Michigan Hikers

“The wisdom tooth removal sucks! I had two separate sittings for the bottom two. The only good thing to come out of it was the two separate prescriptions for Vicodin! :-)

Hope your feeling better, birch.”

“I looked like a chipmunk when I had mine out...just in time for my extended family to come over for Thanksgiving. Lots of fun! HOpe the swelling goes away soon, Birch!”

“God only knows why, but I've still got the teeth in a little pouch in my "important papers" box. Maybe they can use that to replicate me through DNA after I die.”

“Hey all,
we made it back.. (a little lighter due to my pants and gaiters catching a few embers.) will tell more in our TR... :-)”

“hope yout trip was a good one.

we need to make it out to highland or pickney sometime soon!!”

“Hey, there was a nice article in the Free Press yesterday about the Humbug Marsh. Meant to put a link to it, but I forgot. :(”

“hey, how was the Humbug marsh hike? did anyone go?”

“We're going to REI in the morning-- wonder if anyone from TT will be there?”

“Any good finds, pink?”

“i went to Gander Mtn on Friday. although it's really big, i was not impressed.
we woulda gone around to REI too(Gander didn't have what i'm looking for), but the boys were driving me insane.”

“YEsterday, we got a Garm Etrex Vista (without the computer cable) for $100... added the computer cable at The Great Outdoors for $50 so total was much less than the $280 retail... :-)

Today, we picked up a Primus yellowstone stove for $9... at the Troy REI

We completely missed getting a 2-person kayak a the Novi store for about $260... (I think).... For some reason, I thought someone was talking to the salesperson about buying it and assumed it was sold... 10 minutes later, when I realized it hadn't been sold, another couple was looking at it and out the door it went!

Picked up a couple of decent jackets as well... I think we made out like bandits!”

“Great finds, pink!

Too bad about the kayak.”

“I found new Gore-Tex REI water socks in my size at the Ann Arbor Kiwanis sale on Saturday.

25 cents.”

“Hey Pink, I also went to both REI Sales.

A new(used) waterproof jacket was my best find.(note to self must get to sales much earlier!!!)”

“Sweet deal RL!

Hey Pink, don't feel too bad about that kayak. My dad was there and was looking for kayaks and said it was pretty beat up. Sounds like you got some good deals anyhoo.”

“Eveningred-- what time were you at the sales?
WE got there about 20 minutes before they opened on Saturday and about 1/2 hour before they opened on Sunday....

We were about 100 in line on Saturday and about 50 in line on Sunday.

Troy's store didn't have nearly as much stuff.

The number taking made things a lot easier-- I was there a year or 2 ago and the garage sales were just frantic and almost claustrophobic with people.

You might have seen me if you were at the Saturday Sale before noon-- I had on a pink and orange hooded cotton sweater and my pink purse... :-)”

“I hit up the EMS in Grand rapids on saturday night and made out like a bandit. I got the insul-mat mtn lite for 40 bucks and a granite gear air-compressor stuff sack for 20. :) new gear is always a good thing.”

“Pink,
I was at the Saturday sale about 5-10 minutes after they opened. And I was at the Troy store about 5 minutes before they opened. Well now I know that I need to backup the arival time up a lot more.

I don't remember seeing any glow in the dark people. Hmmm I wonder where you got the pink nickname from? You may have seen me I tend to stand out, 6'4" and I had on a dark green jacket.”

“LOL-- lots of people who were taller than me. I'm only 5'4"....

We learned from the last Garage Sale we went to 2 yrs ago that you have to be there at least 1/2hour before opening (preferably an hour!) to get in the front of the line....
At least they finally started giving out numbers so that we didn't have to stand in line all day!”

“Is anyone around South East Michigan going to do any hiking this weekend? (Halloween is coming!)”

“I can't get away for any over nighters or anything, but I might be able to sqweeze in a dayhike. It'll depend on what happens this afternoon at the vet's office and the schedule.

What were ya thinking about, Pink?”

“Well, now that I've signed up for the 3-day / 60 mile breast cancer walk, I want to get started conditioning...

I'm looking to see if I can find people to hike or walk with throughout the week... Saturday Morning Thinkbubelz and I might be up for a day hike-- as long as we get home in time to watch the MSU/U of M football game... ;-)

got any ideas of good places to hike in the Metro Detroit area? (and outskirts?)”

“Waterloo/Pickeny is a great choice. Tons of trails to explore.

Highland lakes is another. RL is really the guru when it comes to trails in Michigan. I think sometimes he trail maps framed all around his house! LOL!

Let me double check about this weekend. A nice little ditty before the game just might work out.”

“Highland lakes might be kind of cool!

Think & I hiked part of the Waterloo trail about a month ago-- that was nice, but I think it's farther from my home and I'd rather be closer so that we can just go home right afterwards...

Actually, most of the hiking will depend on the weather-- I don't really want to hike in the rain this weekend if I can at all help it...”

