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Sierra Club Wilderness trips and expeditions
Club:
Sierra Club
Chapter: Michigan (Mackinac)
Group: Central Upper Peninsula (CUPG)
Leader: Michael Neiger, Marquette,
Michigan (Web site; e-mail;
bio)
Type: Early-season backpacking trip
Destination: Fox River Valley
Lake Superior State Forest
Schoolcraft and Alger County(s)
Seney, Michigan
When: 8 a.m. Friday, May 5 to late
afternoon Monday, May 8
Level: Intermediate-level, 30-degree
backpacking
Difficulty: Strenuous; off-trail; multiple
swift-water, deep-water river crossings; swamp crossings; recon by map
& compass
Fees: $10 club fee, payable at trailhead
Sign-up deadline: April 26 appreciated
Sign-up process: After thoroughly reviewing
the material presented below, contact
trip leader to sign up. If
this is your first trip with the leader, you should submit a completed
Participant Questionnaire, which is available by e-mail from
the leader.
Trailhead assembly &
bivouac location: To be announced by e-mail about a week prior
to trip
Leader: Michael
Neiger, Marquette, Michigan (Web site;
e-mail; bio)
Club: Sierra
Club; Chapter: Michigan;
Group: Central
Upper Peninsula
This early-spring backpacking trip will involve a cross-country
exploration of a portion of wilderness situated along the largely-trailless
east bank of the main branch of the upper Fox River, which is situated
within the Lake Superior State Forest, north of M-28.
Our area of travel will include the portion of the
Fox River Valley bounded on the south by the river's confluence with Gronden
Creek, which is located about a mile north of Seney, an old railroad town
at the intersection of M-28 and M-77, and bounded on the north by the
old east/west-running abandoned railroad grade built by the Lake Superior
and Ishpeming Railroad Company. If time permits, we may investigate Sunrise
Landing (section 29), which was the site of a large switchyard and turnaround
loop in the area.
Northward travel along the trailless east bank of the
river will involve, jeep trails, cross-country travel, and bushwhacking.
Travel along the west bank of the upper Fox River, Little Fox River, and
Stanley Lake area may include portions of the Fox River Pathway, jeep
trails, cross-country travel, and bushwhacking.
Since the watercourses in this region are largely unbridged,
our unscripted route will require multiple deep-water, swift-water crossings,
several fords of watershed tributaries, and swamp crossings.
The Fox River system is located in Alger, Schoolcraft
and Luce counties in the eastern half of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The
mainstream of the Fox flows south from northeastern Alger County through
flat sand plains and lowland hardwoods to its confluence with the Lake
Branch of the Manistique River, which continues on the Lake Michigan.
The Fox's East Branch, West Branch and Little Fox are its main tributaries.
The East Branch joins the Fox River Mainstream about a mile above the
Manistique River and is nearly equal to the Mainstream in length and discharge.
The basin is approximately 26 miles long and 10 miles wide.
(Contains material adapted courtesy of the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources)
- Michigan Department of
Natural Resources (DNR): http://www.michigandnr.com
and The
Fox River Plan
- Fox River Pathway brochure and annotated
map, by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, available from
the DNR's Shingleton Forest Management Unit by e-mailing: DNR-Shingleton-FMU@michigan.gov
- Hiking Michigan book, by Mike
Modrzynski (Falcon Press, 1996).
- Backpacking in Michigan
book, second edition, by Pat Allen and Gerald L. DeRuiter (University
of Michigan Press, 1989).
- Paddling Michigan
book, by Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom (Falcon Press,
2001)
- Canoeing Michigan Rivers:
A Comprehensive Guide to 45 Rivers book, by Jerry Dennis and
Craig Date (Friede Publications, 1986)
- "Hemingway's Many Hearted
Fox River," by Nick Lyons, National Geographic magazine
(June, 1997)
- Learn more by searching
destination on the Internet: http://www.google.com
- Schoolcraft County Sheriff:
Manistique, 1-906-341-2122
- Alger County Sheriff: Munising,
1-906-387-4444
- Michigan State Police: Munising,
1-906-387-4540
- Michigan State Police: Manistique,
1-906-341-2101
- Hospital: Manistique, 1-906-341-2163
- Hospital: Munising, 1-906-389-4110
- Hospital: Newberry, 1-906-293-5181
- Sierra Club Outings Department
24-hour help line: 1-888-outings
- Trekker must be 18 years old
or older
- Trekker must be drug-free
and a non-smoker and non-drinker
- Trekker must practice low impact
travel and bivouac skills, leaving alcohol, pets, and speaker radios
at home
- Trekker must have prior wilderness
tripping experience
- Trekker must be fully equipped
with lightweight gear including rucksack, bivouac gear, survival
gear, foul-weather gear, rations, stove, etc.
