With our PCT hike quickly approaching Hannah and I are starting to shake out all of the details: food, travel, and most importantly GEAR.

We have started collecting the things we need and upgrading a few things to better, lighter versions. Christmas time was a perfect excuse to get some new stuff.  Hannah was in dire need of an ultralight pack so, after a lot of research, she decided she wanted a ULA Ohm pack. It arrived just before Christmas but she waited to open it. She carried the pack on our three day yurt and cabin tour of the Porcupine Mountains and had nothing but rave reviews.  At 21oz for 3,500 cubic inches this pack is light. The construction looks great and the design is super thoughtful.  With a recommended max load of  30 lbs and a base weight of under 12 lbs this pack is perfect for Hannah’s needs out west. The simple drawstring and clip closure on top works really well at keeping your gear in and the weather out.  The water bottle pockets are huge and easily accessed on the move. The compression system seems adequate and the single ice axe loop will be handy when we head into the Sierra Nevadas. The single U-shaped carbon fiber suspension rod seemed a bit out of place and unnecessary but when she added her Thermarest Prolight 4 into the included attachment points inside the back of the bag she said it was way more comfortable than she expected. One disadvantage to lightweight packs is that you sacrifice some of the comforts of big, bulky frames for pounds of weight saved. Well worth it in our opinion but it’s not for everyone. She opted for one of the add on hip belt pockets for a camera and some snacks and it was a good move. They are roomy and well attached.  This seems like the perfect bag for the job.

I have been looking at ULA bags for a while. I saw a few on my AT hike and really liked the look of them. Several friends have gotten them on my recommendation and every time I see one I get a little jealous. I just couldn’t rationalize getting another bag and replacing the Granite Gear Meridian Vapor I used on the AT.  It served me well on many trips and logged over 3000 miles of hiking in two years. But as I was loading up with food for our Porkies trip I noticed a few holes developing and some serious light shining through the seems.  I could probably have sent it in to Granite Gear and had them repair the bag but I wanted something I could trust for 2700 miles. I don’t blame my Meridian Vapor, it had a long run and performed well beyond my expectations, but it was time for a new pack.  I considered getting another Granite Gear but seeing Hannah’s Ohm in action convinced me the ULA was the way to go.

I decided that the Ohm was a little small and went for the next larger pack in ULA’s line, the Circuit.  This pack is similar to the Ohm but has an integrated frame sheet so you don’t have to use your Thermarest for support. It is slightly larger, at 4,200 cubic inches and the added frame helps it carry a heavier load; 35 lbs with 15 LBS of base gear. This extra size and load carrying capability comes at a cost though, bringing the total weight of the pack to 37 oz. Once again the design and craftsmanship are excellent. The roll top closure is super nice and acts as a vertical compression system.  Huge water bottle pockets, integrated hip belt pockets and large mesh front pocket add a ton of space and easy access to a lot gear. The hip belt and shoulder straps are well padded and the padded back panel makes for a comfortable ride. I will say that in the few times I have had the pack out is not as comfortable as my Granite Gear but this may just be a product of familiarity. The only draw back I have seen thus far is in the positioning of the carbon suspension hoop. I was hauling gear into a waterfall to do some ice climbing and found that when I looked up my helmet hit the hoop and made it tough to see.  This isn’t really a normal situation and probably was never considered in the purpose of the pack but it is just a consideration if you plan to use the pack for alpine climbing.

On top of making great products, ULA is a pretty cool company. They are pretty small with less than a handful of employees. Every bag has a tag that says “Sewn in my garage, UT”. I really respect a small company that makes quality products and is willing to strive toward innovation rather than bend to market forces. Plus they took a bunch of time off last year to do some hiking. What’s not to love.

We posted a gear list a while ago and have made it permanent feature on the site. You can see it HERE.  It isn’t complete but it’s a work in progress and shows a pretty good idea of what we plan on carrying for our 2700 mile hike.

We recently had our friends Glen and Stacy come up to visit from downstate. They had never been to our beloved Keweenaw before so we decided to show them why we call this place home and take them out for some of our favorite winter activities.

They made the 10 hour drive up from Rochester, MI on Thursday and were exhausted from all the time in the car so we just laid low, had some chicken for dinner and called it evening early.

