Michigan Hikers!

“Okay, so I seem to recall Smiley Girl trying to get the 2nd Saturday hikes up and running again. But I don't remember the thread.

Oh, and how is everyone. We need to hike more!

Mike”

“Next weekend? I maybe in Colwater for a reunion, but if I don't go, I'm there.”

“I sent it back to the top.”

“If the weather's nice Abby and I will attend”

“My friend and I want to go backpacking/camping this weekend. She and I would like to try going to Sands Lake, near Traverse City, but we have a problem: we're scared to death about running into a bear or two! Now, to date, neither one of us has neither seen nor heard a bear as of yet. However, the fear is alive and well, thanks to some of the stories we've been reading here.

I want to go. She's more hesitant and understandably so. I too, am fearful, but I'm the kind of person, that until I'm confronted with the situation, ....well...then I'll deal with it. You know? So, tell me.....what would our chances be of running into Mr. Blackbear up there? Have any of you seen one on the trails? Has anyone had to deal with a bear problem up that way? I could use a bit of reassurance that our chances of encountering one are slim.....! Oh, and if you HAVE had to deal with Mr. bigandferocious....what did you do? Again,.....looking for encouraging words here....not horror stories! :)”

“Coyote13, I have no advice. The fear is alive and well within me too!

Are you guys talking about hiking this weekend too? I might be up for that, but it will be a game time decision.

BTW, I start school today! Ewww!”

“Coyote13, Right now is the time those bears aren't thinking of anything but their bellies. If you're careful with your food and odors you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Chances are that even if you did see a bear, he or she wouldn't want anything to do with you unless you had food. They literally are on a feeding frenzy this time of year.

I've never been to Sand Lake or hiked around Traverse so I don't know about the bear situation there. My advice is to pick up the phone and talk to the dnr station near there. I'm sure they'd be able to tell you if there are any problem bears in the area. The number for the district forest manager is:616-775-9727. Looks like a really nice hike! Let us know how it is.”

“We've been talking about it...but have yet to make a final decision. I'm seriously hoping to go, since I don't know the next time we'll be able to go together. Honestly, I'm a novice at all of this. I haven't quite acquired all of my own gear as of yet. Over time, I'm sure I will. So for now, she and I share the stuff she has.

Still searching for those encouraging words.......! Oh, and good luck in school! Hope you have at least one teacher you like! :)”

“Sassafras......if my friend were to see this thread...! LOLOL! "Chances are that even if you did see a bear, he or she wouldn't want anything to do with you unless you had food. They literally are on a feeding frenzy this time of year." THESE are NOT encouraging words! LOL! Especially that last sentence! I know about the food factor, and all, but now if my friend were to read this,......this would seriously make her rethink this whole trip! Come to think of it...I just might too!

However, you do have a good idea about the DNR. I'll probably be giving them a call later on today.

IF we go, I'll be sure to let you all know how it went! :)”

“I think the first thing is that yes, they is bear in lower Michigan. Chances that you will see one are rare, however. One of the most important things to remember, keep a clean camp. Black bear will rather run off than come at you, but as aways, there are exceptions. I think Tarabull had an encounter with a black bear up in Pictured Rocks. Now up there, they are common!

Make sure you hang everything smelly (food, clothes you cooked in, toothpaste, cooking oil, etc) and never eat in your tent or keep midnight snacks in your tent. If a bear comes into your camp, make yourself as large as you can and make as much noise as you can, bang pots or something. In the rare cases that they charge and you do not have bear spray, drop down and curl up into the fetal postion, put your hands around the back of your neck so you protect your stomach and such. You only want to expose your back. If the bear tries to roll you over, keep rolling on your stomach.

The thought of coming into contact with a bear is something that I keep in the back of my mind with hiking. I think everybody does. With a little online search, you can uncover a lot more info than I was able to give in this short amount of time.”

“I don't think the bears in lower Mich are much cause for concern. As Sass said, be cautious w/ your food. Hang it when you're not using it. Don't leave it in your tent w/ you.

I've seen one black bear. It was in the U.P. He circled our camp slowly, checking us out. We made lots of noise and he eventually left. We didn't see him again for the rest of the night.

I still think about bears regardless of where I'm backpacking, but I won't let it stop me from hiking.

Sand Lake looks like a great spot. I got some info from the DNR last year about it. If you go, let us know how it was, K?

Have fun!”

“Now THOSE words I can live with! I did just call and talk to the DNR up there....the man I talked to said NO BEAR. Well, he did say that they're indigenous to that area, but they've had NO REPORTS of any bear problems. He also said that the guy they send there for camp cleanup, will probably be going there sometime this week. I told him that I would more than likely be calling him back on Friday, to find out if the cleanup guy has heard anything.

The book that I was looking at showed a nice picture of a camping area. Now, I realize that they want to "sell" all the places they list, but it sounded good enough to me!