- Trekker must by very physically
fit (good aerobic endurance)
- Trekker must have a strong
mind and an adventurous spirit
- Trekker must be comfortable around
water and a proficient swimmer
- Trekker must be able, willing,
and equipped to travel off-trail and bushwhack through challenging,
thickly-forested, mountainous terrain with a fully-loaded rucksack
- Trekker must be able, willing,
and equipped to slog through muddy, wet, tangled swamps with
a fully-loaded rucksack
- Trekker must be able, willing,
and equipped to ford or swim unbridged rivers and lake narrows
with fully-loaded rucksack, wrapped in a tarp, floating alongside.
- Trekker must be able, willing,
and equipped to travel and bivouac in foul weather.
- Trekker must be able, willing,
and equipped to travel and bivouac in very remote areas, far
from roads, dry & level campsites, potable water, toilets, and fire
rings.
- Notice:
please review the homepage on this Web
site for general wilderness tripping requirements
- Hypothermia warning:
I have had to intervene on several cases of hypothermia in the past,
5 times in one year alone. These incidents were largely the result of
trippers who were trying to go ultra-light and were not carrying the
multiple, redundant layers of clothing that I recommend. Reversing hypothermia
takes hours of work on the part of others on the trip--a lot more work
than is required to pack a couple extra pounds of warm clothing.
- State Land bivouac
advisory: Anyone camping on land owned by the State of Michigan
is required by law (Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act,
Sec. 74201 et seq., P.A. 451 of 1994) by the Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) to post a Camp
Registration Card (Form no. PR 4134) at their campsite. This permit--which
is free--must be filled out in pencil (to make it legible when wet).
Since the permit (view
permit as PDF file) is perforated and made of heavy cardstock to
withstand weathering, it can not be reproduced. These 8.5- by 11-inch
permits can be picked up from any Michigan
DNR office, or they can be ordered by e-mailing the DNR at DNR-FMD-TREES@michigan.gov.
While these permits are usually provided by the trip leader, you should
consider obtaining one when you are camping on your own, especially
the night before the start of a Sierra Club trip. There is a substantial
fine for not posting a Camp Registration Card.
- Long-term parking
advisory: Reduce problems by keeping your car locked, relatively
empty, and uninviting. ALWAYS USE A LOCKING GAS CAP (they are very inexpensive
[$10-15], especially when compared to the alternative of a vandal ruining
your engine or emptying your gas tank miles from the nearest gas station).
- Sierra Club Liability Waiver
Form: National Sierra Club Policy requires that all trip participants
read, understand, and sign the club's liability waiver form before they
can participate in a club trip. Review and familiarize yourself with
this form--Acknowledgment of Outing
Member Responsibility, Express Assumption of Risk, and Release of Liability--before
the trip.
- Allergies to bee
stings: If you are allergic to bee stings, you must notify the
leader in advance of the trip. You must also agree to carry an injectable
epinephrine unit, such as an EpiPen or Ana-Kit, as prescribed by your
doctor.
- Prohibition on cotton clothing:
No high-cotton-content clothing--save a bandana or two--is allowed
to be worn or carried in your rucksack for safety reasons. When wet,
cotton is hard to dry and can be deadly as wearing cotton clothing often
leads to hypothermia. Wool or synthetic clothing fashioned from nylon,
supplex, polypro, fleece, or microfibers are much safer and easier to
manage in foul weather.
Top
Sierra Club wilderness tripping and expeditioning--especially
remote, foul-weather travel, bushwhacking cross-country, cliff and steep
slope travel, climbing, cave exploration, river fording, swimming, canoeing,
portaging, skiing, snoeshoeing, winter camping, ice crossing, etc.--involves
unknown and unpredictable hazards and perils.
- A participants failure to physically train
and mentally prepare oneself for a harsh Sierra Club wilderness trip;
acquire the necessary skills and equipment for the trip; and recognize,
take responsibility for, and avoid the unknown and unpredictable hazards
and perils that often present themselves on such a trip will likely
result in the serious injury, paralysis, or slow, painful death of the
participant. There is no emergency medical equipment, doctor, nurse,
or other trained emergency medical provider on Sierra Club wilderness
trips.
- There is no means of contacting emergency
medical personnel or rescue personnel on Sierra Club wilderness trips.
