Trapp Hills, Michigan UP, 2007

“Another reason for wishing for clear skies:

Orionid meteors before dawn on October 20-22
http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/51729/orionid-meteors-before-dawn-on-october-20-22

The Orionid meteor shower will peak this weekend.

Try watching before dawn on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings. The peak date for this annual shower defies easy prediction, but, while Saturday morning should feature some meteors, the greatest number of meteors will probably fall before dawn on Sunday and Monday mornings.

The Orionid shower isn’t the year’s best meteor shower, but you can expect to see about 15 to 20 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak this weekend. These meteors are fast and usually on the faint side, but the Orionids can sometimes surprise you with an exceptionally bright meteor that might break up into fragments.

Orionid meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Orion the Hunter. But you don’t need to know where Orion is to see the meteors. They radiate from Orion to appear in all parts of the sky. Just find a clear, dark, open sky. Recline in a lawn chair or blanket and gaze up at the sky during the predawn hours this weekend.”

“It would be nice, but I'm not betting on clear skies. It still looks like potential rain each day.”

“dam, wish I could make this trip looks like a great hike. enjoy!”

“I haven't seen Eveningred posting in a long time. He's a Michigan guy isn't he?”

“Right now the forecast calls for a mostly clear morning Sunday morning.

Will getting up before dawn, 8:21 a.m. EDT, to watch the meteor shower cure a hnagover?

I'm leaving in 30 minutes to spend Thursday night at our Wisconsin northwoods cabin before joining you tomorrow afternoon at Look Out Mountain on the North Country Trail. See you all there, including Mugsy.”

“sorry ya'll. i missing out. i'd really, really like to go, but i won't be able. i thank you all for your hospitallity with needle nose pliers and all, but i'm moving to california and need all the money i have. if anybody is out in northern cali and wants to do some hiking, let me know!!!”

“I'm leaving later this morning...I'll be stopping by Nimblefoot's place on the way up to Prosecutor's...what a glorious day! I don't care if it wet, windy and in the 50's and will be all week-end...this is gonna be a superb week-end...I just KNOW it...

I usually don't have any trouble waking up before dawn...I hope the skies will allow us some sightings Sunday morning...”

“I just had a flashback of my miscalculations regarding time zones and Indiana trips.

Is our 4pm meeting at Victoria CDT (Chicago time)?

I'm not sure what time zone the UP is.”

“No one is, ChinMusic...the timezone weaves in and out of the UP...I do not change my watch from CDT in that area, myself...Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron, and Menominee counties are in CDT...the Traps are in Ontonogan county so I would assume that the Traps are actually in EST...I don't care...it is so far west that I leave my watch set to CDT...”

“I think the UP is in a time zone all it's own!! lol
btw..I do have a extra set of maps if anyone needs them.
COME ON 4:00!!”

“Hurry up 11 pm!!!Lord, I can't believe I'm stuck in this joint till 11 pm :(”

“My final weather update. They seem to have settled in with the current forecast. We did good.

Rockland, MI

Friday, Oct 19
Breezy with rain
Low: 45 °F
High: 58 °F

Saturday, Oct 20
Mostly cloudy and breezy
Low: 46 °F
High: 61 °F

Sunday, Oct 21
A shower possible
Low: 42 °F
High: 57 °F

Monday, Oct 22
Rain and drizzle possible
Low: 35 °F
High: 49 °F”

“Tomorrow: Rain showers in the morning becoming a steady light rain in the afternoon. High 56F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Tomorrow night: Cloudy. Some light rain is likely. Low 48F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Saturday: Showers possible. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.
Monday: Chance of showers. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 30s”

“I'm betting I have the heviest pack at 33 lbs with food and water. :D”

“From a diff source with more detail:

Friday Night
Breezy. Showers in the evening diminishing overnight. Mostly cloudy. Lows around 44. West winds 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80 percent.

Saturday
Breezy...warmer. A 20 percent chance of showers early. Partly sunny. Highs 59 to 64. West winds 15 to 25 mph decreasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon...then becoming southwest 5 to 15 mph late.

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows 39 to 44.

Sunday
Partly sunny. Highs around 61.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Lows around 42.

Monday
Cooler. Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers. Highs around 52.”

