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Sierra Club Wilderness
trips and expeditions
Chapter: Michigan (Mackinac)
Group: Central Upper Peninsula (CUPG)
Leader: Michael Neiger, Marquette,
Michigan (Web site; e-mail;
bio)
Review trip journal no. 1, trip journal no. 2, and photo album from this completed trip
Read about plans for next year's expedition
February
10-15, 2005
(note:
date changed as of 9-22-04)
18th Annual Canadian Snowshoe
Expedition
This year's annual, advanced-level, winter-camping trip--which will be our 18th Annual Canadian Snowshoe Expedition--will involve a six-day snowshoe tour pulling cargo sledges (five, first-come, first-serve, $5-rental club sleds available by prior arrangement) just as the Ojibwa travelled for 100s of years. We travel deep into the heart of the non-motorized Lake Superior Provincial Park in Canada. Our only companions will be the wild timber wolf and the majestic moose.
While our final route will depend on river and lake ice conditions as well as snow depths, we will likely try to reach the old, abandoned, two-story executive lodge on Old Woman Lake.
Gary De Kock prepares
a snowshelter in anticipation
of a 40-below night
along the Little Agawa River,
deep in the Canadian bush,
February 2001
(Photo by Michael Neiger)
Destination:
Lake Superior
Provincial Park,
Old Woman Lake Lodge
Algoma District
South of Wawa, Ontario
Experience level:
Expert-level,
minus 50 degree wintercamping
with sledge ($5 club rental) and snowshoes
Requires prior winter-camping experience with leader
Difficulty:
Extremely strenuous
Off-trail/on-trail rating:
100 percent off-trail
map & compass recon
Participant requirements:
-- Notice:
please review the homepage on this Web
site
for general wilderness tripping requirements
-- 18 years old or older
-- non-smoker and non-drinker
-- very physically fit (good aerobic endurance)
-- adventurous spirit
-- proficient swimmer
-- prior wilderness tripping experience
-- fully equipped with lightweight backpacking gear
including rucksack, bivouac gear,
survival gear,
foul-weather gear, rations, stove,
etc.
Bivouac
advisory:
This
is not a basecamp trip.
We will move each day
and bivouac in a different location each night,
often deep in the bush and far from roads,
dry & level campsites, potable water, toilets, and
fire rings.
Trip info:
-- 8 a.m. Thursday
to late afternoon on Tuesday
-- Club fee: $20
-- Rental of club sledge: $5
-- Other fees: None, LSPP is closed during the winter
-- Sign up
by January 27 appreciated
-- Contact trip
leader for sign up, or application form if new
-- Review journals
and photos from similar wilderness trips
Specialized equipment required:
-- In-pocket survival
kit (knife, matches, firestarters,
compass, whistle); Sierra Club survival
kits can be
borrowed free of charge
-- Ice-rescue picks
Rations required:
-- Breakfasts--5
-- Snacks--6
-- Lunches--6
-- Dinners--5
-- Backup rations--2 full days
-- Rations and stoves
info
Additional destination info:
--Algoma Central
Railway, 1-800-242-9287, http://www.algomacentralrailway.com
--Lake Superior Provincial Park headquarters, 1-705-856-2284,
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/parks/lakes.html
--"Railpacking," by Don Stap, "Backpacker
Magazine", September 1985, pp. 48-49.
--"Backpacking and Wilderness Camp Site Areas in
Algoma Central Country," undated 3-page photocopy by Algoma Central
Railway.
--"Canoe Routes," Lake Superior Provincial
Park, 2000 edition
--"Hiking Trails," Lake Superior Provincial
Park, 2001 edition
--"The Complete Guide to Walking in Canada,"
by Elliott Katz (Firefly Press, 2001)
--"Voyageur Hiking Trail Guidebook," (Voyageur
Trail Association, 1998)
-- Search destination in http://www.google.com
search engine
Travel
info:
-- Driving
maps
-- Road conditions and
weather reports
-- Tourism info
-- Road trip gear
Wilderness skills and resources info:
-- Backpacking
skills
-- Land nav skills
-- River fording skills
-- Water purification
skills
-- Lightning safety
-- Low-impact skills
-- Backpacking links,
books, & vendors
-- Ultralight backpacking
links, books, & vendors
--
Dressing warm skills
-- Sleeping warm skills
-- Winter-camping
skills
-- Ice-crossing skills
-- Snowshoe
links, books, & vendors
-- Winter-camping
links, books, & vendors
Emergency contacts:
-- Ontario Provincial
Police, Wawa, 1-888-310-1122
-- Ambulance, 705-856-4203
-- Hospital, 705-856-2335
-- LSPP Red Rock Lake Headquarters, 705-856-2284
-- Sierra Club Outings Department 24-hour help line:
1-888-outings
Land Nav Team Info:
Topographic maps:
1:50,000 Old Woman Lake 41N/10 & 41N/11 (required)
1:20,000 20-16-6600-52700 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6600-52800 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6700-52700 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6700-52800 (Ontario
base map, optional)
--Topo map ordering
information
--Topo map waterproofing
& GPS prep
Park maps:
1:100,000
Lake Superior Provincial Park Map
--Order at 1-705-856-2284
2005
Magnetic declination specs:
Magnetic declination
for Lat 47° 40'N, Lon 84°48'W:
07° 17' west
UTM easting grid line to meridian
line deviation:
01° 40' east
UTM easting grid line magnetic declination:
08° 57' west
GPS
configuration specs:
Grid coordinate
system
1000-meter Universal
Transverse Mercator Grid (UTM)
UTM grid horizontal map datum:
1:20,000 maps:
1927
North American Datum Canada (NAD 27 Can)
1:50,000 edition 2 (old) maps:
1927
North American Datum Canada (NAD 27 Can)
1:50,000 edition 3 (current)
maps:
1983
North American Datum (NAD 83)
UTM grid zone:
Zone 16
UTM grid hemisphere:
Northern hemisphere
Unit of measure:
Metric
Battery type:
Lithium, for deep
cold, or long-range use
Alkaline, for 3-season
use
Battery type setting:
Select type of battery
(lithium, alkaline, or Ni-Cad);
battery discharge-rate
differences affect meter accuracy
Misc nav setup:
Roamer
UTM plotter scale(s):
1:20,000 & 1:50,000
Ranger pacing
beads:
Metric--9 100-meter
beads; 4 1-kilometer beads
Magnetic declination setting on compass:
0° of offset
More land nav team info
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