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  1. #1
    Senior Member Big Flounder's Avatar
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    Short Weekend in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

    Every year on Memorial Day weekend my wife and I head 6 1/2 hours up north to a small piece of property we own in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We meet up with family there and have a good time camping. This year the rain caused us to head back after two nights rather than the intended three night stay, but we still had a great time. The UP is my favorite place on earth and if you've never been, do yourself a favor and schedule a time to go exploring up there. Beautiful country.


    The highlight of the weekend for me was that after trying to talk her into hammock camping the past few years, my wife finally agreed to give it a try. I set her up in my Warbonnet Blackbird XLC under my Simply Light Designs Winter Haven tarp. I wanted to make sure she was toasty warm as she gets cold easy, so she got my winter Wookie underquilt and 20 degree top quilt from Hammock Gear. Night time low temps were high 30's or low 40's and damp. I knew the top and under quilts would have been like a sweat box for me, but it was perfect for her and she slept like a baby both nights. She's agreed to do some short, hike in camping trips as long as she can sleep in the hammock again.




    My set up for the weekend was my Simply Light Designs Trail Lair, which has replaced my Blackbird XLC for my go to hammock. I find it just a little bit more comfortable for me as a big time side sleeper. I used my Warbonnet Mambajamba tarp, a Hammock Gear Econ 0 degree under quilt and a Wilderness Logics 40 degree top quilt. I've found 0 and 20 degree under quilts to work for me in a wide range of temps as long as my top insulation is light enough. I too slept like a baby.





    Camp.




    Morning coffee was made with the help of my new GSI stainless steel kettle, on top of my beloved Firebox Nano and Trangia stove. Not exactly an ultralight kit, but I really love the Nano and had been wanting to try a kettle for no reason other than they look cool hanging over a campfire.




    It might look like my wife and I took a ride on the four wheeler and came across a nearby logging operation, but no. I cut all this wood with a dull pocket knife, in a blizzard, blindfolded, while fighting off hungry wolves and trying to keep a blind porcupine from trying to mate with my leg. True story.





    One of our favorite things to do together in the UP is to go for rides in our Polaris Ranger and just explore. There's so many trails and dirt two tracks that you could ride for days and never hit the same trail twice. This picture makes the road behind us look paved, but it's gravel and one of the main roads running through the nearby national forest. Lots of old logging roads to explore branching off of this one.




    My wife managed to find a few of these tasty little treats.




    Last but not least is this random pic I had to take of a piece of logging machinery. I should have taken more pictures of the area that was logged. It always impresses me how much logging they can do with just one or two pieces of big equipment. Our little ten acres is all woods right now but I want to put a cabin on in within the next year or two. If I could borrow this beast and it's operator for just an hour, I could do a lot of work that will take me several days.





    All in all it was a great weekend with my much better half. Looking forward to my next trip north.
    Last edited by Big Flounder; 05-30-2019 at 18:42.
    -Jameson
    Proud Member of the North Country Trail Association-Hiawatha Shore to Shore Chapter
    http://www.northcountrytrail.org/

  2. #2
    cmc4free's Avatar
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    Yooper? Ya you betcha, eh!?

    Looks and sounds like you had a great time. I love the UP. Sad that I probably won't get a chance to head up there this year. Thanks for the post and giving me a chance to live vicariously.

  3. #3
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    Looks like you had a great weekend on the off grid future homestead. When can we invite ourselves there for a group hang? Subtle hint...We will even supply the bacon .

  4. #4
    Member
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    Eat any Pasties up der?

  5. #5
    Member Ssplash's Avatar
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    I grew up in the UP love it’s majestic serenity. Lots of good places to hike.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "Each of us has an Up North. It's a time and a place far from the here and now. It's a map on the wall, a dream in the making, a tugging at one's soul. For those who feel the tug, who make the dream happen, who put the map in the packsack and go, the world is never quite the same." Sam Cook, Up North 1986

  6. #6
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    And that purple tarp is? Looks like a custom print. OutDoorInk?
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  7. #7
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    I think the hot-tenters could wipe that 10-acres clean in about 3 hangs worth of firewood harvesting.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by OneClick View Post
    I think the hot-tenters could wipe that 10-acres clean in about 3 hangs worth of firewood harvesting.
    Sounds about right. Especially since having your own personal chainsaw is now part of our 10 essentials.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Big Flounder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gunner65 View Post
    Eat any Pasties up der?
    Nope. I've been trying to get rid of this tire around my waist and pasties weren't going to help. Heck, I even passed up on my usual cheeseburger at the local bar. I'm a cheeseburger fanatic but haven't had one in a month.


    Quote Originally Posted by cougarmeat View Post
    And that purple tarp is? Looks like a custom print. OutDoorInk?
    Neither tarp is purple. The lighting in the picture just makes it look weird. My wife was under a coyote brown tarp and I was under the a camo tarp from Warbonnet.
    -Jameson
    Proud Member of the North Country Trail Association-Hiawatha Shore to Shore Chapter
    http://www.northcountrytrail.org/

  10. #10
    Senior Member Big Flounder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OneClick View Post
    I think the hot-tenters could wipe that 10-acres clean in about 3 hangs worth of firewood harvesting.
    Yeah, I'd like to not clear cut my woods entirely.

    Quote Originally Posted by michigandave View Post
    Looks like you had a great weekend on the off grid future homestead. When can we invite ourselves there for a group hang? Subtle hint...We will even supply the bacon .
    I'm working on it Dave. Going to have a driveway put in really soon. That'll get me much closer to hosting a small group hang. We could always take over that Pine River Campground too.
    -Jameson
    Proud Member of the North Country Trail Association-Hiawatha Shore to Shore Chapter
    http://www.northcountrytrail.org/

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