A Superior Adventure

We are sitting in motel room and relaxing a bit so I figured I would post a short synopsis of our hike so far.

You can read my daily journal or Hannah’s daily journal to see the details of the the hike and how each day treated us.

Thus far the trip has been really good. Coming from the U.P. it has been a big adjustment period and a steep learning curve. The desert has been harsh but the landscape is phenomenally beautiful. Rumor is it has been cold down here, almost 15 degrees below in the month of May, and the heat has still been a huge challenge. We try, unsuccessfully most times, to get up withe sun and hike until around 11am when the heat becomes too oppressive and then rest until it cools down around 4pm. It really limits our hiking days and is a little frustrating for me. Finding shade most days is a impossible challenge. There are rarely plants that grow over my waist and none of them seem to offer any respite from suns endless barrage; plus every plant is covered in spines or thorns making the place feel angry and uninviting.

Water is another constant challenge. I would have never imagined that you could travel thirty miles without seeing even a hint of water. Back home you would pass two or three lakes and rivers in that distance; here you might not pass a dry creekbed. It leaves us carrying up to a gallon and a half of water in some areas which can add twelve pounds to our packs and takes a toll on our bodies.

But the trail isn’t always down on desert floor. We have spent plenty of time up in the mountains that punctuate this vast landscape. The peaks are often snow covered and offer a nice break from the heat. The snow brings other challenges as it obscures the trail and clings to some of the steeper slopes making climbing difficult. The trail isn’t so well marked and is often lost under feet of the white stuff forcing us to pull out our maps and just wing it. The mountain sides are generally flanked by forests of huge pines or twisted live oaks. It is nice to get back into the trees and makes the landscape seem a little less foreign.

We have seen tons of areas effected by fires and even had to do a terribly hot and boring fifty mile road walk around a section of trail destroyed in a huge blaze last fall. We have seen tons of wildlife on the trail. Mostly just the countless hordes of lizards and horney toads but also foxes, coyotes and snaked. About a half dozen rattlesnakes have scared the daylights out of us as we walked along including one I missed stepping on by a matter of an inch.

It has been really cool to see something so alien to us. Field of yucca and groves of Joshua trees are something you just don’t see back home and the U.P. doesn’t really offer the opportunity to climb up to 10,000 feet. Cacti and manzanita are a big change of pace from white pine and sugar maple. The desert has been a constant series of challenges but it has also surprised and delighted us. I have developed a love hate relationship with this landscape.

There are only about 140 miles of hiking until we leave the desert behind and climb into the rugged wilderness of the Sierra Nevada. I can’t say I am sad to leave this place.

Both Hannah and my journals are pretty much up to date so if you interested in reading about the daily details of our hike you can check them out. The journals get updated almost every night from our phones. We have posted a few pictures from our phones but haven’t gotten any of the good pictures on the site yet.

After the next few days our cell service might be a little sketchy so the updates might be more sporadic. But they might not. You’ll just have to check. But if we haven’t posted anything for a few days don’t worry, we’re still safe and the updates will come as soon as possible.

Please leave us comments, either here or on our journals. We love hearing from people and it helps us feel a little less disconnected out here. It really brightens our days to hear from anyone who is reading along.

Matt | Hiking | 06 14th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

I just wanted to write a quick update as we travel to San Diego to start our 3-4 month hike of the pacific crest trail. I am sitting in the Detroit airport killing some time before our flight leaves. Our daily blog probably won’t have many updates while we are out but if you are interested, we will be keeping journals of hike as we go. You can read both Hannah’s and mine under the pacific crest trail header in the navigation bar.

I just want to thank our sponsors for the hike. Without them this trip would be a lot more difficult and might be impossible. We are super happy to be working with Headsweats and Downwind Sports again. Headsweats continue to be the best hats we have ever worn and we are really excited to be wearing them again this summer. Downwind was unbelievably helpful when it came to getting outfitted for the hike. We really can’t thank them enough. In addition to our past sponsors we are excited to be working with Superfeet Premium Insoles this summer. Both Hannah and I have been wearing them for years and love them. Our feet are probably the most important thing on a hike like this so we try to take really good care of them. Superfeet are a huge part of that. So thanks you guys, we appreciate all of the support.

