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Location: TheRuckSack
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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 from this completed trip
June 30 to
July 10, 2005
19th
Annual (Summer) Canadian Backpacking Expedition
(Notice: Trip dates,
itinerary, rations, and costs revised 06-21-05)
On this year's 46-kilometer, 11-day summer
Canadian Backpacking Expedition, we'll explore the remote and inhospitable,
trail-less, Lake Superior shoreline between Chalfont Cove and Old Woman
Bay in Lake Superior Provincial Park.
Other than sea kayakers paddling the
coast, this portion of the park is seldom, if ever, visited, especially
in the interior. In addition to exploring the coastline's coves, cliffs,
and beaches, we'll be pouring over our maps and working the interior bush
in search of waterfalls, fishing holes, swimming holes, rocky peaks, old
growth, old trappers cabins, and pristine bivouac areas.
Along the way, we'll be keeping an eye
out for massive moose sheds dropped the preceding winter. They should
be plentiful, especially as we approach Grindstone Point, a place where
moose are known to yard up in the winter. On past trips many klicks south
of this yard, we were cataloging up to three sheds a day. We will also
be keeping an eye out for ground spoor (tracks and scat) from the ever-elusive
timber wolf.
Destination:
Lake
Superior Provincial Park
Algoma
District
South of Wawa, Ontario
Experience level:
-- Expert-level,
high-skills backpacking
-- Only suitable for the hardcore, extremely-fit expeditioner
-- Requires prior backpacking experience with leader
Difficulty:
-- Extremely
strenuous
-- Extremely remote, seldom-traversed, cross-country
route
-- Extremely rugged, steep/high-angle, mountainous terrain
-- Extremely bad bug conditions
...black flies, no-see-ums, mosquitoes,
beach flies
-- High heat & humidity
-- Heavy rucksack due to ration load
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 (very 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.
Evac advisory:
Evac will require watercraft or helo support,
depending on location
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. Friday
to late afternoon on Saturday, or Sunday
-- Club fee: $15 (U.S. funds)
-- Park camping permits: $7.50/night or $67.50 (Canadian
funds)
-- Sign up
by June 17 required
-- Contact trip
leader for sign up
-- 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
-- River-fording footwear
-- Some basic climbing equipment may be required
Rations required:
-- Breakfasts--10
-- Snacks--10
-- Lunches--10
-- Dinners--9
-- Backup rations--1 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
brochure, 2000 edition
-- Hiking Trails, Lake Superior Provincial Park
brochure, 2001 edition
-- The Complete Guide to Walking in Canada, by
Elliott Katz (Firefly Press, 2001)
-- Voyageur Hiking Trail Guidebook, (Voyageur
Trail Association, 1998)
-- Agawa Ice Climbing Map, (Granite Publishing,
1999) http://www.climbingcentral.com
-- Algoma Central Railway, by O. S. Nock (A.
C. Black Limited, 1975)
-- Tracks of the Black Bear, by Dale Wilson and
Gordon D. Jomini (Nick Belt Rails, 1990)
-- The Algoma Central Railway Story, by Dale
Wilson (Nick Belt Rails, 1984)
-- Forest Trails: Mile by Mile, by Rick Vosper
(Algoma Central Railway, 2002)
-- Guide to Sea Kayaking on Lakes Superior and Michigan:
The Best Day Trips and Tours, by Bill Newman, Sarah Ohmann, and Don
Dimond (Globe Pequot Press, 1999)
-- Exploring Superior Country--The Nature Guide to
Lake Superior by Craig Charles (1992, NorthWood Press, Inc.)
-- 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, Wawa, 705-856-4203
-- Hospital, Wawa, 705-856-2335
-- LSPP Red Rock Lake Headquarters, 705-856-2284
-- Algoma Central Railway, 1-800-242-9287
-- Sierra Club Outings Department 24-hour help line:
1-888-outings
Provisional itinerary:
(Note: Totally
revised 6-20-05)
Trip Architect:
Chris Ozminski, Flint, Michigan
Total approximate distance: 43.0 klicks (km)
04.5 klicks along established portage trail
28.5 klicks bushwhacking
10.0 klicks established trail hiking
- Friday,
July 1: 4.5 klick early-morning trek along established portage trail
from Highway 17 (north of Rabbit Blanket) to northeast corner of Alpine
Lake; 3.0 klick bushwhack from NE corner of Apline Lake, recon Apline
outlet for falls, Till Lake, and down along Till Creek Falls to Lake
Superior.
- Saturday,
July 2: 3.5 klick bushwhack to Gravel Lake, recon Cheer Lake Creek
Falls along the way
- Sunday,
July 3: 2.5 klick bushwhack to Bushy Bay and Grindstone Point
- Monday,
July 4: 3.5 klick bushwhack to middle of Red Rock Canyon
- Tuesday,
July 5: 3.5 klick bushwhack to Red Rock River mouth and sand beach
on Lake Superior
- Wednesday,
July 6: 4.0 klick bushwhack (1 klick on beach) to Sommers Lake
- Thursday,
July 7: 3.0 klick bushwhack to Sommers Lake rivermouth on Lake Superior
(cobble rock)
- Friday,
July 8: 2.0 klick bushwhack/shoreline walk, swimming crevasses, to
Ryan Point/Cove
- Saturday,
July 9: 3.5 klick bushwhack to Chalfant Cove; possible finish of trip
with 10 klick trail hike to cars at Gargantua Bay
-
Sunday,
July 10: 10 klick early-morning trail hike to cars at Gargantua
Bay, or bivouac at Warp Bay, finishing hike on Monday
Land Nav Team Info:
Topographic maps:
1:50,000 Old Woman Lake 41N/10 & 41N/11 (required)
1:50,000 Michipicoten Harbour 41 N/15 (required)
1:20,000 20-16-6500-52600 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6400-52700 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6500-52700 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6400-52800 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6500-52800 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6500-52900 (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 85°00'W:
07° 07' west
UTM easting grid line to meridian
line deviation:
01° 40' east
(Old Woman Lake, edition 2 quad)
UTM easting grid line magnetic declination:
08° 47' west
GPS
configuration specs:
Grid coordinate
system
1000-meter Universal Transverse
Mercator Grid (UTM)
UTM grid horizontal map datum:
1:20,000 (current) maps:
1983
North American Datum (NAD 83)
1:20,000 (old) 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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