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5-day Kingston Plains
Snowshoe-&-Sledge Winter-Camping Trip

January 14-18, 2011
Kingston Plains
Lake Superior State Forest
Central Upper Peninsula
Grand Marais, Michigan

Last revised on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 5:29 PM

Notices & advisories regarding
Michael Neiger's
wilderness adventures

Forewarned is forearmed

A participant's failure to physically and mentally prepare for this adventure; acquire the necessary skills and equipment for this adventure; or recognize, take responsibility for, and avoid the unknown and unpredictable hazards and perils that will present themselves on this adventure will likely result in the participant's serious injury, paralysis, or slow, painful death.

Accidents and injuries

Wilderness adventures—especially remote, foul-weather travel; bushwhacking cross-country; cliff and steep slope travel; climbing; canyoneering; cave exploration; river fording; swimming; canoeing; portaging; skiing; snowshoeing; winter camping; ice travel; ice crossing; deep cold; high winds; etc.—involve unknown and unpredictable hazards and perils.

• Hypothermia • Burns
• Hyperthermia • Fractures
• Dehydration • Lacerations
• Frostbite • Joint injuries
• Eye injuries • Near drownings
• Flu • Falls through ice
• Colds • Car accidents
• Giardia • Et cetera

Accidents, injuries, and problematic incidents are not something that only happen on other people's wilderness adventures or to other wilderness trippers. They have happened in the past on Michael Neiger's adventures, and they may happen on this adventure as well. Click here to learn more about past accidents, injuries, and incidents.

Medical and dental exams

As with any strenuous activity, it is strongly recommended participants visit their physician to make sure he or she approves of their participation in this adventure. A dental exam is also highly recommended.

Safety glasses

It is highly recommended eye protection—safety glasses—be worn on this adventure, especially while bushwhacking, as several participants have suffered near-incapacitating eye injuries in the past.

Cotton clothing

Avoid wearing or carrying cotton clothing on this adventure as when—and not if—it gets wet, it will be extremely difficult and time-consuming to dry.

On past adventures, wet cotton clothing and its tendency to conduct heat away from the body much faster than other fabrics has led to numerous cases of hypothermia, which is the number one killer of wilderness trippers.

Clothing fashioned from nylon, supplex, polypro, fleece, microfibers, wool, etc., are much safer and easier to manage during prolonged bouts of foul weather.

Survival kit

An on-your-person (in-pocket), survival kit—folding knife, waterproof matches, firestarters, compass, mini-light, and whistle—secured with loss-prevention lanyards should be carried during this adventure.

Allergies to bee stings

If you are allergic to bee stings, consult your physician before participating in this adventure; inquire about carrying an injectable epinephrine unit—such as an EpiPen or Ana-Kit—in your first-aid kit.

First-aid kit

The only first-aid equipment available on this adventure is that which is carried by each participant. Consult your personal physician to determine what items, including medications, you should carry.

Emergency medical care

There will not be any doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics, or other trained emergency medical personnel on this adventure.

No one will have first-aid or other emergency medical training. At best, other participants may only be able to render the most basic and rudimentary of aid.

Search & rescue

No one on this adventure will have training in rope handling, rappelling, climbing, caving, ice travel, high-angle slope travel, swift-water travel, etc. N

No one will have training in rescue from these situations either.

Insurance

No insurance coverage of any sort is provided for participants on this adventure. It is highly recommended that participants consider purchasing their own insurance policies:

  • Trip cancellation insurance
  • Dental insurance
  • Medical insurance
  • Prescription insurance
  • Evacuation insurance
  • Disability insurance
  • Life insurance

Emergency communications

No emergency communications gear such as cell phones, satellite phones, or satellite beacons (ELTs, PLBs, & EPIRBs) will be carried during this adventure.

The only way to summon search and rescue personal or emergency medical personnel during this adventure will be for another uninjured participant to walk, snowshoe, paddle, peddle, etc. to a point where help can be summoned.

The wait for assistance may be very long—sometimes measured in days—and could possibly be very painful, maybe even fatal.

Since the evacuation process will be both very difficult and costly to arrange, participants should consider carrying their own communications gear as well as purchasing evacuation insurance, as noted above.