Hope everyone will follow along as we hike and please leave some comments on our journals as we head north. We really appreciate hearing from people and it really helps us get through some tough spots.

Have a good summer everyone.

Matt | Kayaking | 05 11th, 2010 | 3 Comments »

In preparation for our upcoming thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, Matt and I have been purchasing the last few items that we want/need to lighten up our packs and improve the overall function of our ultralight systems. We did a whole bunch of research on rain gear because we both desperately needed to replace our worn and battered rain coats. After much contemplation and weighing all of the options we settled on DWR treated windshirts rather than full on rain gear because we don’t anticipate much heavy precipitation during our hike.  Matt picked the mont-bell U.L. Wind Parka and I chose Arcteryx’s Celeris jacket. We put in a mont-bell order for Matt’s wind jacket and my down jacket (mont-bell’s Ex Light Down Jacket) and when we received the package we found that the wind shell (size medium) was way too small for Matt. In fact, the medium windshell was the perfect size for me and I am only 5’5″ and weigh about 120 pounds as opposed to Matt’s 6’2 and 165, so it became my wind shell. At risk of being a fashion disaster, Matt went on to order the wind jacket again in an extra large and a different color, so now we match. The XL fit him almost perfectly which goes to show that their sizing is a bit off.

mont-bell U.L. Wind Parka

mont-bell Ex Light Down Jacket

Based on my use to date, I would highly recommend both of these jackets. Right now they are both tucked away in my backpack waiting to hit the Pacific Crest Trail in 8 days. I’ll probably get back to you on their performance after 2700 miles of abuse.

Hannah | Kayaking | 05 3rd, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Wow. Has it really been 8 months since we finished paddling?  Where did the time go? And more importantly, what have I been doing?  Apparently not a hell of a lot because we finally got our journals completely onto the website.  It only took staring down the barrel of another big adventure to give us the motivation.  The journals have a bunch of new pictures and cover every night of the trip.

If you have a few minutes please check them out. You can find them under the Lake Superior heading in the navigation bar or simply click the links below.

Hannah’s Journal and   Matt’s Journal

You can also see our photos HERE.

There is some more info about the paddle we would like to get up, a map, gear list and some stats, but that might have to wait until after our PCT hike.

Speaking of the PCT,  only 22 more days until we hit the trail. We should have our whole PCT journal set up launched in the next few days so please come back and take a look. The plan is to update the journals via our iPhones from the trail so if you aren’t too busy this summer we hope you will follow along.

If you do take a look at any of the content on the site please leave us a comment. We love hearing from people.

Matt | Kayaking | 04 18th, 2010 | No Comments »

The weather in the Keweenaw has been awesome this spring. It was 80 degrees last week and my mind was long gone out on the water.  I heard my friend Greg Maino was looking to take a trip so I stopped in to see him at work at Downwind Sports.  After several iterations and a week or so of planning we finalized our plan to head down to Bayfield, WI and check out the sea caves in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  Hannah had some serious school commitments so she couldn’t come. Greg’s wife was out of town and we couldn’t really find any other friends who could come down so we planned it for just the two of us.

Greg picked me up at 6:30AM Thursday morning and I was painfully tired and cold as hell in the predawn darkness as I loaded my gear and boat into his car.  I was pretty stoked to be getting a tour in before Hannah and I leave for the PCT. I had written off my kayak season and this was a delightful opportunity.  Neither Greg nor I had been out into the Islands in the Apostles, though both of us had paddled the mainland shoreline.  When Hannah and I went through on our circumnavigation last summer we were too focused on getting around the lake to be able to get out into islands.

