Recharge

I took a birthday trip up to Copper Harbor, seemingly the end of the Earth. People asked why I would go there to celebrate my birthday. Well..

To sleep under the stars and hear the world.

To listen to the water and watch the clouds march across the sky.

To sit and think without distractions.

To spend time with my best friend looking for adventure.

In other words: to be myself.

-J

Shots of the "Up North" trip

This year we got to go home for the 4th of July. Check out the week in pics:

Someday, this will be a daily deal.

Chelsea Marie heading north, out of Pierport.

Sure you could golf Arcadia Bluffs for a bunch of money, or you could get a much better view of them from the boat for free!

Trip home essential: Big Al's Stromboli! Adventure food!

Great way to end a day.

Must get back soon.

-J

Friday Photo

My brother, hard at work getting our tinder bundle ready.

We cooked a beautiful pot of ramen on this.

-J

The Holiday List

Are you looking of the right gift for that person on your list who kind of has everything? Or the person that does outdoorsy things? Those type of people hard to buy for, I should know.

Fear not gift givers, I have a solution; I will amass a list for you to peruse and select the perfect gift that that type of person. The monetary range varies so you will be able to find just what you are looking for.

Let's start with some gear: I suggest a pair of snowshoes if you live in a snowy clime. They are a great way to get out and see things that most other people don't get to. Trails are difficult to walk in when the powder is up to your knee, strap some of these on and that will be no problem. One of the best things about snowshoes is that there is little to no learning curve: open the present, strap them on and start exploring. Great gift to keep families active during the winter. This is the pair that I have, and I really enjoy them:



A good jacket: You cannot go wrong when you get someone a jacket. I prefer versatility and function, that is why I that buying a combo jacket is the best way to go. I am talking about a shell and some sort of fleece/ vest that zips inside. This one is a good place to start looking:  

Jackets like this are great because they offer the perfect solution to whatever mother nature decides to throw at you.

Base layer, base layer, base layer: There are many brands that make an equal amount of claims about the superiority of their base layering. However, I prefer a base layer that has a bit of a compression factor to it. I feel that the compression feature makes me feel like I am performing better. It rarely bunches up and feels like it wicks moisture very well.

The first set that I got were Under Armour, and I still use them. Great produce and fairly easy to find in the run-of-the-mill sports shop: 

Gloves/ Mittens: Let's lump these together because you are looking for the same qualities in either. Gloves are a great gift because, like socks, everyone could always use another pair.

You want gloves that are waterproof and well insulated without inhibiting the mobility of the hands. (I am picturing the younger brother from Christmas Story)

This is a nice pair of heavy-duty gloves: 

                                Waterproof and insulated without being too bulky.

                              Good pair of waterproof softshells: more dexterity, less insulation.

Here we have a great pair of mittens, nothing fancy to look at, but they will definitely keep your fingers warm:

Hats: I personally prefer a headband, it helps to keep your body temp from getting too high while doing things. For activities that don't require a lot of movement something like this is just perfect:

Great concept, nice protection around the ears and a thin layer to keep the top of the head protected from the elements.

Goggles: The type of activities that your gift receiver does will have a great bearing on what kind of goggles they will like.

For the avid skier/ snowboarder a nice high-end pair with wide panoramic lenses are the best.


For the snowshoer/ cross-country skier/ hiker: 




Daybag: Everyone on your shopping list could use a daybag. Photographers, hikers, students, bikers, anyone. When looking for a daybag, I suggest a capacity of 35 liters or less, stretchy, mesh side pockets to carry drinks, wide array of compartments and pockets, a chest strap and a bright color for visibility.

A few suitable pics: 

Stove: A light, backpacking style stove is a nice addition to any collection. They are great to make a nice cup of coffee or tea when you need a break, or to heat up some ramen.

Cup: A stove will not do you too much good without something to heat the water in. A simple aluminum cup will do the trick. If you can find one with a looped handle that is best as you can hang it off your pack to cool when you are done.

Well, this should get you started thinking about the kinds of things to buy the outdoorsy type. Of course, if they are into something specific like biking, climbing, kayaking or some other sport where components are hard to gauge and choose, it may be just at nice to get them a gift card or cash to pick out their own stuff.

Have a happy holiday season!

-J

Proposed Ann Arbor Whitewater Project (possibly) gets a little help?

(Question: why put such a pic with a post about whitewater? Answer: because this post is a little preachy, and is kind of walking the like (get it) between political advocacy and just pure excitement for an outdoor activity!)

This story from last October, regarding a possibly whitewater park on the Huron River, close to downtown Ann Arbor) really caught my attention: http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-park-advisory-commission-recommends-117-million-reconstruction-of-argo-dam-headrace/

However at the time it seemed rather pie in the sky, that is a lot of money, and not everyone would really be into that. (Side note: I think that there are a lot of people around here that would really dig something like this!)

I was reminded of this proposed park earlier this year when the City of Petoskey opened its own park: http://upnorthnewsandsports.blogspot.com/2011/05/petoskey-opens-whitewater-paddling-park.html. News of that park was very exciting. Face it, whitewater yakking is just something that just does not exist in this state.

