I never considered a pulk, but I may put a cheap/quick one together for this next year. I would really like to bring some chili and a few other things to go with.
I never considered a pulk, but I may put a cheap/quick one together for this next year. I would really like to bring some chili and a few other things to go with.
Wow...Looks like a great time. Perhaps I can catch a ride north with Badwind at a future hang!
Thanks for sharing.
Or you're welcome to park at my place in Ft Wayne, then I'll drive the rest. But I missed this event twice, so maybe it's best to avoid my bad luck! Already looking forward to next year.
I'm heading up this weekend for a last-chance winter trip before spring makes a strong, early entrance starting Monday.
Not quite. In fact it's looking much better than last weekends 40°+ slop! Just flirting with above-freezing for maybe 2hours each day. Sunday I'll be out before it's in the mid-30s. So a nice winter trip. Finally!!
0° TONIGHT!!! I'm packed and outta here soon...
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 0. Calm wind.
Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Wind chill values as low as zero. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night
Snow likely, mainly after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 21. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday
A 40 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 34. South wind around 5 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Sunday
Partly sunny, with a high near 39.
Sorry this is a little late…Work has been a little hectic since returning from the Piney Woods!!!
MichiganDave has most of the details covered in his post so I’ll try not to sound like a broken record. That being said… I had a great time and met a lot of really nice people at Green Timbers in the Pigeon River State Forest Area. This was my first true winter hang (excluding the backyard and local stealth hang areas). I picked up MichiganDave around 5am on Thursday, February 25th and we were packed and heading out around 5:30am. We drove through a hellish snow storm but the crappy driving conditions and hours on the road were well worth it. We met up with Turkey, Squirrelbait, and Badwinds at the Big Boy in Gaylord and then headed out to the trail head. Donk67 was there waiting and ready to go. It took us around 2.5 hours to make our trek in because of the awful ice conditions we were walking on. Looking back we probably should have been wearing the snow shoes but I think we were all just being a bit lazy
This was my first time using the pulk. I had a lot of fun getting used to it. It is definitely its own beast and I have definitely learned a few things about using one as well as how to improve the one I have. I’m currently using PVC rods that in total are right around 7 feet. There’s really too much play with that kind of length and I will definitely be cutting that down and continuing to test. One day when I have the extra money I will invest in the fiberglass rods. I also learned that padding on the front of the hip belt is just as important as padding on the back for those “stop and go” moments.
Once we arrived, we saw TZBrown and Dogger who had been there since the day prior. I had never in my life seen a “hot tent” so this was pretty awesome to me. I was quite jealous!!!!
While at camp I learned a lot!!!! I brought a lot of MRE’s (mainly because of vegan diet restrictions) not really knowing that everyone pretty much cooks full blown meals over the campfire! I definitely have some great ideas for next year! I also learned about the importance of everyone pitching in. It is an absolute necessity …especially in the winter. Everything you do in the winter seems to take a lot out of you so splitting some of the duties (mainly wood gathering and water gathering) was very helpful. I got my work out in while cutting down some of the trees with John Deering (http://deeringknives.com/) as well as hauling out with MichiganDave, Dogger, TZ, Badwinds, and Turkey …(and hauling MichiganDave around in TZ’s pulk!).
During this trip I really got to learn the “intricacies” of the MSR whisperlite. Not to bash the product (because it does actually work really well)…but man it is a pain in the butt to get that thing out, setup, and then put it away. Hopefully I can figure out an easier way…or maybe I’m just missing something. It was amusing that I enjoyed the easy setup/use of MichiganDave’s $13.00 ebay isobutane canister stove (Dpower Ultralight folding stove) over the $100.00 MSR Whisperlite. I should have probably just brought my Soto Micro Regulator stove.
We also hiked up two different times to the honeymoon cabin. The first was with the majority of the group during the day and the second was with MichiganDave and ThunderArrows as a night hike on our last night. It was extremely peaceful.
All in all this was a great trip and I met a lot of great people. I really appreciate everyone who took me in and helped show me the way. Although not everyone shares in my belief’s (being vegan)…it was really amazing how supportive several of you were. Several of you went above and beyond trying to come up with different cooking ideas or products that would make my future backpacking adventures easier and I really appreciate that. A special thanks to MichiganDave for hooking me up with a much lighter cookset as well as letting me borrow his Dutchware hammock in 1.6 hexon for the weekend. Soooo much more comfortable than the 9foot ENO
If I could give one piece of advice to any new comer reading this….invest in either an Anorak or some other type of wool top and bottom to protect your insulation layers. I will definitely have one by next year!
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
-Mark Twain
Thanks for the review! It's nice to hear feedback on the Whisperlite stove. I'm considering getting one for serious snow melting. Right now my Jetboil does a great job, but I try to get away from canister stoves when possible since you never really know how much is left. I sure wish I could have made it up there to meet everyone.
Nice job on the video/pics and adding more details about the trip, Pantologist! Looks like breakfast from the hammock turned out pretty nice. It was a great time and I'm glad we didn't scare you from joining the crew on future trips. Thanks for driving...it was nice being a passenger for once
Just an observation after coming back from a group hang: now the gear search begins because there's always something that someone else had that we just have to have now. I bought Turkeys spare pair of Neo Overshoes for my down booties, there's some hot tent research going in, someone else needs a new stove and there's an interest in disposable dental hygiene products and lin-locs for tarp pullouts. Group hangs are good for the economy!
Last edited by michigandave; 03-03-2016 at 12:03.
I think the whisperlite works very well and boils water quickly...My issues however are:
-It's a pain in the butt to get it out, set it up, then put it all away. Plus, you always have a small amount of fuel leak out from the stove end because its in the fuel line so i put mine in a ziplock bag with a piece of paper towel.
-It's heavy
-the stove always wants to lean one way because of the way the fuel tube is bent.
Shug uses the older model and he uses http://outdoorsportzone.com/product/...idfire-stoves/
which i think would help a lot!!! but again it only works with the older whisperlite.
If you want to chat more about the whisperlite or have questions, PM me so this trip report thread isn't all about the whisperlite
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
-Mark Twain
Well it looks the snow will leave next week. Going to go back for one last weekend, one more burn for the hot tent. Going up friday morning. See you there mark
Doggger
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