Porcupine Mountain Wilderness, UP Michig an

“jack hoerner tried that”

“Tonight comes the part where I take my well-thought-out 12 lb pack and get it up to a well-thought-out 22 lb pack by putting into it every "what if" item I never use and a lot of food I wind up packing out.

Add stool
Add saw
Add bottle of wine
Swap out my tarp for a bivy bag (wimp out)
Swap out bivy bag for tent (really wimp out)
Add more clothes than I need
Swap out aquamira dropper bottles for water pump
Add plastic bucket for getting water
Swap out Ridgerest 3/4 for full-length Thermarest
Use the "real" first aid kit rather than the mini one
Throw in a few more fruit pies, granola bars, etc, etc
Swap out mini-mug/cookpot for a mug and a cookpot
Swap out alcohol stove for butane stove and canister
Swap out small canister for large canister
Swap out light canister burner for heavier one with auto-start button
Swap out lightweight food bag and hanging gear for bear canister
.
.
.

...you get the point. ;)”

“yeah...im looking foward to the day I can buy a lighter weight bear canister! :P

Im taking a bivy and a tarp- Im tottaly a wimp.

I added an alcohol stove....”

“

Is it time to go yet?”

“Damn, she is ready and she is ORANGE. You will NOT be hard to see on the trail. :)

Is that bear spray? I am sticking close to you, that's for sure.”

“Mike is making me carry it :(”

“I'm just carrying it incase spleen comes snooping round the bivy :P”

“Hey is your weather report similar to what one might expect in late August? I am on Bessie Lou's trip and want to be sure I bring warm enough gear... (read: "I gotta buy some warmer gear if it is actually gonna be chilly.")

BTW, does anybody know why none of the posts I put on my trip threads show up in the TT forum? Is it because the trips are for further out dates, or am I just missing something?”

“There is a box when you create the thread that includes the thread in the TT forum. You prolly did not check it. I have only been there in June so I can't say for August. Look at a weather web site to see what historical min/max/average/rainfall for the month/date of your trip.

June was pretty warm. I imagine Augist will be even warmer.

Good luck!”

“AH-HA!!!
Thanks dude!

I'll check for the site.”

“can this afternoon go any slower????”

“LOL!
NO! I'm pushing thumb tacks under my nails just for something to do...”

“so, did spirit coyote actually go on a trip she signed up for?”

“??? idunno
She hasnt posted in a couple days...

Is she sneaky like that?”

“maybe she "died" like s-rge”

“LOL!
Are there any new posters in the last couple days?


Does this mean I shouldn't count on her for my Low Gap trip in June?”

“I've been seeing your posts on here about Low Gap. What's your date range setting to view posts? Maybe that has something to do with it.

meangreen, I know you were talking about spirit coyote, but I just wanted to let you know that even if I can't overnight it for Morgan-Monroe, I'll just do a through-hike during the day. It'll be awesome. As long as we can start early enough...

re:Porkies in August, we went last year at the same time and it was gaw-geous! We had a few sprinkles the first day, but not cold at all, didn't even need to zip up my (probably) overrated +20 Kelty bag. What gear were you thinkin? I think it was 60's at night.”

“I saw Spirit Coyote on the Government Peak trail this morning. She is alive and well... well at least she was when I saw her. She has some stories to share. I didn't get to visit long so I'm anxious to hear them.

I was all set to go but my brother was unable to take my kids at the last minute. My friends were out of town for family holidays and didn't want to ask my VERY overwhelmed sister. Friday morning while Griz and jflotsam were eating breakfast at my house my sister called to ask about the trip. I told her I wasn't going and she insisted she could do it so at the VERY last minute, I threw my gear together and went!

I don't do trail reports so I'll just say, it was AWESOME. I had a great time with great company. I can't wait to get out there again!”

“I am SO glad you got to go, Sunshine....I knew you were bummed when you learned you couldn't...sounds like you have a very, special sister...so, was it wet and muddy? LOL”

“may do a trip report later, need to srape the mud off me and scrub the smell away. thanks Jimmysan for settin it op and thanks Sunshine and jflotsam for being great hiking companions and great campmates, only met spirit coyote for a few minutes but I need to hear more of her bear stories, now off to the shower”

“It was all good. I got what I was looking for. I'll post a TR later. That is an amazing place and I can't wait to go back... soon!”

“I had a great time! I started a picture album and will post the rest of my pictures tomorrow.”

“Wicked cool trip :)


jim, is now officially called WoodChuck :)


Jim, I found out why my toe on the right foot hurt so bad, one of them has a pretty wicked infection- (It kinda explains the fever this morning too)I tried pulling off the nail as it looked like it was broken and all this bloody puss came out :P BLECH! hehehehehe My feet are toast! :D”

“Hehe, WoodChuck ... I can live with that!”

“...oh, and on the bloody puss thing, did that happen on the trip? One of the downhills?”

“Good to hear you guys are safe and had an enjoyable time.”

“Wish you were there. How is your knee?”

“Jim, yeah, i think a blister or something developed under my toe-nail on the trip lol.



Here is a taste of the TR....”