So upon seeing this story: http://www.annarbor.com/news/dte-energy-offering-to-pay-for-whitewater-features-included-in-argo-dam-headrace-project/ which talks about DTE Energy footing the bill for the whitewater portion of the project, I was very pleased. This would be a very beneficial installment in the community.

Parks such as these offer local paddlers the opportunity to experience diverse conditions in an artificial (local) setting. They have the potential to bring people in to towns and area thus making new destinations for tourism. There is also a potential for new businesses to form as a result of whitewater parks; kayak rental/ sales shops, and an opportunity for persons with experience to give lessons on whitewater kayaking.

I really hope that I am around here long enough to see this plan come to fruition.

-J

A Float with my Frater

A lot of outdoorsy people are constantly asked by family and friends why they go out and do the things that they do; why subject yourself to getting blisters, scrapes, bug bites? Why eat salty freeze-dried pouches when you could just hit up McDonald's? In essence, why deprive yourself and risk injury by doing things in the outdoors? The answer: I have no clue, but I do. However I am lucky enough to have a brother who is not one of these people, Zach.

(photo by Jeannette Ware)

He understands the primal feeling of starting a fire without matches, and the pride in making do with the materials that you have. That is why we had such a great trip this past week down the Big Manistee River.

We put in at Tippy Dam and snaked out way through the combat fishermen who were eagerly casting within 15 feet of one another. After a few bends we were rid of the mass of people and only ran into the occasional boat, or group of guys on the shore.

When I made this trip the Monday before, I did so alone, and in doing so I was very cautious in my actions. I did not search the log jams for hidden treasures or spend too much time out of my kayak. That trip was mostly a personal time trial and endurance run.

Zach happily dodges the combat fishermen. (photo by Jeannette Ware)

(photo by Jeannette Ware)

However when there are two people you can take more liberties than when you are alone. Zach and I shot up into the jams searching for whatever treasure we could find; bottles, lures and bobbers mostly. Doing such adds considerable time on to the run but what it adds in time, it multiplies in enjoyment. Between the two of us we found about 20 bobbers, and 15 crank-baits, not a bad day at all!

A bit of treasure from one plentiful jam.

We were lucky enough to have had a large sampling of wildlife on our trip. Among them were many ducks, geese actually quite a few trout swimming in the shallows. We also saw 6 or 7 muskrats both on shore and swimming in the water, funny little creatures and quite fearless too, Zach had one swimming directly towards him while he worked on a lure stuck in a jam. The coolest animal sighting of the day personally was a weasel, or maybe it was mink, either way we saw it atop a log on a bank. Very cautious little bugger.

Look at this little fellow who was searching for some minnows.

Zach scans the log jam to determine if it will be fruitful.

When it was time to fix lunch we opted for some Chicken Ramen and canned beans. We decided to start a small blaze to boil the ramen water sans lighter/ matches. 

It started with small pit with wood shavings as kindling:

Then we made a Les Stroud inspired tinder bundle and struck at it with out flint like to sorcerers until we saw a faint wisp of smoke. Zach quickly grabbed the bundle and coaxed a flame:

Welcome to Yonkers' riverside cantina; you want beans or soup?

Chef Zach stirs the river-water based Ramen. MMMMmmmmm

With out stomachs full of the kind of meal that as Zach put it you take a nap after, we continued to travel with the current.

Lucky for us we had favorable conditions. Great day of paddlin'!

Checkout that knife: ready at all times.

Sweet reflection caught while checking out one of the larger tributaries.

We had a great trip, I look forward to doing it again. Maybe next time the thermals will not be necessary!

I am thinking about doing a trip in August; Arcadia to Onekama via Lake Michigan, or Arcadia and back from Onekama. I would prefer the latter with a start early in the morning.

Tippy to White-Fence a Solo Trip Down the Big Manistee River

After a stressful semester I decided to take to the woods and connect with the life-force. My first trip of the week took place on the Big Manistee River. 

 It was a cold gray Monday morning when I was dropped off at Tippy Dam. After dodging the lines of combat fishermen standing no more than 8 feet apart from one another I was off. Once I rounded two more bends I saw three boats and then nothingness. It was great.

The water was high, cloudy and moving quickly, no doubt a result of the rains of the weekend. An hour into the trip I spotted a Bald Eagle, but could not maneuver my camera out of my pack with the numb digits. The mental picture is enough for me.

My view for the trip.

I ran into my fair share of these types throughout the trip. I even happened upon a few pairs. I think that they must be hatching out the little ones. When I was lunching on an island I noticed that over the hill there was a female sitting on a mound that I can only assume was her nest. In fact I would have stepped on her had it not been for her mate making me aware of their presence with his hissing.

I could not identify this duck while out there but they were a lot of them and they were pretty. I got buzzed by four of them at once, it was very cool.

Here is one of the mumma gooses sitting on her nest.