Friday dawned clear and warm, one of those amazing days that seem so few during winter around here.  We headed to cliff drive to take them out snowshoeing.  The sun was great but the warm spell turned the snow wet and heavy.  We climbed the couple hundred feet up the ridge and enjoyed the huge vistas of the peninsula.  On the way down we took the opportunity to do some sliding. While powder is always more fun, sliding down the steep hill on our snowshoes was a blast. It was Glen’s first time snowshoeing and the combination of great weather and a scenic hike made for a fun trip.  We came home, changed and headed down to Houghton for pint at the Keweenaw Brewing Company and sauna in one of the MTU‘s dorms.

Saturday was even warmer and sunnier so we made our way to Hungarian Falls to do a little ice climbing.  The beautiful weather is a double edged sword when it comes to ice because, while it is more comfortable to be outside, the ice melts and becomes, well, water, which is wet and sometimes impossible to climb.  I hiked to the top of the falls to drop our rope while they snowshoed up the valley to the base of the ice.  The ice was soft and soaking wet. There were spots where water was spraying out of the ice.  Neither Glen nor Stacy had done much climbing but did great despite the less than stellar conditions.  They both topped out on their first trips up and looked like naturals.  We all got in 2 or 3 climbs and were starting to get uncomfortably wet so we headed home.  A bunch of friends came up to Calumet for a potluck dinner and we spent the night enjoying some great food and company.

Sunday morning was another beautiful day. The weather could not have cooperated more. One nice day up here seems like a treat, three seems like a miracle.  Hannah and I were excited to go snowshoe Bare Bluff. We hiked it in the fall and it was probably the nicest hike in the Keweenaw. We got a slow start and drove up toward Bete’ Grise only to find Smith Fishery Road impassable.  This was a disappointment and forced us to change our plans. We drove down to the Bete’ Grise Preserve and hiked out to the lake shore. It is an awesome view and it was crazy how little ice was on the lake.  From there we drove up to Copper Harbor and down toward Eagle Harbor enjoying the cool ice formations and beautiful shoreline along the lake.  We stopped at Esrey Park and walked around a bit checking out some of the amazing ice that was quickly melting on the rocks.

It was great having Glen and Stacy up and it was just the excuse Hannah and I needed to break out of our recent adventure funk.  It was cool to play tour guide and show someone new to the area all the things we love, plus they were great company for all of it.

Monday rolled in dark and cloudy; more of a typical winter day. We said our goodbyes and they headed home to the lower peninsula, I headed to Indiana to cut down some trees for work and Hannah worked in the lab even though she had the day off of school for MLK Day.

You can see more photos from the weekend at http://picasaweb.google.com/asuperioradventure/Fall2009Winter2010#

We woke up this morning and there was still no sign of Scott so we decided someone should go track him down – but first, breakfast. We cooked some breakfast sausage and grilled bagels before getting our things in order and cleaning the cabin. Once all of these tasks were done, Aaron and I set out for the parking lot where I was going to try to get a hold of Scott and Aaron was going to depart on his long drive to Texas. Matt finished the cleaning in the yurt and continued on to the Union River Cabin where we are staying tonight.

The snowshoe back to the parking lot was just a few miles and went pretty quickly because we took the snowmobile trail, which was the shortest route back. The snowmobile trail wasn’t exactly scenic, but most of the snowmobilers were polite to us. Upon our arrival at the cars, Aaron packed up and I got some phone numbers from him so that I could head to town and call a few friends and see if they knew where Scott had gotten off to. Aaron and I parted ways around noon, I hope his drive goes smoothly. When I reached the bar/diner in Silver City I explained my situation and they were kind enough to let me use their phone. It only took me a few minutes to get a hold of Scott and find out that he had hit a deer on his way back to Houghton from Minnesota the day before he was supposed to meet us in the Porkies. Since it was Scott that really wanted to take this trip, I decided it would only be right for me to drive the hour back to Houghton and pick him up so that he could enjoy the last day of our adventure. The drive was pretty uneventful, but I picked up Scott and we made it back to the Porkies before dark.