We got to Bayfield around 10AM and stopped at the visitors center to get a permit. The woman behind the counter seemed reluctant to give us one. We were the only back country permit out at the time and she seemed concerned for our safety.  The marine forecast was calling for 5-7 foot waves falling to 3-5 and 20 knot winds out of the North backing to 10 knots by afternoon.  We happily gave the 10 dollars a night camping fee, assured her we were prepared and headed out to look at the lake. The waves weren’t big enough to worry us but the wind was blowing strong and steady so we decided to wait a few hours to hit the water.  Around 1PM we went into the office at the Red Cliff Marina, paid our $5 launch fee and another $5 a day for parking and had them unlock the bathroom so we could change into our paddling gear.  It was still only 30 degrees and we were both hesitant to get moving.  We loaded the boats, wasted a little more time and settled on the fact that we had to get moving. Just as we took our first paddle strokes the sun broke through the clouds lending a bit of warmth to the biting chill of the wind.

We paddled along the mainland for about 3 miles, passing a handful of houses and a marina. There was a light headwind, which added just enough extra effort to the paddle to make me feel sluggish and just generally “off”.  I was only wearing a pair of thin NRS hydroskin gloves and after a few minutes they were soaked and the water combined with the breeze to steal all of the feeling from my fingers.  We left the mainland and headed to Oak Island. The brown sandstone cliffs that are the lakeshore’s signature feature started to make a strong appearance.  We ate a quick lunch on the North side of the island on a what appeared from the water to be a pleasant sand beach. The wind and cold shattered this facade and I was forced to take one of the coldest, most uncomfortable pees of my life. I can’t remember a time all winter where I was that thoroughly cold.  We left Oak Island in a frozen hurry after a quick glance at the map. This was really the turning point of the whole day.  We headed out on what we thought was a 2 mile crossing to what we thought was Otter Island but haste and discomfort kept us from consulting a compass and it was a pretty solid error. After 3 miles we hit the shore of  Bear Island, but we were totally unaware of our mistake.  We were confident we were in the right place, Otter Island, and if we paddled a mile and half around and did another short crossing we would land on Rocky Island where we intended on camping for the night and ending a solid 14 mile day.  We were starting to get sore and joking about the bad weather, sore muscles and cold water.  At one point one of us quipped about how glad we were that the other hadn’t suggested we go all the way out to Devil’s Island, our ultimate destination, tonight.  As we rounded what we thought was Otter Island we began to notice some discrepancies between our plan and reality; there were no islands where there should have been. No Rocky Island, No South Twin, just open water.  We kept going, always hoping it would be around the next point but with no luck. After we rounded the north side of the island we gave in to the nagging feelings that we had made an error and stopped to check the map.  It took about 3 seconds to figure out the mistake. How we made it I still have no idea but I guess that’s how getting lost goes.  We assessed the situation and conceded that there was only one reasonable solution: Go to Devil’s Island.  We laughed about the fortuitous and foreshadowing remarks from earlier and continued on. We were both beat as we started the three mile crossing.  My back was on fire and my arms were fatiguing quickly.  We landed at the dock totally spent.  It ended up being an 18.5 mile paddle with varying winds ranging from blowing stiffly in the face to gently pushing us along. The lake was never calm and, although the waves were never big enough to give me any trouble, they had slowly and solidly worn on me all day.

First thing to do after landing was to pull off my damp wetsuit and get some dry clothes on.  One of the worst feelings I have ever felt was pulling off my sodden rubber garb and exposing my bare ass the below freezing wind. It completely broke my spirit.  I put on every layer of clothes I brought and was only barely warm.  On a whim I packed my Patagonia down sweater and I could not have been happier to have it.  We set up the tent, ate some dinner and sat around chatting until after the sun set.  Neither of us were looking forward to putting on our wetsuits in the morning and the thought of having to do this for multiple days in a row fell heavy on us. We began discussing the possibility of heading back after only one night.  Our whole plan was three day paddle trip to circumnavigate Devil’s Island. We were going to do it in two and I felt a little bad about wasting the third day but I was really cold.

Friday morning dawned cold and sunny and I couldn’t bring myself to greet it. At about 9AM I dragged myself out of my nice warm bag and wandered down to the boats in the sub-freezing air.  The wind had died almost completely but there was a heavy coat of frost and ice on our boats and our wet clothes were frozen solid.  I moved them into the sunshine with the hopes they would be at least warm and wet and headed back up the hill to the campsite. We sat around cringing at the thought of putting our wetsuits on but by 11AM we could no longer avoid it.  I have to say it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had built it up to be. It was cold but not unbearably so. But you would have done the same thing if you would have been the one shaking the ice off of the only clothes you had for the day.

