Hoist Lakes, Mi., Trip report

“I needed to get out for a walk in the woods, so when an opportunity presented itself Friday night I jumped on it. Got away from work a bit early, and didn't have anything to do until Saturday evening, so I threw a few things in the pack and went up to Hoist Lakes for a quick solo overnighter. I chose Hoist Lakes because I am familiar with the trails and I would be hiking in at night.
Left the tri-cities about 3 PM, with 1-2" of snow on the ground. Didn't get very far north before the ground was bare and brown. Saw very little snow until I crossed the AuSable. There was 1 or 2" at Hoist Lakes when I got there at 6 PM. I parked in the East lot and my plan was to hike over to Carp lake on the opposite side, a trip of 6.5 to 7.5 miles depending on which map you looked at.
It was somewhere around 25 deg. when I started, a little breezy, crystal clear skies, and just getting good and dark. There were two other cars in the lot, one of which looked familiar. The trails were almost covered in snow, with a few sled tracks and feet prints. The moon wasn't out yet, but the sky was clear, and the trails are well defined, so I found I didn't need my headlamp. It was very pretty hiking under the stars.
I hiked a medium pace and soon found myself down to just my lw longjohns, a thin zip t, my REI Supplex pants, headband and light fleece gloves. I still got wetter than I should have...
I met some ice fishermen on their way out not far from the trailhead. I think I surprised them when I approached in the dark. They seemed amazed when I told them I was hiking in at night just to camp. They had fun fishing but got no keepers.
Passing the various lakes, under the starry skies, was incredible. I couldn't resist sitting and admiring the view several times.
The trails had been very recently cleared for the ski season; there were fresh orv tracks and sawdust at all the blowdowns.
I got to the campsite a little before 9 PM and found some TT friends who set up there for the first night of a 4-day hike. They had a nice fire going and were already relaxed around the firepit. I had to get out of my wet clothes in a hurry as I was getting chilled. Changed, spread out my bivy sack and bag, and then sat and chatted while snacking. Before long, everyone had headed to bed, I stayed up for an hour or so by myself before crawling into the bag. I was SO comfortable. I like sleeping under the stars, when I wake during the night I can look up and enjoy the view…
Woke late, for me, and packed up quickly and joined my friends for breakfast. They had more time than I did; I needed to get back to my truck by noon, so I said my good-byes while they were still fiddling around in camp. The walk back was somewhat less interesting than the night before, but still quite nice.

Gear notes: I love hiking this time of year. My pack is at it's lightest. No bugs = no tent, no rain = no tarp. The weather report predicted lows in the mid 20's so my regular bag & silk liner was sufficient. I ended up with 14# of gear, 2# water, 2# food. I still had plenty of extra clothing (exp. weight longjohns, fleece coat, puffball coat, spare hat, better gloves and glove shells). I did bring 2 sleeping pads, a 3/4 thermorest ultralight and a Mt. Washington, which worked well together.

I had hoped to ski in, but there wasn't really enough snow, and I thought it unwise to try at night anyway. I had stupidly forgotten my boots, so I hiked in my running shoes that I had in the car, with some fleece socks. My feet did get wet, but never cold. I liked that setup and will look at hiking in tennis shoes more often.

I love my OR Standard Bivy. I had put my wet tennis shoes, the longjohns I hiked in, my hat and gloves, all in the bivy bag & outside of the sleeping bag. They all dried during the night.”

“Sounds like a great night, LS. Sorry I couldn't join you out there, I'm stuck here at work!”

“Another great trip for sure. I am just too tired to post anything now! Glad to see you stroll in at night Le Subtil!”

“Next time don't be afraid to call or e-mail at the last minute. You may be surprised who of us would have loved to join you!”

“Sounds like a great trip.Its good to see a little snow but we need more.

8)”

“Thanks for the report. I love hiking in at night. It's very peaceful.”

“I had a few things go wrong on this trip... Friday night, I realized that my therma-rest has another leak. So, I had very little to place between me and the frozen ground. The next morning, I broke a shoelace and the zipper on one of my gaiters w/in about 15 minutes of one another. I felt a little frustrated but quickly got over it.

After hiking back to the car after a short dayhike on Saturday and heading into Mio, I was eventually successful in finding a foam pad on which to sleep. It was no therma-rest, but was a welcome find nonetheless!