Scott and I snowshoed in to the Union River Cabin as the sunset and night fell on the Porcupine Mountains. It was any easy hike but I could really feel the 17 miles I had trudged in the last two days. I know, that doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m a little out of shape and every step in snowshoes is like four steps without snowshoes. When we arrived at the cabin Matt was very excited to see us, claiming that he had done nothing but snuggle the dog and read for the last 5 hours. We later found out he had also attempted to make a box of raspberry sugar-free jell-o that the previous occupants of the cabin had left behind, but that didn’t turn out very well. For dinner we made more steak (that’s right, 3 nights in a row!) as well as tortellini with alfredo, bacon, and chicken. While we were waiting for dinner to cook we played a game of cribbage and chatted over some snacks because we were all starving. After eating our fill of delicious food we played 2 more games of cribbage then called it a night. Scott and Matt read for a bit, but I was far too tired and full so I just went to sleep. Rainy was a bed-hog and the cabin was a little too warm for my sleeping bag, but all in all I slept pretty well.

We woke up fairly late and made bacon and eggs which we ate, along with last night’s leftovers, for breakfast. After breakfast we tidied up, packed up, and hit the trail for a 7+ mile hike (the longest way) back to the cars. Today my legs were feeling pretty heavy at first, but I soon fell into my rhythm and before I knew it we were more than half way back to the parking lot. At about 4 miles into our hike we stopped in at the Log Camp Loop warming hut to have a quick snack of cheese, crackers, and sardines. We spent about 40 minutes sitting around the warming hut, which was already warm because a group of skiers we passed earlier in the day had spent some time there and gotten the wood stove fired up, before gearing back up and hiking the last 3 miles to the car.

When we reached the car I was a little sad to see our trip end, a phenomenon I’m not used to when it comes to winter excursions. Normally I’m excited to get back home and take a hot shower and put on clean, dry clothes, but the cabins/yurts in the Porkies were just so comfortable that it made me a little sad to leave and go back to a place where I have to DO things.

You can see Aaron’s post about the trip on his blog HERE.

We woke up this morning some time after day break (I have no idea what time it was because this vacation is so great we don’t even have a watch or phones with us) and grilled some bagels on the wood stove. After breakfast we all went back to bed for a little while, mostly just to bask in our laziness. We got down to the business of cleaning up the cabin at what I think was about 11 am. We washed up the dishes, swept the floors, shovelled the steps to the yurt, and collected some more firewood before finally packing up our bags.

Matt left the yurt while Aaron and I were finishing cleaning up because he was hiking the 8 miles back to the car to pick up the rest of our food and meet our friend Scott who was supposed to be hooking up with us for the rest of the weekend, whereas Aaron and I were taking all of our gear to the next yurt (a measly 5.5 miles away). I can’t speak for Matt’s hike out to the car, but Aaron and I had a pleasant hike with the dogs to the next yurt. We traveled the same trail that we had been on the night before and yet the hike seemed infinitely shorter in broad daylight with fresh legs. Upon our arrival at the Little Union River yurt we found that the previous occupants had left recently enough that it was still warm with one log still burning on the woodstove, a very welcoming sight. This yurt is exactly the same was the one we were in last night, aside from having a larger woodpile, with four bunks, a table and chairs, and a woodstove inside.

Matt arrived back from the car about an hour after Aaron and I got to the yurt bearing an ample amount of food but not accompanied by Scott who we had expected to be arriving with him. We all just figured Scott had run into some delays along the way and would catch up with us later in the day. We got down to the business of making lunch, brats, chips, and cookies and relaxing. After about an hour of sitting around I was starting to seriously regret that I had forgotten to bring a book along because there were no playing cards in this yurt. I decided to take control of my situation and beat the boredom by making my own cards out of the cookie box…they were tiny and terrible and didn’t work at all – but making playing cards kept me busy for about 30 minutes.

By dinner time I began to worry that Scott hadn’t shown up yet. It was solidly dark and we were making New Years dinner without him, but we were too hungry to wait for the steak and potatoes that Matt had so graciously lugged through the snow. After dinner we started to get antsy again so I attempted another home-made game, Scrabble, this time with more success. I have no idea how many letters there are supposed to be in scrabble or how big the board is supposed to be but my game sort of worked. I think I made too many of the hard to use letters and the board was too small, but we played and all enjoyed ourselves just the same. “Muds” is not a word, I tried, but I couldn’t convince Matt and Aaron, it’s too bad to because I totally could have won the game with “muds”. It’s time for bed and still no Scott. I hope he’s safe  wherever he ended up. Happy New Year everyone!