I just hope that when I call this guy again, that the report he gets is "BEAR? What bear?" hehe!”

“Silly, I just said exactly what Tarabull and Q did...bear don't want to eat people, =). What I was trying to say was: Bear are soooo busy stocking up for their winter sleep that they have no time for harrassing campers right now. You don't have anything to worry about, except the racoons and ground squirrels probably. Just hand the food and keep the stink down.”

“er..."hang the food"”

“looks like Q and I were posting at the same time.

Just a minor correction. The bear I saw was at the Porkies. Our second night, we hiked to Mirror Lake. We were told by the ranger that Mirror Lake was a "high bear activity" area. So, seeing the bear was not such a surprise.

Talking to the rangers first is always a wise idea.”

“I had a bear steal my pack at Fort Wilkins S.P.”

“Tara, Birch, Sassy, RL, Laqtis....

You are all liars - they have seen bear in Michigan on several occasions. Don't be afraid though Coyote13, I'm sure the one they saw is pretty harmless.”

“That's all I want to know! LOL!”

“One night I awake to a bear breaking the tree branch our food bags were hung from. He got away with one. We made a fire and he came back for the second bag but we made lots of noise and he left. He wasn't terribly big.

The next night we stayed at a site with a bear pole AND a bear trap. No sign of bear BUT on our hike out, in broad daylight, we come across a HUGE brune (sp) heading down the trail right for us. We made lots of noise, he stopped. then he started towards us again. We made more noise. He stopped and then started towards us again. We start making noise and walk off the trail. The bear walk off the opposite side and we began to circle past each other. He then ran down a deep ravine. My heart was in my stomach! That guy was HUGE!

That doesn't keep me from hiking! You're more likely to get hit and killed by a car. Get out there and hike!”

“I'm glad that everything turned out ok in the long run! Just ....emm......well

where were you exactly when this all happened?

(Mental note to self: hike... opposite ..... direction.... from .... sunshine. K.)

J/K! ;)”

“coyote13 I have lived near Cadilac all summer. There are bear up here. I have seen them. But like Sass said they should not be a problem right now. But if you do see a bear, he is just as scared as you are make alot of noise and I find it helpful to yell go away BEAR! but thats just personal preferance. Anyway bears are part of hiking in this area, but they are not violent at all.”

“I can't wait for the Oct backpacking trip with all you cool catz!

Its going to be alot of fun.

8D”

“Hey AG! Wanna go for a hike in October? We'd love to have ya along!!!”

“...Acme Thunderer.

Worked wonders on the bear I encountered while solo on the Escarpment Trail in the Porkies. A good, loud, shrill whistle on a lanyard is no burden when camping/hiking in bear country, and is easier to use than digging out pots and pans, and is louder and easier on your throat than shouting. Also makes a good signal device in other emergency situations.

But do survey the campground when you arrive. If it has been left messy by other campers, with evidence of trash and food remains (check in the undergrowth near any tent or campfire sites since slobs like to pretend they've "cleaned up" by the out-of-sight, out-of-mind method), camp as far away from those spots as possible or find another campground if available.”

“Buddha - the bear to which you are referring is not, in the least bit, harmless!

But, if we're all very lucky, he'll grace us w/ his presence in October for the walkindude hike, eh????”

“would a "harmless" bear start a campfire w/ a can of gas and a lit cigarette?

studid should hurt! LOL”

“OMG, I totally didn't catch that reference. Duh!”

“Shame on you smiley........ I guess I'll never live that down Tara. LMAO.

BTW - Pekka - I got a fleece beret last weekend, so we can be bear twins.”

“I have to thank you for all your wonderful and sage advice. The common thing is to make noise, and keep a clean area.

I'll let you all know how it goes when I get back. We are going to the Sands. I'm really looking forward to this trip, as it could be my last one of the year. I'm hoping it isn't, and that I can make it for the October trip, but I won't know that for a while yet.

BTW pekka, thanks for reminding me about sloppy campers! I'm sure I would've thought of that.....AFTER MR. Meanandugly visited me one night! LOL!

Could someone please email me with the details of where/when/what time for this hike in October? I've heard that it involves the Jordan River Trail, (that's where I did my very first hike!) and if I can, I'd love to join you all. My addy is goldenfingers13@aol.com. Thanks!”

“I hope you can come!

8)”

“Hey, coyote13, just keep your eyes peeled on the Walkindude is Coming to Michigan thread. The details will be posted there. Glad to hear your considering coming on the hike.”

“I've been trying to piece together this whole thing.......taint easy tho! Can't seem to figure out just exactly where and when this shindig is gonna happen! ;-) Hopefully someone will list some info about it all soon!

I'm really hoping it works out that I can go to meet everyone! You all seem like a fun bunch of people! :-)”

“We're really just asking you along for bear bait (lol), a decoy of sorts, to keep the rest of us safe. =D”

“This is a question from another board I post on. Wondered if anyone had any good ideas.