“regarding time zones: I just talked to Jimmysan. He says his communications were in EDT.

If you want to hike in with Randall you need to be at the trail head by 4pm EDT.

I might be the only one confused with the time zone thing, but I figured I'd post what I knew.

Here's a map showing how the time zones are for the US and the UP in particular:

”

“Hey all
Ok, so right now its 2:45 PM Central. That makes it 3:45 PM Eastern.
According to Yahoo maps, it will take us approximately 7 hours, 49 minutes to get there.
If we leave at 6:00 AM Central (7:00 AM Eastern) we should arrive close to 2:00 PM Central (3:00 PM Eastern) That should give us some wiggle room!! (and SC can make us stop some. LoL)
Very cool, hey that’s 23 hours from now!!! Yee haw!!!! NCT here we come, ready or not!!!
(I think I’m ready)
Jimmysan,
I’ll be in yer driveway close to 5:45 AM Central!! (Chicago time)
See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 10/18/07 12:49:11 PM”

“Have a good time everyone, and don't forget to bring a sweater! (You don't want to catch a chill.)”

“Have fun everyone and drive carefully!”

“I might be dodging tornados tonight on my way to jimmysans :P”

“yeah, i sort of planned the wiggle room.

i got a note from cow patty about the amazing weather up north. wow!

drive careful everyone. you should have gotten an email with my cell phone number/etc.

looks like it will be nearly perfect weather... a little wet and a tad warm but all things considered quite nice. sc will only need her 0 degree bag not her -20! haha!

hey, people coming to my place for a ride that will leave a car. please pull into the right side of the driveway and pull up as far as you can. that way my wife can get her car out of the left side and we won't be blocking the sidewalk. you can't park overnight on the street in my village or you will get a ticket.”

“I can't wait!!!! 1hr and a half, then its an hour to your place Jim. I'll pitch on the lawn, will they give me a ticket? lol”

“haha!

knock on the door. the lights will be on and i'll be at home. elvis will tell me someone is at the door.”

“@ tomahawk”

“emailing from the road again? Keep both hands on the wheel”

“Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat

Recorded by: "Paul Evans & The Curls"

Dee doody doom doom
Dee doody doom doom
Dee doody doom doom, DOOM

Seven little girls sittin' in the back seat
Huggin and a'kissin with Fred
I said, why don't one of you come up and sit beside me
And this is what the seven girls said

All together now, one, two, three
Keep you mind on your drivin'
Keep you hands on the wheel
Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead
We're havin' fun sittin' in the back seat
Kissin' and a'huggin with Fred
Dee doody doom doom, dee doody doom doom
Dee doody doom doom, DOOM

Drove through the town, drove through the country
Showed 'em how a motor could go
I said, how do you like my triple carburetor
And one of them whispered low

All together now, one, two, three
Keep you mind on your drivin'
Keep you hands on the wheel
Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead
We're havin' fun sittin' in the back seat
Kissin' and a'huggin with Fred
Dee doody doom doom, dee doody doom doom
Dee doody doom doom, DOOM

Seven little girls smoochin' in the back seat
Every one in love with Fred
I said "you don't need me, I'll get off at my house"
And this is what the seven girls said

All together now, one, two, three
Keep you mind on your drivin'
Keep you hands on the wheel
Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead
We're havin' fun sittin' in the back seat
Kissin' and a'huggin with Fred

All of them in love with Fred
Dee doody doom doom
Kissin' and a'huggin with Fred
Dee doody doom doom
Wish that I could be like Fred
DOOM
last edited: 10/19/07 10:02:10 AM”

“Eight people ALL in the back seat?!

So what kind of vehicle offers such a spacious interior?!... Ah, nevermind, I'm no "Fred".”

“Missed dhutch1”

“100% chance of rain tonight, in fact you should get wet in about 2 hours, so get your tents setup”

“What's this? Is there a hike this weekend? I bet no one shows...”

“gee, did you wave when you went through Tomahawk?? I was just through there myself! I live 20 miles north of there!”

“Yep, there all gone...now we can talk about them behind their back”

“No you can't.”

“shh.... they're back now”

“And, we're watching you!”

“We will wait.”

“Hey, I heard that! Did every one make it out alive from the maze of death today :D?


