I just returned from a four day hike in the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area of Michigan. It was great! The place was absolutely deserted. Miles of beach and not a soul in sight. No cars in any parking lots, no campers. Nada, zip, zero. On the first day it was sunny and warm but the wind was fearsome, blowing in all directions as it swirled through the mounds of sand. I camped close to the beach and pitched my Campmor 8'x10' 1.3 oz silicone tarp using Kelty Triptease Lightline to string it up. This light tarp shed the wind beautifully. Every night it rained. The rope never sagged and I was always bone-dry beneath the tarp, even in the heaviest winds. The extra ties in the middle of the tarp helped me string it up for roominess. I highly recommend the rope. It takes up very little room and is very light and strong. It's also reflective and will help you find your tent or tarp in the dark.
I used my homemade alcohol stove, made from two tin cans. It was unfailing and cooked up a storm. I described its manufacture here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000589.html
Normally I don't take big knives during backpacking but since this was a short trip, I made an exception and took my new Busse Natural Outlaw. What can I say other than this blade is totally awesome. I beat it to death and by the end of the trip, it was still plenty sharp. With the Outlaw I hewed an aspen hearthboard and drill and for a socket I cut the heartwood out of a small birch limb. For lubrication, I used clarified butter. The bow was also of birch and the cordage was a double strand of parachute cord. Dry tinder was plentiful and fire came quickly.
Some wild foods were easily found. Fiddleheads were popping up all over the place. I picked a pile of them, rubbed them between the hands to remover any hairs, then steamed them and served them with clarified butter. Yummy. My favorite springtime fair--morels--were not to be found. Last year I found a bag full there for my dinner. Conditions were just a little dry although with the recent rains, they should be sprouting up all over Michigan.
Nordhouse Dunes is a migratory bird trap and I saw 5 rafts of loons and a variety of other waterfowl, 4 pileated woodpeckers, 2 eagles and several different hawks, 7 species of warblers, and a variety of mammals including a beaver and a fisher. Tracking animals in the sand is also great fun in the dunes. There were many stories written in the sand, each morning a different set of stories would appear.
If you like the sound of a big lake lapping the shore and sunsets over an unblemished horizon, beachcombing and a COLD dip in the lake, Nordhouse provides a little wilderness flavor not too far from the madding crowd. P.S. Don't tell anyone.
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Hoodoo
I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
I used my homemade alcohol stove, made from two tin cans. It was unfailing and cooked up a storm. I described its manufacture here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000589.html
Normally I don't take big knives during backpacking but since this was a short trip, I made an exception and took my new Busse Natural Outlaw. What can I say other than this blade is totally awesome. I beat it to death and by the end of the trip, it was still plenty sharp. With the Outlaw I hewed an aspen hearthboard and drill and for a socket I cut the heartwood out of a small birch limb. For lubrication, I used clarified butter. The bow was also of birch and the cordage was a double strand of parachute cord. Dry tinder was plentiful and fire came quickly.
Some wild foods were easily found. Fiddleheads were popping up all over the place. I picked a pile of them, rubbed them between the hands to remover any hairs, then steamed them and served them with clarified butter. Yummy. My favorite springtime fair--morels--were not to be found. Last year I found a bag full there for my dinner. Conditions were just a little dry although with the recent rains, they should be sprouting up all over Michigan.
Nordhouse Dunes is a migratory bird trap and I saw 5 rafts of loons and a variety of other waterfowl, 4 pileated woodpeckers, 2 eagles and several different hawks, 7 species of warblers, and a variety of mammals including a beaver and a fisher. Tracking animals in the sand is also great fun in the dunes. There were many stories written in the sand, each morning a different set of stories would appear.
If you like the sound of a big lake lapping the shore and sunsets over an unblemished horizon, beachcombing and a COLD dip in the lake, Nordhouse provides a little wilderness flavor not too far from the madding crowd. P.S. Don't tell anyone.
------------------
Hoodoo
I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
