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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: Winter Camping via snowshoes
pulling cargo sledges
Destination: Delirium Wilderness Tract
Hiawatha National Forest
Chippewa County
Raco, Michigan
When: 8 a.m. Friday, January 12, to
midafternoon, Tuesday, January 16
Level: Intermediate-level, off-trail,
map-and-compass recon
Difficulty: Strenuous; deep cold (minus
30 standing temps); deep snow; heavy sledges; thick, tangled, swamp
travel and waterway travel.
Prerequisites: Participants do not
have to be members of the Sierra Club. Participants must be very physically
fit; have prior extreme, cold-weather, winter-camping experience; and
extreme cold-weather/foul-weather gear.
Costs: A $10 (U.S. funds) voluntary
donation to the Central Upper Peninsula Group of the Sierra Club to
offset organizing costs (maps, phone calls, group equipment, etc.) is
recommended but not required. Club sledge rental fee: $5 (U.S. Funds).
Sign-up deadline: Required by January
3
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 lodging and
assembly 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 5-day, intermediate-level, winter-camping trip
will involve a recon of Chippewa County's 11,870-acre Delirium Wilderness
Tract and adjoining bush. We'll travel as the Ojibwa did for 100s of years
before us: pulling cargo sledges on snowshoes.
Located along the south side of M-28, near the near
nonexistent settlement of Raco, this rugged and inhospitable wilderness
area is seldom visited or penetrated.
The Delirium Wilderness is located in Chippewa County,
Michigan. It lies 22 air miles southwest of Sault Ste. Marie. The village
of Rudyard lies 3 miles to the southeast. Delirium is bounded on the north
by FR-3130 and 3352 and on the south by FR-3131. The Lake Superior State
Forest borders the area on the east. Three miles to the north is State
Highway M-28 at Raco.
Human influence is apparent in the area. Past strip
cutting of cedar trees is evident in some areas of swamps. Old stumps
and former roadways from early 1900's logging are also apparent. The Sylvester
Dam and its access are situated within the heart of the wilderness, geographically,
yet are excluded from it by the designated boundary. The earthen dam was
installed about 18 years ago and is natural appearing, as is the 80-acre
pond.
The landscape, which was formed from old glacial lakes,
is flat to rolling, with elevations ranging from 590 to 890 feet. Two
water bodies are found in the area; 80-acre Sylvester Pond and the six-acre
Delirium Pond. Overall character of the land can be described as swamp.
As the headwaters for the Pine and Waiska Rivers, these
wetlands serve to help recharge the aquifer, filter and retain nutrients
and sediment (purify the headwaters), and provide habitat for waterfowl
and furbearing wildlife species. Tree species within the area include
swamp conifers, aspen, and white cedar in the wetlands, and red pine and
jack pine in drier areas.
Wildlife predominant in the area includes; beaver,
bobcat, otter, ducks, loons, great blue heron and some sandhill cranes.
Whitetail deer, black bear and rabbits are also common species found in
the area. To protect nesting areas of waterfowl species, visitors are
discouraged from using Delirium in the spring and early summer.
Current recreation use is primarily hunting and trapping.
The thickly forested swamps, surface water and biting insects limit other
forms of recreation. For those willing to face these challenges, the area's
vast acreage enhances the potential for experiencing a feeling of solitude.
In wintertime, visitors may discover a greater ease of travel, freedom
from insects, and quiet.
The Delirium area may also appeal to the person who
appreciates and wishes to study plants and animals associated with wetland
types.
There are no marked pathways in the Delirium Wilderness.
Expert orientation skills are needed to find one's way into and out of
the area. To fully experience the wilderness value of the area, a visitor
should have a genuine interest in the study of wetlands and ability to
endure some physical discomfort.
The Delirium area is administered as a part of the
Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District of the Hiawatha National Forest.
Source: USFS
- Delirium Wilderness Tract
Handout/Map (U.S. Forest Service, Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District,
4000 I-75 Business Spur, Sault Ste., Marie, Michigan 49873, 1-906-635-5311)
- "Delirium, the Unknown Wilderness,"
by William P. Bjork, Michigan Natural Resources magazine, May/June
1998, pages 24-25 & 27-29
- Wildersness.Net
- B&W
Aerial Photograph of the Deliruim Wilderness Tract
- Color
Aerial Photograph of the Deliruim Wilderness Tract
- Delirium
and Back
- Search destination in http://www.google.com
search engine
- County Sheriff: Chippewa
Co, 906-635-6355
- County Sheriff: Mackinac
Co, 1-800-892-6156
- State Police: Sault Ste.