We loaded our gear and headed out explore the sea caves that make Devil’s Island famous.  It was the whole purpose of the trip and we were not disappointed.  The northeast shore of the island is riddled with dozens of caves and arches, many of them reaching one hundred feet or more under the land.  The waves were rolling in at 2-3 feet making a thorough investigation impossible but we spent plenty of time racing around the arches, bobbing like apples in the amphitheaters and splashing about in the crazy confused reflection waves within the bigger caves.  Most of my photos didn’t turn out due the rolling and splashing waves and the ones that were decent don’t do the experience justice.  I used one of our Aquapac camera cases and it kept my camera dry and safe throughout the paddle. My little Nikon point and shoot camera is really sensitive to moisture, I ruined one in on the AT, so it is really great to be able to shoot photos from the water without worrying. I would like to get a waterproof point and shoot someday but it is pretty big investment and the Aquapac has been a great alternative.

After an hour or so in the caves we headed out and finished the 3 mile circumnavigation of Devil’s Island. We stopped back at the dock, rested, ate and planned our route back to the marina.  As we left the island the wind and waves died and we had a few miles of calm, sunny, nice paddling.  It made me feel bad about heading home when we still had another day to paddle, but we had done what we came to do and the cold and wet just wasn’t calling my name.  We rested for a few minutes on Oak Island after making a bee line down the channel and then paddled out toward the mainland.  The wind shifted around to the east and struggled headlong into light breeze of about 10 knots. It wasn’t strong but it was enough to slow me down and drain the rest of my energy as we neared the end of another long day.  We rounded Red Cliff point and got in lee of Basswood Island  to find some respite from the wind. The last 3 miles were an easy cruise and we arrived at the car around 8PM after 19.5 miles.

It was a long paddle for early in the season but it was well worth it. The sea caves were spectacular; definitely one of the coolest things I have seen on the Lake Superior shore, and I have seen a good chunk of it.

We stopped at the South Shore Brewery for a quick and delicious dinner and then made the 3 hour drive home.  I had a really good time out, despite the freezing conditions. This was the first cold-weather kayak tour I have ever done and, like everything, I learned a lot. It made me really want a dry suit.  I will give it another shot for sure and I am certain that it will just continue to get better. It was great paddling with Greg and he got some great images.  For the first time after a paddle with Greg I have my own pictures so I didn’t need to steal all of his. I only took a few. But he has a lot more and they are  better than mine so you should definitely check them out at Juskuz.com

Matt | Kayaking | 04 11th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

The weather around here has been amazing the past few weeks; unseasonably warm and sunny.  The 4-8 foot piles of snow in our backyard in Calumet are nearly gone and there is grass everywhere.  It seems, at least for the time being, that winter has called it quits.  All this fresh air and sunshine and comfortable outside time has really gotten me motivated and feeling good.

I ran into Greg Maino at Downwind on Monday when we were picking up some Ice Axes for our PCT hike and we decided it was time for a paddle.  He is much more motivated than me and had already been out this spring but it was my first day on the lake and I was stoked.  We made plans to meet at McLain State Park on Tuesday when we got off of work and head out.  

I put the kayak on the van and loaded up my boat when Hannah got out of school but she wasn’t feeling well and opted not to join us. She did drive me down to the lake since I am far from proficient when it comes to driving and completely incapable of driving a manual transmission vehicle. The park was still closed and the road wasn’t plowed so we had to gear up in the parking lot and carry our boats down. Once on the water it was awesome. The lake was calm, the light was good and it was so nice to be back in the boat.  We headed south around the break wall and down the cliffs toward Redridge.  There was still some ice clinging to break wall and cliffs and it was really cool to see these gigantic chunks just floating feet above the water. The waterfalls were roaring with spring runoff and I got soaked as I paddled up underneath one. We were out for about 2.5 hours and it was a really nice paddle; a perfect evening.