The adventure:

Current participant list:

• Larry Bryan, Lansing, Michigan
• Ewa Roszczenko, Livonia, Michigan
• Mary Powell, Flint, Michigan
• Dave Goodyear, DeWitt, Michigan
• Gail Staisil, Marquette, Michigan
• Cathy Susan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
• John Rowling, Fort Gratiot, Michigan
• Muir Watson, Houghton, Michigan
• Don Watson, Houghton, Michigan
• Mary Ann Hayman, Sault Ste. Marie,
  Ontario, Canada
• Matt Acker, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Christopher Latta, Grand Haven, Michigan
• Joseph Schwartz, Plymouth, Indiana
• Michael Neiger, Marquette, Michigan

During this free, public adventure, we'll spend five days exploring the Kingston Plains in central Upper Peninsula's Alger County.

Our leisurely-paced, unscripted route will consist of off-trail, cross-country travel on snowshoes pulling cargo sledges (five loaners sledges are available on a first-come, first-serve basis).

The trip will run from 9:00 a.m. Friday morning to midday on Tuesday.

Thursday night's optional bivouac location and Friday morning's assembly area will be the large snowmobile staging area and plow turnaround on H-58, just west of Wolf Lake, and about 3.5 miles south of Kingston Lake. A detailed driving map will be provided to participants at a later date.

For the latest info about this trip, visit the trip discussion thread on Backpacker Magazine's Midwest Forum.

Journals from Michael's prior January trips and expeditions

2010a :: 2010b :: 2008 :: 2007a :: 2007b :: 2004a :: 2004b :: 2003

Photo albums from Michael's prior January trips and expeditions

2010a :: 2010b :: 2010c :: 2010d :: 2008a :: 2008b :: 2008c :: 2007a :: 2007b :: 2007c :: 2005 :: 2003

 

Participant requirements:

Participants should be adults (18 or over) who are experienced, fully-equipped, deep-cold winter campers who enjoy wilderness adventures without tobacco or alcohol.

Participants must be swimmers and in good physical condition as this adventure is not suitable for the unfit or overweight.

Warming or cooking fires are welcome as long as they are built on a steel cookie sheet setoff the ground with legs or atop two logs, etc.

Bivouacs will be in pristine, non-campground settings.

Camping permits: State of Michigan law requires a free DNR Camp Registration Card be posted when bivouacking on state land.

 

Rations required

  • Breakfasts: 5 days
  • Snacks: 5 days
  • Lunches: 5 days
  • Dinners: 4 days
  • Backup: 1 day

 

Land navigation info

USGS 1:24,000-scale quadrangles: Trappers Lake, Michigan; Au Sable Point SW, Michigan; Au Sable Point, Michigan; Au Sable Point SE, Michigan; Driggs Lake, Michigan; Sunken Lake, Michigan; Driggs Lake SE, Michigan (ordering info).

Click here to learn more about land navigation gear.

 

 

 

 

Preregistration required

If you would like to participate in this free backcountry adventure, or have any questions regarding it, please provide your full name, trail name, city, state, e-mail address, and phone number to the organizer:

Michael Neiger
Marquette, Michigan
1-906-226-9620
mneiger@hotmail.com

Registration: participants will receive a registration form by e-mail prior to the trip.

Liability waiver: participants are required to sign a liability waiver prior to the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In God's wilderness lies the hope of the world,
the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness.
  — John Muir, 1838-1914, Alaska Wilderness, 1890

If you've been able to read this Web page...
thank a Teacher;
If you've been able to read this Web page in English...
thank a Veteran.
 —Author unknown

• Copyright notice •
Content Copyright 1984 to 2010-12-15
By Michael A. Neiger

• All rights reserved •
No part of this Web page or this Web site protected by copyright law may be reproduced, transmitted, or used in any form--including graphic, electronic, Web, mechanical or other form--or by any means--including photocopying, recording, taping, Internet distribution, information storage retrieval system, or by other means--for any purpose, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages, without the prior, express, written permission of the author.

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Web site URL: http://www.MiBSAR.com

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