Marie, 906-632-2216
- State Police: St. Ignace,
906-643-8383
- Hospital: Sault Ste. Marie,
906-635-4460
- Hospital: Newberry Hospital,
906-293-5181
- Hospital: St. Ignace, 906-643-8585
- 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 (non-winter trips).
- 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.
- Crown Land bivouac advisory:
Anyone non-resident camping on land owned by the Crown-- the Canadian
government--outside of a provincial or national park, must purchase
a Crown Land
Camping Permit, which costs $10 Canadian per day, per person. These
permits are widely available through local outfitters and stores that
sell hunting and fishing licenses. They can also be purchased from the
Ministry
of Natural Resources. Waivers for these camping permits are available
for non-profit groups such as the Sierra Club, and are often applied
for by the trip leader a month or two in advance of a trip.
- 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.
- Fire-proof stove base:
Carry a heat-resistant, fire-proof stove base to prevent ground fires,
which have been a problem in the past.
- Water supply: Bring
an adequate amount of water to the trailhead as there is generally no
water available.
- 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, the main stuffsacks on your
sledge should be lined with huge heavy-duty "contractor" grade
plastic bags. Critical items within the "contractor" bags,
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.
- Canadian trips:
- Canadian money: You
may want to consider getting Canadian money from your local bank
before the trip, or using one of the money exchange services located
in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, if they are open when you cross the
boarder. Currency exchange calculators on the Net include XE.com:
Universal Currency Converter http://www.xe.com/ucc/
or X-Rates: Canadian dollars exchange rate http://www.x-rates.com/cgi-bin/show
- Gasoline: You may
want to consider topping off your gas tank, before you cross the
border, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
- Identification: Bring
appropriate identification with you to reduce problems getting into
Canada as well as back into the United States. If you don't have
a visa, a copy of your birth certificate can help establish your
identity.
- Breakfasts--4
- Snacks--5
- Lunches--5
- Dinners--4
- 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
[ ] Magnesium firestarter (recommended)
[ ] Sturdy pocket knife
[ ] Compass
[ ] Whistle
[ ] Signal mirror (recommended)
[ ] Map of area
[ ] Ice-rescue picks
[ ] 50-foot, floating, rescue line
[ ] One carabiner
[ ] Steel cookie sheet for fire base & stove
base
[ ] Small saw
[ ] Elastic ankle wrap
[ ] Moleskin
[ ] Vaseline
[ ] Band-Aids
[ ] Waterproof first-aid tape
[ ] Pain relief medication
[ ] Anti-inflammatory medication
[ ] Cold & flu medications
[ ] Small tweezers
[ ] Small scissors
[ ] 50 feet of 1/8-inch braided nylon cordage
[ ] Duct tape
[ ] Sewing kit
[ ] Snowshoe repair kit
[ ] Sledge repair kit
[ ] Stove repair kit
[ ] Inflatable pad repair kit
[ ] 2 very thin balaclava
[ ] 2 thick hats that can be worn together
[ ] Neoprene facemask
[ ] Hood on windshell
[ ] Hood on insulated overparka
[ ] 1 pair of sun glasses
[ ] 1 pair of safety glasses (for bushwhacking)
[ ] 1 pair of goggles (optional)
[ ] 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 (optional)
[ ] 1 uninsulated windshell with hood
[ ] 1 nylon rain parka (no vinyl; no ponchos)
[ ] One heavily-insulated overparka with hood
[ ] 1 pair of mittens shells
[ ] 3 pair of mitten liners
[ ] 2 pair of glove liners (optional)
[ ] 1 pair of 1/4-inch thick fleece or micro-fiber-insulated
pants (sidezips are very handy)
[ ] 2 pair of polypro long underwear
[ ] 1 pair of uninsulated windpants
[ ] 1 pair of nylon rain pants (no vinyl)
[ ] 1 pair of heavily-insulated overpants
[ ] 1 pair of mukluks with removable liners and insoles
[ ] 1 pair of replacement liners and insoles for mukluks
[ ] 4 pair of thick synthetic socks