“I got a call tonight to go to Indy this Sat and I can't pass it up, sorry. I'm pretty sure that if something doesn't go this weekend around here, pink, in the next couple of weeks there will be.”

“actually, looking at our schedule, it's pretty packed, so maybe we should just wait until the next few weekends as well...”

“which park are you folks talking about? there are trails at highland rec and at island lake but i have never heard of highland lakes.”

“Yall shold prolly go to Lake Sperrier.”

“bms - I think they are talking about Highland Rec.

Sarabelle - Is that where they make that fancy water?”

“I love highland rec. Its about a 10 minute bike ride from my moms house. ahh the memories”

“It's in my neighborhood (sort of) too. It really is a nice park”

“BMS-- how are the trails at Highland Rec?
isn't that the park off of M-59?”

“Yes, off of M-59 there are 3 state parks. Pontiac Lake, Indian Springs and Highland Rec. Highland is the furthest from you pb. The trails are good, but amongst the toughest in the area for mountain biking. Lots o' rocks and ruts.”

“Pontiac Lake SP has tons of trails (foot, equestrian and mtn bike) that are somewhat inter-mingled. But, for the most part, the foot paths are poorly mapped. At least they used to be.

Personally, I like the trails at Highland Lake SP better. Especially for use in the winter (x-skiing).

Indian Springs is a metro park. I believe the trails there are mostly paved (except some small nature trails). It's been quite a while since I've been there, though, so someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sarabelle - Lake Sperrier is my favorite lake of allllll time!”

“There is some great hiking to be had in the Detroit area. I've totalled up the public acreage east of Lansing, South of Flint and North from Toledo and ended up with several hundred thousand acres. That makes it about a third the size of the national forests in the northern lower peninsula.

Hiking trail mileage tends to be extensive, given the significant population. I'd bet there are more than a thousand miles of trail in the SE Michigan area.

There is no good trail guide. Eventually, I'd love to see all the trails connected and a great guidebook created.

Green Detroit!”

“:-) I just got the Trail atlas-- at least it will help to start us on the right paths (literally! :-) )

Can't wait to get out for a few hours this weekend... hopefully the weather will stay nice...”

“thought I'd bump this thread back up!

Thinkbubelz & I have some vacation time from Dec 18 - Jan 3rd...

I wonder if anyone around here will be going day hiking during that time? We'd like to try winter hiking, but would like to do it with others who know how! :-)

Thinking about getting some snow shoes... would that be a good idea to start out? (we don't want to invest in something too expensive....I saw some for about $70....) we also might be thinking of heading out towards Pittsburgh somewhere for a few of those vacation days-- My best friend lives out that way...”

“Busy time of year. But, I'm sure we could get a dayhike together.

I love snowshoeing. Do some research before you buy them. Check some old threads here for some great info.”

“Yup... I know-- don't you have finals coming up?

We usually have a new year's party... that keeps us insane for a while! :-)

do you recommend renting some from REI or EMS to try out first?”

“Pink, I would rent or borrow first. If mine arent in use and you need a set, I'd loan em. I'd love to get out for a dayhike or two. I hope Sass' foot is better by then she just got 2 more weeks off work.”

“I hope so too! The locals need to all get together for dinner or something over the holidays... I think that would be fun! :-)

We'd definitely like to try them out and see if we like it. I hope Sass's foot gets better soon! I'm still getting a little twinge of pain in my knee from a bike accident I had this summer (July!)”

“Pink, we rotate an annual christmas party within the group, this year Tara is putting it on at her moms.

Another get together would be fun.

Too bad about your knee, any idea whats wrong with it?”

“no, just bruised it really bad backe when I flew off of my bike onto asphalt!

the doc said it would take a while to heal!

Think & I have an annual NYE party, maybe you guys could stop by! :-)”

“Anyone in Michigan interested in dayhiking between Dec. 17th and Jan.3rd?

Thinkbubelz & I are off for vacation, and I think it might be fun to do some geocaching or dayhiking.... However, we've never done it in really cold weather, so it would be fun if we could hook up with some other TTers in Michigan to learn some strategies... :-)”

“oops, double posted...BTW-- Tarabull-- we got your message, haven't had a chance to call you back!
last edited: 12/09/04 11:01:08 AM”

“Weekends are pretty full through Jan. I may be able to get out on a weekday, tho. Let's keep in touch.”

“Just pick a time a let me know. i will try to be there.”

“Hey, any suggestions as to where to go nearby?

:-)

BTW-- I saw some inexpensive snow shoes at Sam's club! :-) They were about $65... Not sure what brand... Was thinking of getting some for Christmas--has anyone else seen them?”

“They are Tubbs showshoes http://www.tubbssnowshoes.com/
I actualy picked up a pair last year from Sams Club but I can't give you a review, since I never got a chance to use them.”

“I'd pick up a pair for $65. Unfortunatly, I no longer have a Sam's membership.”