Emergency communications equipment, cell phones, satellite phones, GPS
units, and satellite beacons (ELTs, PLDs, & EPIRBs) are not provided,
and can't always be relied upon when they are carried.
- Search and rescue services, emergency medical
care, and evacuation of the non-ambulatory may be very difficult and
costly to arrange; in some cases, the wait could be very long, painful,
and fatal. On wilderness trips through remote areas in Michigan and
Canada, it may take several days of rigorous travel by uninjured volunteers
before emergency personnel can even be contacted for help.
Prior to undertaking a wilderness trip or expedition,
it is highly recommended that a participant have a comprehensive health
checkup, which should include a:
- thorough physical exam
- stress test
- dental examination
Prior to undertaking a wilderness trip or expedition,
it is highly recommended that a participant obtain the proper insurance
coverage, including:
- medical insurance
- prescription insurance
- dental insurance
- evacuation insurance
- trip cancellation insurance
- disability insurance
- life insurance
Vendors for trip, medical, and evacuation insurance
include:
- GPS Personal Locator Beacons that integrate
GPS position fixes with 406MHz and 121.5MHz transmitters:
- Personal Locator Beacon Rentals:
- Satellite Phone Rentals:
- Survival kit:
An in-pocket (on-your-person) survival
kit (knife, waterproof matches, firestarters, compass, and whistle)
is highly recommended. Sierra Club loaner survival kits are available
from the club stores for free by prior arrangement.
- River-fording gear:
River-fording footwear, pack towel, and shorts are mandatory
- Water containers:
Containers to hump 4 quarts of water are mandatory
- Safety
glasses: It is highly recommended that some form of eye protection--safety
glasses--be worn while bushwhacking.
- Equipment waterproofing:
To keep your gear dry during foul weather or when floating rucksack
(wrapped in a tarp) across a river or other waterway, the main compartment
should be lined with a huge heavy-duty "contractor" grade
plastic bag. Critical items within the "contractor" bag, such
as clothing, sleeping bag, and rations, should be further protected
from moisture by lining the stuff sacks containing these items with
heavy-duty "garbage compactor" bags. Avoid using regular garbage
bags as they tear to easily.
- Hydration and snack
consumption on trail: It is recommended that you carry a water
bottle and snacks on your waistbelt in separate pouches so you can snack
and sip water while underway. Snacking and drinking water are essential
for avoiding dehydration, hypothermia, and exhaustion when things get
challenging, especially late in the date or during foul weather. Sierra
Club loaner snack pouches and water bottle carriers are available from
the club stores for free by prior arrangement.
- Breakfasts--4
- Snacks--4
- Lunches--4
- Dinners--3
- Backup rations--1 full day (breakfast,
snack, lunch, dinner)
Measure, weigh, and triple
check your rations. You should be carrying about 1.75-2.75 pounds of dry
weight food, or about 2700-4500 calories of food per day, depending on
your body weight and exertion level. It is recommended that you avoid
"bulk" packaging and instead pack each meal serving individually
in its own, separate plastic bag. This system has the following
advantages over putting all of your snacks, say nuts for the whole trip,
in one bag:
- You'll know for sure at home
(visually) that you've packed enough food;
- In the bush, you'll now exactly
how much to eat without eating into another days rations; and
- You will further reduce the
chances of your food getting ruined if moisture penetrates the food
bag itself as the moisture will still have to work its way into each
and every single, individual meal unit.
Meticulous ration planning,
measuring, and packaging is tedious but essential for safe & successful
long-range recon of remote wilderness. Additional menu planning information
is available on the rations and stoves page.
[ ] Waterproof matches
[ ] Waterproof firestarters
[ ] Sturdy pocket knife
[ ] Compass
[ ] Whistle
[ ] Map of area
[ ] Elastic ankle wrap
[ ] Moleskin
[ ] Vaseline
[ ] Band-Aids
[ ] Waterproof first-aid tape
[ ] Pain relief medication
[ ] Anti-inflammatory medication
[ ] 20 feet of 1/8-inch braided nylon cordage
[ ] Duct tape
[ ] Sewing kit
[ ] 1 very thin balaclava
[ ] 2 thick hats that can be worn together
[ ] 1 pair of sun glasses
[ ] 1 pair of safety glasses (for bushwhacking)
[ ] Prescription glasses (spare if important)
[ ] Bandana
[ ] Sun hat (optional)
[ ] Rain hat (optional)
[ ] 3 or 4 thin polypro tops
[ ] 2 1/4-inch thick fleece or micro-fiber-insulated jackets.
