife breeding times? I suppose once small game season starts in September, it would be best to wear some orange in the SGAs.”

“nice pics, nice site iluvpacking

but I'm still going to give you #&%!$.

Belinda”

“Like signing my name after everything I write

Belinda”

“Pekka, I think you are right that the DNR wants to protect breeding times. The camping times have actually been increased recently. I think they added two or three months.

But, really, I don't think the DNR even thinks much about "backpackers" in the SGAs. One thing I love is that the free permit you fill out is supposed to be left at the camping area when you leave. I guess leave no trace hasn't reached the DNR yet.”

“Oh, one more thing: Bush just signed a bill creating an international wildlife refuge from Zug Island in Detroit to Sterling SP in Monroe. This actually is a really great thing - Downriver is pretty.”

“They must have done some big clean up around Zub Island. Glad to hear it.”

“...er, Zug Island.”

“Hello every one I am back and I had a great time backpacking...How was everyone elses new years?

Crazy Mike....:)”

“Hey Crazy mike, I made new bindings for the snowshoes last night. They work great! Thanks again.”

“I am very happy that they work.My new years trip was great.I hope everyone else had as good of a time as I did.....:)

Crazy Mike......:)”

“I have just finished the first part of the pictures and I am going to try to have them up by 10pm on wed.As soon as they are up I will let ya all know....:)

Crazy Mike”

“No. 10 PM is no good. Make it 9.”

“Hhahahahahahahah.....:0

Don't make me go nutz on ya...:)


Crazy Mike”

“Pekka, we did 8 miles or so. There were MANY more to go...

We went through some nice thick woods, two nice lakes,rivers open fields(COLD & WINDY!!!),rolling hills. Everything one could desire.Nice picnic areas. It was my first trip out there,I will return for sure!

BTW thanks again cowpatty for the apple pie and hot coffee!"
Birch
08:02:55 PM
12/30/01

Rolling hills? Where did you guys see rolling hills? Did we hike the same trails? I hope you don't mean those little *maybe* one contour line bumps we came accross! Hahahahahahaha! Rolling hills, that's funny.


But Seriously

Thank you cowpatty for the skis, gaiters, etc.! I had a great time everybody. That apple pie and hot chocolate tailgate party was the best. I hope we get to hike together again soon. Maybe next time you guys could come down here?”

“You want to see us all have heart attacks Skullcap? We have to take our hills tiny!LOL

I would love to get down Tucky way for a hike! Maybe something this spring (before the snakes wake up)?”

“We have snakes? The only time I've ever seen snakes on the trail, they've been heading away very, very quickly.”

“Snakes are cool and fun....:)
I like mine up close.....:)


Crazy Mike...:)”

“Sounds like I missed a great time! I hate missing hikes!”

“It was a good time....:)”

“Hey Crazy Mike, why don't you put your website address on your TT profile? It would make it easy for everyone to go to it whenever they want to and you won't have to keep posting the link.”

“Ok I did that....:)

Crazy Mike”

“I don't think it worked???
Oh well.......:0”

“I really hated missing this hike. We planned on attending... Even two days before, we thought we'd be going. But, then, Mom changed the time for our be-lated Christmas dinner and I just couldn't fit in the 2 hour drive there and back.

As I posted on the Christmas Hike in MI thread, I thought of you guys at about 4am on the 29th as we drove through the Ft Custer area of I94 coming home from Colorado... and the snow was dumping on us... and it looked so beautiful. Wish I could have been there.

Snow shoes are lots of fun. The first (and only) time that I snowshoed was in Colorado. You can get going pretty darn fast when you're headed downhill.

Hope to meet iluv and skullcap on another trip!

See y'all in a couple weeks.”

“Hey Tarabull I hope you can go with us on the next trip.....:)

Crazy Mike.....:0”

“I just want to say that all you people are real cool and there is a great vibe here.I look very forward to going on may more trips.

To friends......:)

Crazy Mike”

“One two three
One two three
God bless my soul here he comes now
The man with the most - how does he do it ?
Sure he's got style he's so heavy
He's a trip can do anything
Anything anything
He's my soul brother

He's my best friend he's my champion
And he will rock you rock you rock you
'Cause he's the saviour of the universe
He can make you keep yourself alive
Make you keep yourself alive
Ooh brother 'cause he's somebody somebody
You can love
He's my soul brother

When you're under pressure feeling under pressure
Yeah pressure yeah pressure
He won't let you down
When you're under pressure
Ooh feeling under pressure yeah pressure
So he won't let you down
My brother won't let you down
He won't he won't he won't let you down
He can do anything anything anything
He's my soul brother

Yea ah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Ooh soul brother anything (soul brother)
Anything (soul brother) anything (soul brother)
He's my soul brother brother brother brother brother
(Soul brother) anything (soul brother) anything (soul brother) anything
He's my soul

Soul brother
He can do anything
He can do anything
'Cause he, he's my soul brother”