I got my gear draped over all the furnature to dry :D
last edited: 10/22/07 5:01:20 PM”

“This was a trip that didn't go exactly as planned but in my mind turned out to be quite successful. If you think of everything that could have gone wrong that didn't, or everything that did go wrong but didn't ruin the weekend it was actually a pretty good backpacking trip!

Seriously, thanks to all for the great companionship, willingness to share and flexibility. Everyone worked together to make the trip a success.

Now I have to get out there again and hike the trail from West to East... ;)”

“Whats wrong with east to west, thats the direction hiked it, this past May?

Did you guys make it the entire way from Old V. to M-64 TH?”

“Who ever said there would be no water was VERY wrong :D

There was water EVERYWHERE!! :D”

“Theres plenty of water, just none up high on the overlooks.”

“Hey all!!
The scenery was very cool and the trail was challenging. Sorry to say that the blazing was some of the worst I have encountered since the Adventure Trail in Indiana. It needs a lot of work. Several long sections have very little if any blazing. Everywhere they had clear-cut, the blazes where very difficult to find. There were two spots that took close to an hour to sort out with me going at least a half-mile to find the next blaze.
See ya later.
Randall”

“How many clear-cuts did you encounter and approximately where?

Did you do the whole route as planned? We had no clear-cuts from the Norwich Rd TH west to FR-326, back in May.
last edited: 10/22/07 7:08:27 PM”

“I hiked across 2 clearcuts, I don't know about the others. One near victoria, the other, I cant tell you exactly where but it was near a dirt road crossing.
last edited: 10/22/07 7:10:39 PM”

“I imagine the leaves on the trail probably didn't help either? Back in May the heavily traveled areas of trail were easy to discern, from false trail. (dirt path tread way)

I guess the clear-cut near Old Victoria, could have been the Whiskey creek clear-cut?
last edited: 10/22/07 7:17:39 PM”

“Could be....I dont have the map here in front of me. I figure the path would be easier to see without so much water and leaves on it.
last edited: 10/22/07 7:19:06 PM”

“for someone who bailed on the trip you sure ask a lot of questions?”

“Sorry for being truly interested in your trip, I was never "in" so to speak for the trip anyway, being I've already hiked the section from Norwich Rd. to FR-326. I believe, I only had myself down as a maybe from the start? So, I wouldn't call it bailing?
last edited: 10/23/07 3:32:51 AM”

“Maybes are maybes, and if a maybe doesn't show, they are not bailees.

It has been years since I laughed so hard and so long at the campfire stories, mostly by Randall. The fall color golden aspens made the post peak colors grand from the numerous high overlooks and our three campsites. The visibility during the day was in excess of 30 miles, and as far as one could look, they could see spectacular fall woods colors. The side trip to the abandoned mine tunnel and Gleason Falls was worthwhile. Firewood was plentiful. The campsites had enough room for the 11 tents. Except for the early arrivals, the hiking was done without any rain falling while we were on the trail.

I'm ready to try is from west to east.”

“The blazing around Old Victoria is feeble...at one point where the trail is very obvious there is a blaze every 20 feet...when you get to the top near the old mine building (we assumed mine) the blazing disappears, there are roads heading off in every direction and it is very confusing. Having the forest service using blue paint and blue ribbons added to the confusion. Had we paid attention to Eric's book we would have walked the mile along Victoria Dam Rd and picked up the segment of the trail there leading, confusingly, East when you are hiking West...it is a very, very short loop that brings you back to Victoria Dam Rd...dumb...then you catch the trail up to that first gorgeous overlook above the dam...half of our group managed to find their way there...the rest had gone cross-country and I'm not sure where they spent the night.

In the past I found wherever a blaze was really necessary, there often was none visible...it was confusing between Gleason Falls and Whiskey Hollow, if I remember correctly, where the trail crosses a snowmobile trail and zigs North...I think that's how Spirit Coyote went when she hiked out Saturday night...hard enough in the daytime, I can't IMAGINE it at night...you did good, SC. Eric even mentions in his book that the trail from the trailhead on Victoria Rd about 1/4 mile from the closed and gated FR 642 is not marked on the NCT...maybe it is now but when I hiked it, it was not.
last edited: 10/23/07 5:12:01 AM”