I should say that this another post where I just stole all of Greg’s images.  You can check out his post about our paddle and the rest of his pictures at his blog: http://www.juskuz.com/?p=970. He does a really good job and I am pretty lazy so it works out well.  It is usually tough to find pictures of Hannah and I on our trips becuase we tend not to shoot them. Greg is really good at that and posted a buch of great pictures of me on his blog.  I really appreciate how good these images are. It is also really fun paddling with him.  I know I say this everytime I do anything with Greg, but you should really check out his site. He has some amazing photos on there.  www.juskuz.com

Matt | Kayaking | 03 17th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Last weekend we were lucky enough to get to go to Madison, WI for Rutabaga’s annual paddling expo. Rutabaga is the largest paddling shop in the country and Canoecopia is the biggest expo anywhere. I didn’t really think about what this meant until we got there. 25,000 paddling enthusiasts over the course of the weekend; a huge event center packed wall to wall with boats, paddles and other gear, and tons of slide shows about skills and trips. It was a paddlers paradise.

We got to present a slide show about our Lake Superior trip on Saturday morning. Hannah has been battling illness all winter and was pretty sick when she woke up and we weren’t sure if she was even going to be able to speak during our show but as the lights dimmed she pulled it together and did an amazing job. We had only given this presentation twice before, once at Downwind Sports‘ Ladies of the Lake symposium and the other for a few friends at MTU, so we were nervous about taking it to a bigger audience. Our fears were quickly relieved and we spoke to a standing room only crowd. The slide show seemed to be well received and I hope everyone who saw it enjoyed it. If you were there please leave us a bit of feedback, we really want to get better at this. Hannah had to leave after the presentation but I stuck around and soaked up every minute of the spectacle that I could.

I started seriously looking at whitewater boats and am pretty much sold on the idea. I sat in a few and I think I am going to start saving for a Pyranha Burn.  I don’t really need another sport to take up my time but I just can’t resist the allure of steep, fast water.

We also eyed up some collapsible kayaks made by Folbot. We have been taking about making boats that could travel more easily with us for a few months but the Folbot boats put that idea to rest. They were exactly what we were looking for. The construction was impeccable, the skin looked really durable and they packed down to more than a manageable size. I was really impressed and they were definitely a standout at the show. I highly recommend checking them out if you are interested an a boat that is a little easier to haul around. I also stole all of the images for this post from their website so send some love their way if you can.

Another highlight from the weekend was the premier of the film “This Is Canoeing” by Justine Curgenven. She made the popular “This is the Sea” sea kayaking movies and I was excited to see how it translated to canoeing. The film was good but didn’t have the same excitement level that the sea kayaking films did. There were some really cool whitewater shots and the laid back vibe really fit the general tone of canoeing as a sport but it wasn’t as visually interesting as some of her other films. I also caught her presentation about her circumnavigation of the South Island of New Zealand which was really interesting. It was cool to see how a professional’s trip matched up to ours and I am happy to say that what we did was bad ass.

All in all it was an awesome weekend. The amount of boats and number of people was really overwhelming but if you like paddling I highly recommend checking it out someday.

Matt | Kayaking | 03 17th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

For the past three years February has  signaled the arrival of a very special event in Hannah and my relationship….. Ice Fest.  Every year a few hundred vertical enthusiasts descend upon Sydney’s resaurant in Munising, MI to enjoy some of the best ice climbing the Midwest has to offer.  Ice fest was the place Hannah and I spent any real time together and our relationship grew out the connection we made there.

Our friends at Downwind Sports do an amazing job with this event. They line up a bunch of sponsors, get a few pro climbers to come give slide shows and manage the a crowd of about 450 climbers like they are all good friends.  They demo an unbelievable amount of gear and can set you up with everything you need to climb. They also have classes and a beginner area. It is a great place to learn how to climb, hone your skills or set out on some more advanced ice.  You can find a bunch of info on Downwind’s website or check out the Ice Fest facebook page.

From the Ice Fest Facebook page

Our weekend started on Wednesday with Michigan Tech‘s annual Winter Carnival. We wandered through the drunken hordes on campus to check out the festivities and look at the snow statues.  I must be getting growing up because I the spectacle of thousands of drunk 20 year olds seemed a lot more irritating than usual. The recent warm weather did a number on the statues making the multi-story  pieces of art lackluster compared to their usual quality.  The combination of the raucous party and below average entertainment left me a bit sour and we headed home early.