Anyway... here's a bit of a trip report from me:

Q and I got to the trailhead at about 5:00PM on Friday. When we got to camp, we saw Sassafrass, Birch, Buddha Bear and Cow Patty were already there. We set up and did the regular campfire stuff. At one point, Sass and I took a hike after dark. It turned into quite the adventure. We lost our trail. Got scared by a coyote (which ended up not really being a coyote). And, after discussing the improbabilty of sneaking up on a person in the loud crunchy snow, we were started by le Subtil coming down another trail... just steps away.

The next morning, we hit the trail. There were several different routes taken. Le Subtil headed back to his car. Sass and Cow Patty did the longest loop, Birch and Q a medium sized? loop, and Buddha Bear and I did a shorter loop so we could get back to the car and head into town in search of a therma-rest and a few other essentials.

We all met back at camp later that day. BB and I had scored some strip steaks while in town and thanks to his sled, we were able to pack them in and surprised the group w/ a nice dinner over the campfire.

But, before dinner, Cow Patty started making a snowman and I jumped in to give her a hand. We decided to name him le Subtil so we could pretend he was still with us. What a riot. He even had a pony tail! We talked to him all night. Offerd him steaks. Asked his opinion on the different discussions we were having. Birch even layed him down when it was time for bed. Can't wait til we get our pics back.

Saturday morning, we were disappointed to learn that BB was ditching us to head home and watch the Cleveland Browns game, lol. We packed up camp and headed back to the trailhead so we could head to the Reid Lake Foot Travel Area and check out some trails most of us had never seen before. Found a nice site on Reid Lake. The sun was kind enough to dry our gear while we did some dayhiking and exploring. Cow Patty, Q and I played around on a frozen marsh (or was it a bog or swamp?? I never know the difference). Found some interesting animal tracks and a beaver lodge. The weather was great and the trail was very nice.

Spent the evening around another campfire w/out BB and the le Subtil snowman. There just wasn't enough snow at Reid Lake to make two snowmen. And, although we had planned to bring the le Subtil snowman with us, it just didn't happen. lol

We had lots to eat that night. Summer sausage on a stick, brats on a stick, lots of cheese, our individual dinners, Q's apple cobbler, hot cocoas, coffees, ciders, Toblerones and other misc chocolates. Some very full bellies that evening.

That night was great for sleeping. A little bit warmer (mid twenties, I think). The wind was kicking pretty good. The ice on the lake was talking to us all night.

Packed up early this morning during a light drizzle and headed back to the trailhead. We met in town for a huge post-hike breakfast. We discussed the things we had learned this weekend. Here are some things things I learned:

1) That I need to test my therma-rest before every trip. This was the second time I had to deal w/ a deflated therma-rest. Not fun when it's cold outside.
2) That a snowman doesn't respond when you talk to it.
3) Where the Michigan Mountaineers stand in relation to the Cleveland Browns... :-)

I had a fantastic weekend. It's so refreshing to find a group of people that enjoy walking, hanging out, and sleeping in the snow.”

“Good report Tarabull!

Can't wait to see pics.

8)”

“One of the Very Best Combinations. Thanks for the story. Trip reports are the hilite of visits to TT.”

“Sorry Dhutch! Next time we will email last minute. It was kinda a scattered plan that did come together at the eleventh hour.

We were really hoping to find some snow, somewhere. We even considered driving to Pennsylvania for snowshoeing.

The trip ended up being nice, even sans snow.”

“p.s. Due to the holiday, my pics won't be ready til Friday.

I really need to get that digital camera!”

“No apologies ever necessary Sass. Glad you had a good time. I am trying to find the info on the cabin weekend. Is it too late to join?”

“email Tara.”

“The Browns won - it was one of the best Browns games I ever saw!

I know why all you rat bastards had those evil grins on your fdaces as soon as I got in my car, looked in rear view window and smiled. lol!

Had a great time, glad I could get out. Hoist Lakes is truely a beautiful place, with truely great company.”

“Great time all!



Signed,


Rat Bastard”

“Q - LOL!!”

“I should really learn to be more spontaneous....trip sounded like a ton of fun!”

“Evil grin?”

“great report! So, you spontaneously stumbled upon TTers on the trail? How great is that?!

It sounds liek you all had a nice time. :o)

Hey Tarabull- in cold weather, thermarests aren't as good as foam pads, IMO. You were probably better off with that foam you got.
The more you have between you and the cold ground, the better, but definitely have at least a layer of foam. I like Z-rest for Winter - usually I take both that and my ultralite therm.”