You can see Aaron’s post about the trip on his blog HERE.

Matt and I have been talking about hiking in the Porkies for more than a year and haven’t gotten around to it until now.  This trip has spent a long time on the shelf – waiting to come to fruition and finally its time has come. Last week we broke down and rented 3 nights of cabin/yurts in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness at the prompting of our friend Scott. It was a bit of a mess to plan because the cabins can be rented up to 1 year in advance and are almost always full, so we had to reserve cabins that other people had recently cancelled. After a few calls to the park we settled on staying at the Lost Creek Yurt on December 30th (today), the Little Union River Yurt on December 31st, and the Union River Cabin on the first day of the new year. For the first two days our friend Aaron, who is visiting from Texas, is going to come along and our friend Scott is going to meet us at the Little Union River Yurt tomorrow.

We got rolling a little later than expected this morning because we spent forever running errands, buying a ridiculous amount of food, and fueling up the truck. We finally hit the road at a little after 1 pm. The drive to the Porkies is short, just a little over an hour, and in no time we were collecting our cabin keys and strapping on our snowshoes. The Lost Creek Yurt, where we are “camped” tonight was about a 7 mile hike by snowshoe trail. The hike was mostly uphill because, while the Porkies aren’t really mountains the way most people think of mountains, they are definitely formidable hills. The first 4 or 5 miles of the hike were pleasant, invigorating, and just what I needed. The last couple miles, however, got a bit tiresome because it began to get dark and the temperature dropped (not to mention we were carrying steaks, butter, breakfast sausages, bagels, veggies, and all sorts of other things I wouldn’t normally bring backpacking) and Aaron began to regret pulling a sled. For these last couple miles Matt seemed convinced that we were “almost there” every time we got to the top of a hill, but we never were. When we finally reached the yurt we were all ready for dinner so we fired up the woodstove and got down to cooking. For dinner we ate venison steaks (slightly freezer burned) with mushrooms and onions, a side of black beans and rice, and all sorts of chocolate and cookies for dessert. We passed the remainder of the evening playing cards by the light of some candles we hauled out here with us (also not normal backpacking gear).

I can’t remeber the last time I was this relaxed. This is what vacations are supposed to be like. Aside from getting to the next yurt, we have nothing we need to do. I thought yurts and cabins might feel like a cop-out in comparison to tent camping, but it doesn’t. It feels comfortable. Don’t get me wrong, winter camping is always fun, or at least a challenge, but it’s never very comfortable or relaxing, never vacation-y. I guess this trip is kind of a vacations from being hardcore as much as it is a vacation from work, school, and home.

You can see Aaron’s post about the trip on his blog HERE.

www.theinitiativesite.com

One of Hannah and my best friends, Sam Gardner, is planning something big. Really big. Starting in on 1/1/11 he is going to try to hike the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the North Country Trail. He is calling this massive adventure the “All In Trek” because he is basically taking the longest trails in the country and doing them all in one go.  He hopes this trip will help inspire people chase big dreams and not let anything stand in the way of their goals.  He has a really slick looking website that explains it all a lot better and has quite a bit of info about the trip and more on the way.  He also has a blog he’s starting so if you like adventure blogs his is definitely one to follow, this guys lives outdoor adventure.  You can read all about his trip at:  www.theinitiativesite.com.

Sam and I starting dreaming of this trip years ago when we were doing wolf research on Isle Royale.  He has been a partner of mine through some crazy adventures and is all about pushing the limits. He and I once hiked 62 miles in 18 hours around the Porcupine Mountains on a whim, just to see if it was possible.  He surfs the icy waters of Lake Superior all winter, races downhill mountain bikes and climbs rock all summer. I have seen him do amazing things when he really puts his mind to it. He even got ordained as a minister for Hannah and I so he could perform our wedding (story coming soon).  Hiking almost 13,000 continuous miles is an unbelievable feet but I think if anyone can do it, it’s Sam. I am so excited he is making this dream a reality.  I hope everyone that reads checks out his site, spreads the word and sends a little love his way.