[ ] 2 pair of liner socks (optional)
[ ] 1 pair of vapor-barrier liners
[ ] 1 large, heavy-duty, roll-proof, cargo sledge
(pulk) with solid traces and waistbelt
Participants must use 5-foot-long
Sierra Club sledges ($5 rental)
unless trekker gets prior approval
from leader
[ ] Sledge deicing kit: synthetic scrub pad and plastic ski scraper
[ ] Large stuffsacks lined with compactor- or contractor-grade plastic
bags
[ ] Small PVC tarp for cargo cover
[ ] Insulated waist-belt, water-bottle parka
[ ] Waist belt snack pouch
[ ] Large, high-quality snowshoes for deep snow
[ ] One or two ski poles (optional)
[ ] Tarp
[ ] Bivouac sack
[ ] Ropes to rig tent
[ ] Minus-40-degree, synthetic-insulated sleeping bag
[ ] Sleeping pads; one thick, one thin
[ ] Heavily-insulated sleeping booties
[ ] Flashlight (LED is recommended)
[ ] Hands-free headstrap (if needed)
[ ] Spare batteries(lithium for deep cold)
[ ] Spare bulbs if non-LED
[ ] Candles
[ ] Large-blade shovel
[ ] 2 one-quart durable water bottles
[ ] Thermos
[ ] Lightweight, winter-camping stove
[ ] Aluminum fuel cells (allow about 13 ounces of white gas per day)
[ ] Lighter with lanyard to suspend from neck
[ ] Windscreen for stove
[ ] Fireproof base for stove (use fire pan listed above)
[ ] Pot holder
[ ] Pot
[ ] Lid for pot
[ ] Spoon
[ ] Insulated mug
[ ] 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)
[ ] Spare prescription glasses (if needed)
[ ] Toilet paper
[ ] Synthetic pack towel
[ ] Toothbrush
[ ] Toothpaste or toothpowder
[ ] Toothpicks & dental floss
[ ] Handcleaner (optional)
[ ] Plastic spade (optional)
[ ] Lightweight engine oil for easier starting in
deep cold
[ ] Extra car key on lanyard
[ ] Vehicle registration papers
[ ] Vehicle insurance papers
[ ] Locking gas cap
[ ] Heavy-duty battery in good condition
[ ] Road map (Michigan 1-800-292-2520; Canada 1-800-268-3736)
[ ] County map book for Michigan trips
[ ] Spare tire (check pressure!!)
[ ] Tire jack and lug nut wrench
[ ] Snow shovel (spade in summer)
[ ] Windshield scraper and snow brush (winter)
[ ] Vehicle Safety Checks: tire pressure, wiper blades, front and rear
wiper fluid, oil, radiator fluid (subzero rating), transmission fluid
[ ] Jumper cables
[ ] Nylon tow strap
[ ] Single-bit axe (optional)
[ ] Bow saw (optional)
[ ] Hi-lift bumper jack (optional)
[ ] Hand-operated winch (optional)
[ ] Pick axe (optional)
[ ] Tire inflation system (optional)
[ ] Engine-block heater for pre-warming frozen engines (optional)
[ ] Long extension cord for engine-block heater (optional)
More equipment
information
- Delirium Wilderness
Tract Handout/Map (U.S. Forest
Service, Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District, 4000 I-75 Business Spur,
Sault Ste., Marie, Michigan 49873, 1-906-635-5311)
- Hiawatha National Forest Service Map,
Michigan 2001 (U.S. Forest Service, Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District,
4000 I-75 Business Spur, Sault Ste., Marie, Michigan 49873, 1-906-635-5311)
County map ordering
information
- Grid coordinate system
1000-meter Universal
Transverse Mercator Grid (UTM)
- UTM grid horizontal map datum:
1927 North American
Datum (NAD 27 CONUS) for Michigan trips
1927 & 1983
North American Datum (NAD 27 CA & NAD 83) for Canadian trips
- 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 for Michigan trips
1:20,000 &
1:50,000 for Canadian trips
- Ranger pacing
beads:
Metric--9 100-meter
beads; 4 1-kilometer beads
- Magnetic declination setting on compass:
0° of offset
Land
nav team information
- Backpacking
skills
- Land nav skills
- River fording
skills
- Rip current
safety skills
- Water
purification skills
- Lightning safety
- Low-impact skills
- Backpacking
links, books, & vendors
- Ultralight
backpacking links, books, & vendors
- Swift-water
paddling skills
- Paddling
links, books, & vendors
- Dressing warm
skills
- Sleeping warm
skills
- Winter-camping
skills
- Ice-crossing
skills
- Snowshoe
links, books, & vendors
- Winter-camping
links, books, & vendors
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