"I'm planning a 2-4 day hike in mid April and am wondering if anyone has suggestions. I would like the location to be as remote as possible (no county roads or campgrounds) and within a 5 hour drive from Kalamazoo, MI. Any suggestions would be appreciated.""”

“Hmmmm. give us awhile to think on it. Off hand I can say Nordhouse dunes fits the no campgrounds or country roads, but I don't know if you'd get a three day hike outta it.”

“Thanks, I'll check back after awhile. Got some work to do. : (”

“I asked LeSubtil too...the roads thing really cuts back on options. Here's the best one we came up with: North manitou Island. There's one campground when you first get off the boat, after that it's camp where ever you want and you'll see no vehicles on the island. It is rather wild. Any very peaceful. When are you thinking? There's no ferry service until Memorial Day weekend or just before I believe.

Now, if you forgot about the road deal there'd be a few...”

“Well, I second the sugggtion by Sass----It'll be hard to completly get away, as development/access is every where. Although I have never done the High Country Pathway, that might be an option and I think that it's close to 5 hours from K-Zoo. Manistee River Loop , or parts of the NCT in that area. I'll look at my book later the evening....”

“The Dead Stream Swamp is close to Grayling and is - according to Tom Powers' book Natural Michigan - the largest roadless tract in lower Michigan. I know nothing about hiking there.

Beaver Island is about two thirds state land and would be pretty remote. It's on my list of places, but I've never been there. I don't know about winter ferry service, but there is plane service.

I might look at Bois Blanc Island or Drummond Island as well. Both have lots of public land and are pretty remote at this time of year.

From Kalamazoo, it is about 5 hours to Lake Superior Provincial Park in Ontario. For a rugged, wilderness experience, that might be the best way to go.

I'll keep thinking.”

“High country pathway would be ideal except for the roads and state park campgrounds ajoining it. Same for manistee Rv loop.

HCP would really be a great 4-5 day hike. It's a 70 mile loop, with much to see. I haven't been there but am planning a short trip in April so have been reading a bit about it. It sounds like a gorgeous place.”

“As stated, the HCP crosses many roads and campgrounds. I've packed the top 25 miles of it last Sep. and actually I didn't think it was that scenic. You might look into the Islands or Ontario. Good luck.”

“The High Country Path does cross dirt roads, two tracks, and the paved road in two places, and comes close/thru the state forest campgrounds along the way. It is still a remote, scenic, serene hike. Since it travels thru a 'working' state forest, there are areas of timber harvest, and gas wells in the once hotly contested Pigeon River area. We're fortunate to have the forest at all.

The southern side of the loop is more scenic, IMHO. The whole loop is worthwhile hiking. It's easy to see elk, deer, coyotes, raptors, beavers, enjoy the vistas from some overlooks, and it's hard to see many other people. The last time I hiked the southern half, I saw one other person along the way.

I'd be happy to help with any questions.”

“That is a good place to go backpacking Cow Patty!

8)”

“Cowpatty and Ltwt, Thanks for sharing your opinions on the HCP, I now know which direction to hike, as I won't be able to do the full loop. It's good to have friends who've been places.”

“Given what I said about the HCP, I'd still like to do the whole loop.

I tried to do it in 3 days, last Sep., but my knee gave out. I'll be back, tho, and I'll make sure I'm ready for the 25 mile days next time.:)”

“Hey thanks for all the help, I'll pass this info on!”

“Dear Friends of the Rouge member/volunteer/contact-

As people concerned about the health of the Rouge River, you may also be interested in the health of other rivers in the state. Currently, there is a group working to get the Pine and the Upper Manistee Rivers (located in NW lower Michigan) designated as Natural Rivers. This designation would help protect these rivers and the riparian corridor in a consistent way. Having Natural Rivers designation would mean consistent zoning through the entire river corridor.

The DNR has scheduled 12 public hearings throughout the state about the proposal to designate these rivers as natural rivers. The one in this area will be in Southfield, Michigan at the Southfield High School Library, 24661 Lahser Rd., on Tuesday, May 6th.
6-7pm would be an information session-to answer questions on the proposal
7-9pm would be the public hearing.
(See the below website for other locations/dates)

The purpose of the hearings would be to take comments regarding the draft Natural River Management Plans written for both rivers. The plans were written with citizen and local township officials on the committees.

Verbal comments on either plan may be made at any hearing location. Written comments may be submitted to the Dept. of Natural Resources, Fisheries Division, PO Box 30446, Lansing Michigan 48909 attn: Steve Sutton or by e-mail to SUTTONSL@michigan.gov.
The comment period will remain open until June 8th.
The draft plans can be found on the net at www.michigan.gov/dnr

-Sally Petrella
Friends of the Rouge
Public Involvement Coordinator”