“i think a blister or something developed under my toe-nail on the trip

HTF do you get a blister UNDER your toenail??!!

nice pic by the way...i left my new digital camera on the roof of my car the other day and drove off...i had to replace it with a much cheaper, poorer quality one...the pix aren't as nice
last edited: 4/24/06 9:59:51 AM”

“I uploaded more pictures to the album. If you can't find it go to the trip page and there is a link there.”

“Nice pics!”

“HTF do you get a blister UNDER your toenail??!!

how the hell if I know? It feels mych better now that i've drained the darn thing. but it sure looks gross! I'll probebly lose that toenail.”

“Some of my trip photos:

http://thebackpacker.com/pictures/album/20pfizbg.php

I am not much of a photographer and I probably shouldn’t even waste time bringing a camera with me. I tend to forget I am carrying it… it’s just not that important to me as taking in the experience. I didn't take pictures of a lot of stuff, like camp photos, etc. I have a lot of pictures of Spirit Coyote that I can't post because she threatened me with death if I did so. She is a very credible person and she has her husband backing her up so I'll email her the photos and let her decide what to do with them. :)”

“SC, I took a friend hiking one weekend. We came in Government Peak to Mirror Lake and then Correction Line trail to Big Carp the first day. The next day we hiked up Big Carp to the Lake of the Clouds and out on the Escarpment Trail. She lost all of her toenails after that trip. You're not alone. :o) Are you gonna write a trip report? I want to hear your bear stories!”

“You should trade trip reports with her. :)”

“jflotsam,

Thanks for posting the pics. I sure wish I hadn't broken my camera. Will you burn a disc for me, PLEASE? *batting my eyelashes*”

“Hiya Jimmy,

I've been told I should write a report. We'll see. I tend to leave so much out. I might now that all my gear is cleaned, clothes are washed and I'm rested. jflotsam's pictures have inspired me. :)

Right now, I'm gonna check out your pictures.”

“Ha! Be gentle!”

“Jimmy, I loved all the pictures. My favorite is number 57. It shows the trees, the water and I love the color in it. Great pics! Thanks for posting them.

You FLY down the trail. If I had taken a camera, I would have slowed our group down a lot. I take pictures of everything. Few of them turn out but I take lots... when I have a camera. :( Thanks for sharing yours!”

“:)

You only saw the good ones... the ones I deleted were... well... awful. I don't have an "eye" for photography. There were some really talented photographers in my Grand Canyon group last month. After seeing all their photos I decided not to post mine... WEAK!

It was nice to meet all of you even though we didn't get to camp together or hike together. Some other time perhaps.”

“The knee is doing great Jim! Thanks for asking. I get the wrap off tonight so we will see how much I can bend it.”

“I agree, Jimmy san..#57 and #51 are evocotive Porkie images...it's a great, old growth forest, isn't it? Your mind can create pictures of the deadfalls similar to seeing face in clouds...ever catch my bull shot?

http://community.webshots.com/photo/454055957/1454106545046140551FVvBTh

I especially enjoyed yours, jflotsam...looks like you guys had a blast...I hadn't noticed spalpeen carries an external pack until I saw him carrying it...LOL:
http://thebackpacker.com/pictures/pic/n78n20vqh.php

I do love the Hilton...by the way, was it windy?”

“nope”

“kewl..I hate wind unless it really hot and the wind is cool...

SC, almost everytime I hike, I have one toenail that gets black...it doesn't get infected but takes months to grow back...I've tried everything over the last 10 years but it always happens...gr-r-r-r-r-r

What were the temps, Jimmy san? and, did it rain? and, how was the mud? and, did you like hiking South on North Mirror Lake trail?”

“I meant to warn you all about Sunny - last time I hung out with her she got me so drunk I threw up 3 times at the Porkies!

She behaved well this weekend, I take it???



(Hi-ya Sunny!)”

“I'll do a trip report.....but it takes me a long time because I like to really add all the details from my journal. dont have time but soon hopefully I can get it up!

Jim, CMB was saying, hey why isnt there any pictures of me? and I said I told you that if you posted em i'd beat ya with a stick ;) He was a little peeved he didnt get to see his "hiker chick" out hikin' LOL!”

“The pics look like you had pretty good hiking weather. Certainly looks like you beat the skeeters and the heavy mud rains can bring to some trails. Glad you got to go Sunshine! Reino and I have been talking about what a good trip the Mothers' Day paddle was on the Namakagon. Still have the inflatable toy?”

“sc: i emailed you one of the better pics of you. if you approve i'll post it. send it to cmb, please?”

“you can post it if ya want :)”

“Oh, the weather... I have to work from memory. I am not that good at this.

Friday: Spotty showers and even a little freakish sleet in the afternoon. Temps in the 50s. Little or no wind. The low was 40 that evening and there was basically no rain. The stars came out that night, what you could see of them from under the trees. We camped on the south shore of Lake of the Clouds.

Saturday: It was fairly clear in the morning. There was light rain on and off most of the day, no sleet. Temps were in the 50s. That evening the wind was light, say 5-10 mph, but it was hard to tell in the trees were we camped. The low was 39 and it rained but I was very tired and as soon as I got under my tarp it was instant lights out. We camped off of Government Peak Trail in a camp site set in a gorgeous hemlock grove (good call, SC).

Sunday: There was a lot of fog in the morning and perhaps some very light rain. I don't recall any wind. It was in the 50s during the day and even a little sunny in places.
last edited: 4/24/06 3:24:08 PM”