We loaded up our truck with all of our camping and climbing gear and headed down to Munising with hopes of wiping the bad taste of Carnival out of our mouths with some towering ice.  Our friend Jarrod met us at Sydney’s on Friday evening just before the first of the weekend’s three slide shows started. Every time I see a climbing slide show I can’t help but be inspired and dream of taking up climbing more seriously. This one was no exception. The amazing images from around the world and stories of adventure had my head spinning and ridiculous plans starting to form. After the slide show we hung around and waited for our friend Jon to show up so we could crash on his motel room floor. We went to the bar with him for a while when he showed up and finally retired at about 2AM.

Taken from Jarrod Nelson's Facebook page

Morning came pretty early on Saturday and we were not prepared to greet it.  Jon got up and geared up to climb but we could barely drag ourselves out of bed.  After a quick breakfast at Hardee’s we headed out to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to try and find some ice.  We hiked the North Country Trail away from Sand Point looking for a climb called Midnight Rambler but as we moved eastward we noticed that many of the climbs hadn’t formed due to the mild winter and every climb that did form had half a dozen or more climbers on them.  We made it to our destination to find four ropes already down and a sizable crowd at the base of the ice flow. We decided to continue on and search for less crowded real estate. We never found it.  The above average crowd and the below average volume of ice made for a lot of very busy climbing areas and with disappointment we headed back toward Sand Point. We dropped a rope on the far end of an area known as The Curtains, just down from the huge crowds at the demo area.  Jarrod was a first time climber so we set up on a nice 30 foot piece of ice and played around for a while. He got in a bunch of climbs and seemed to really enjoy it.

After climbing we headed back to Sydney’s for some dinner and free beer.  We made some friends from southern Ohio and ate dinner and hung around with them until the evenings festivities started.  The two slide shows were great. I love amazing climbing photos. It makes me wonder how I can live a place with no mountains.  Barry Blanchard, a professional climber from Canamore, Alberta gave a standout presentation. It was one of the most entertaining things I have ever seen with great photos and stories ranging from climbs in Northern Pakistan to being a foot double for Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger.  After the presentations every year they hold a raffle with really impressive prizes. Last year I won a Women’s Sub Zero down belay parka from Mountain Hardwear (which I gave to Hannah) and we were hoping to repeat our luck this year.  When they were showing off the prizes Hannah mentioned how she would like to win the Marmot Trestles 15 sleeping bag they had. Sure enough when they pulled out the ticket for the sleeping bag it was Hannah’s.  I, on the other hand, was not so lucky and came home empty handed but it is great to have won at least one thing between the two of us.  We spent the rest of the evening partying with some friends and went to bed about midnight.

Taken from the Ice Fest Facebook page

Hannah and I are used to sleeping in a bedroom that usually ranges between 30 and 40 degrees and spending the night in hotel that was probably more like 70 really took a toll on us.  Hannah woke up feeling terrible.  We intended on heading back out to the Lake Shore and climbing Midnight Rambler since the crowds usually disappear on Sunday but it was not to be.  We packed up our gear,ate a quick breakfast at the Navigator, and headed back to Houghton where Hannah had some homework waiting for her.

All in all it was a great weekend. Ice Fest is something we look forward to every year. The people are great, the event is super fun and really well run and usually the climbing is awesome.  It has been an unusually mild winter this year and it hasn’t lended itself well to ice climbing. Oh well. Such is life. I highly recommend coming up next year. Even if you don’t like climbing it is a really cool event to be at and by the end of it you may have changed your mind about the vertical sports.

I took the pictures from the Ice Fest facebook page because we haven’t gotten any of the pictures we took off on Jarrod’s camera yet. I will post an update of our pictures if we have some good ones.

Matt | Climbing | 02 11th, 2010 | No Comments »

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.

Matt | Gear, Hiking | 01 24th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

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#

Matt | Climbing, Hiking | 01 23rd, 2010 | 3 Comments »