[ ] 1 1/4-inch thick fleece or micro-fiber-insulated vest
[ ] 1 thin breathable nylon shirt
[ ] 1 nylon rain parka (no vinyl; no ponchos)
[ ] A heavily-insulated parka with hood is advisable on early spring
and late fall trips
[ ] 1 pair of mittens
[ ] 1 or 2 pair of 1/4-inch thick fleece or micro-fiber-insulated
pants (sidezips are very handy)
[ ] 1 or 2 pair of polypro long underwear
[ ] 1 pair of thin nylon hiking pants
[ ] 1 pair of nylon rain pants (no vinyl)
[ ] 1 pair of hiking/swim shorts
[ ] 1 pair of sturdy boots
[ ] 3 pair of thick synthetic socks
[ ] 2 pair of liner socks (optional)
[ ] 1 pair of short gaiters (optional)
[ ] 1 pair of river fording shoes/sandals
[ ] 1 large rucksack lined with contractor-grade
plastic bag
[ ] Raincover
[ ] Waist belt water bottle parka
[ ] Waist belt snack pouch (optional)
[ ] Tarp and bivy; or small tent and cook fly
[ ] Stakes and ropes to rig tent or tarp
[ ] 20 degree sleeping bag
[ ] Sleeping pad
[ ] Sleeping booties (optional)
[ ] Flashlight (LED is recommended)
[ ] Spare battery
[ ] Candle
[ ] 1 bottle of 100% DEET
[ ] 1 spare bottle of 100% DEET
[ ] 1 headnet
[ ] 1 spare headnet
[ ] 2 one-quart durable water bottles
[ ] 1 two-quart water bladder
[ ] Water purification system (iodine tablets recommended)
[ ] 1 spare bottle of iodine tablets
[ ] Lightweight backpacking stove
[ ] Fuel for stove (five to six fuel tabs per day for Esbit Nato stoves)
[ ] Lighter
[ ] Windscreen for stove
[ ] Fireproof base for stove
[ ] Pot holder
[ ] Pot
[ ] Lid for pot
[ ] Spoon
[ ] Mug
[ ] 50-foot food-hanging rope (use cheap, hard, 1/8-inch-diameter, slippery
rope)
[ ] Personal medications
[ ] Driver's license
[ ] Birth certificate and/or passport (recommended for Canadian trips)
[ ] Emergency phone numbers
[ ] Credit cards
[ ] Cash and travelers checks
[ ] Medical and dental insurance cards
[ ] Sunscreen
[ ] Lipbalm with sunblock
[ ] Wrist chronograph
[ ] Paperback book (optional)
[ ] Toilet paper
[ ] Synthetic pack towel
[ ] Toothbrush
[ ] Toothpaste or toothpowder
[ ] Toothpicks & dental floss
[ ] Handcleaner (optional)
[ ] Plastic spade (optional)
[ ] Extra car key on lanyard
[ ] Vehicle registration papers
[ ] Vehicle insurance papers
[ ] Locking gas cap
[ ] Battery in good condition
[ ] Road map (Michigan 1-800-292-2520; Canada 1-800-268-3736)
[ ] County map book of Michigan (1-800-777-6720)
[ ] Spare tire (check pressure!!)
[ ] Tire jack and lug nut wrench
[ ] Shovel (spade in summer)
[ ] Vehicle Safety Checks: tire pressure, wiper blades, wiper fluid,
oil, radiator fluid, transmission fluid
[ ] Jumper cables (optional)
[ ] Nylon tow strap (optional)
[ ] Axe (optional)
[ ] Bow saw (optional)
[ ] Hi-lift bumper jack (optional)
[ ] Hand-operated winch (optional)
[ ] Pick axe (optional)
More equipment information
- Schoolcraft County
- Alger County
County map ordering
information
- Fox River Pathway brochure and annotated
map, by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, available from
the DNR's Shingleton Forest Management Unit by e-mailing: DNR-Shingleton-FMU@michigan.gov
- Grid coordinate system
1000-meter Universal
Transverse Mercator Grid (UTM)
- UTM grid horizontal map datum:
1927 North American
Datum (NAD 27 CONUS)
- 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
GPS
configuration information
- Roamer UTM plotter scale(s):
1:24,000 &
1:25,000
- Ranger pacing
beads:
Metric--9 100-meter
beads; 4 1-kilometer beads
- Magnetic declination setting on compass:
0° of offset
Land
nav team information
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