“Thanks for having me out Saturday night. I enjoyed the fire, events and I look forward to seeing you guys again. By the way, did that one guy ever get up Sunday morning? He looked pretty drunk the night before, but he did have that big smile. I hope he is alright.”

“I think I smell a troll....home grown in Michigan!”

“Are you talking about SnowLesbtil Mrs. Dash? Yeah, Birch stood him up before we left. =)

I second what AmyG said. I'll never leave home without an extra sleeping pad, when it's below twenty five degrees, again! It was a bit uncomfortable at times. I even have a z rest sitting in the gear closet.

I must say, however, that the REI downtime -5 bag was very, very good to me. Aside from baffle/zipper troubles I have no complaints at all.”

“I also had great success with the Downtime bag (I have the 0 degree). I'm glad I bought it.

What I was really happy with:

In addition to the bag, my new REI Morning Star BP seemed to do very well. I liked the way it held my gear. The mesh side pockets made it very easy to use my water bottles. Everything had room. So far, so good....

Those darn liner gloves are GOLD, I tell ya!

All of my clothes. Everything worked well and I think that I could go down a bunch of more degrees if needed with what I have.

My boots (Merrell, couldn't tell ya the model) served me very well. I never had to wear two pair of socks at anytime.

What I'm not happy with is:

The shoes I bought for in camp (slip on Merrells that have the insulation on the top). Worthless. Wore them one night and carried them around for the other nights. They will be going back, as I have decided to make a bootie call ;)

My ti pot is wasted. Can you believe that (but that Cobbler made it worth it!!)? I started soaking and cleaning the thing, and the non-stick finish came off in the burnt spot. Geezz! I had/have thoughts that it might be my stove (Pocket Rocket) that did the damage because of the small burner, but Sass and birch have a stove that has a smaller burner and they don't seem to have a problem with sorching. I don't know what the deal is...

My Nalegene drink tube was frozen and useless. I didn't know (duh on my part) that I wouldn't need it.

On a side note: Sass and birch had the great idea of the "on a stick" things to cook. Bread, summer beef sauage and other stuff was just great. On a stick might have to become part of my menu.

I had a great time with all of ya! Can't wait until we do it again!”

“.....I forgot to give my Therm a Rest Standard props. I has more R value than my old ultralite and ridge rest used together, plus is gave my 1/4 of an inch more padding and weighs about the same. Takes up lots of room in the pack, though......”

“AmyG - I concur. Last time I camped in freezing weather, I took both the therma-rest and a foam sleeping pad. Foam for the insulating layer and therma-rest for comfort.

This time around, I was less concerned about insulating as my bag would keep me sufficiently warm... so I only took the therma-rest.

Yes, I regret that now! lol

Gear notes:

I was quite happy w/ my REI Downtime +10 bag. Very happy w/the SD down booties (red!). I still love my Asolo boots. My feet stayed dry even though they aren't waterproof in any way. Alcohol sove works great as long as you keep the alcohol warm before using it. The MegaMid is PIMP! I absolutely love that thing. The batteries in my Petzl Tikka LED are still the same ones that I put in when I bought it over a year ago. That's almost 40 nights plus misc. use around the house. And, it seems to function well in the cold.

So, aside from the leaky therma-rest, I was one happy camper. :-)”

“Better Late than never.....

”

“Six of us camped at Byron Lake in the Hoist Lake Wilderness Area February 14 to 16th, and I stayed solo an extra night to Monday morning. About 6 to 8 inches of compressed snow made the cross country skiing superb, and I was able to do all the loops. The temperature went way below what was forecast earlier, down to 4 below zero the first night, 10 below zero at midnight the second night, and 8 below zero this morning. Katydyd did her first winter camping, and was apprehensive the first night, and her confidence picked up and she slept better the second night.

I was able to sleep in my REI downtime Zero bag at those below zero temperatures by:

1) sleeping in my long underwear and fleece,

2) using a 3/4" Deluxe Long Ridgerest,

3) using a small Walrus Micro-Swift solo tent to trap my body heat.

4) eating a big dinner. Mike saw my meals and said I eat better on the trail than he eats at home.

Heard owls, coyotes, saw five deer, one porcupine, and saw where a coyote killed and ate a squirrel. Did not see another soul outside of our group the entire four days.

Ed Ronkowski”

“Cool Prosecutor!

8)”