This was where I decided to lunch. It was the first time that I got to use my new Primus ultra-lite stove; it worked great. Nothing like some corn and baked beans when you have been on the water for a few hours.

Had the weather been a little more favorable I would have liked to sling my hammock up while my food digested, but there will be warm days to take advantage of in the future.

-J

Daily Inspiration!

Man, in the midst of all of this studying, do I need inspiration today! This inspiration comes from C. Bromley.

More on how much I Love Old Baldy

This shot is of me, in one of my favorite places, Old Baldy. Doing what I love to do. I cannot wait until I can do this again. When my time to myself does not consist of making coffee, and posting quick blogs on here. Maybe second semester will be much easier, hopefully I will have time management and book briefing down pat. Hopefully I will get to make a trip up North.

And another:

Woohoo on the water!

Wait, scratch that! This is inspiration right? Well then, yes, yes it will be easier, Yes I will have the hang of it, and yes We will be taking more weekend trips Up North, why? For a few reasons: 1 no more wasted nights on intro class. 2 hopefully 3 days of class per week, and 3 a mastery of time management for law school!

Inspired indeed! This spring/ summer will be the best ever! We are going to kick butt!

Scratch that too! Today will be the best ever. I am going to smash this Contract law midterm right outta the park! And tomorrow, Crim, I have your number too! And this weekend, I am going to take on Adverse Possession with a vengeance.

So here is to today!

I hope yours is a little brighter after reading this post!

CHARGE ON!

-J

Prepping for some summer fun out in the boats! I am very excited to take these things out the first chance I get. If there was a safe way to get them out into Lake Michigan so that we could paddle up to the huge ice mountains on the shore that would be awesome. Maybe the best place to do this would be from a pier, it would probably be calmer in a channel.

Well, there you have it, today's inspiration; me, getting ready for some sunny paddlin'.

I am ready to work out!

-J

Whoa, slow down... List Time

Six days into November and I have not posted yet? Wow, I am truly slipping.

But I have been a little busy, work has picked up, which is a good thing at this point, since work will be nonexistent during law school. Aaaand with work I can afford to go on more trips and write more fun and fascinating stories for you!

To start November I think that I will do a little list of things that I am looking forward to doing and or seeing while I travel North during this month.

Won't you give them a look and tell me what you think;

1. THE Lake:

Hopefully we get out there on another day like this! High seas on the Great Lakes are the best.

The breeze/ wind from the lake is so refreshing that it often puts a little extra pep in one's step.

2. Family.

3. Hunting:

This was two years ago, but I am still riding on that high.

4. Kayaking:

Over break I am going to solo a portion of the Manistee. Who knows I may even bring the fishing pole.

Me and Nature.

5. Black nights:

     The kind that you can walk in and not have to worry about getting mugged.

6. Hiking:

The hiking in Northern Michigan offers some of the most dynamic experiences around.

It is best done when shared with someone though.

7. The feeling of familiarity.

The kind of place where everybody knows your name. While sometimes they know too much, it is still nice to have people know who you are. 

8. A genuine Big Al's Pizza:

Holy cow, Awesomeness in a circle.

No trip to the beach, movies, football game, basketball game, fishing, hunting, hiking, casino, kmart or Dunham's is complete without a Big Al's finale pizza.

Absent from the list is thanksgiving, however there is nothing much to say about it except: loads of turkey, mountains of potatoes, rivers of gravy, generous helpings of dressing and coleslaw. Consume, pass-out, move on to the next house, repeat, move to the final house, repeat, roll on the floor, nap, watch a little National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation/ Indiana Jones and then sink into bed for the weekend.

Time to feed the cats and chill some Coke.

-J

Eton Emergency Self-Powered: Radio, weatherband, flashlight, cellphone/ ipod charger

Wow, that was a confusing thing to type, but what is not confusing is the operation of this little thing.

I purchased mine on a whim when a shop was having a sale. It just seemed to make sense; I like to do things outside where there is no power, and I am sometimes too forgetful to check the batteries in things before I do so. There it was, my solution, it is a radio/ flashlight/ cellphone charger..... all in one, no batteries required, perfect for someone like me.

To date I have used the Eton for fishing, camping, picnics, work and as a conversation piece at parties. We also used the radio feature during the many tornado watches and warnings that we had in the beginning of the summer. The reception is usually pretty good, the LED flashlight is bright enough for any situation and the volume knob goes way past eleven.

One feature that is a little of a disappointment is the cellphone/ ipod charger. It simply takes too long to charge the phone, I think that if you were in a dire situation where you needed to raise your battery level to a usable amount for an emergency call that this would come in handy. However with its slow charging time this is not a feature worth bragging about.

Overall, this is a great radio for both casual occasions and emergencies. The solar strip on the top of the unit is especially nice when you are setting up a tent, or just playing some Frisbee. Without solar backup, like in a tent at night, expect 1-2 minutes of cranking to get you about 20 minutes of steady radio reception at a moderate volume/ flashlight use. Not too bad to play cards by.

It is light, it is self-powered and works like a charm, my recommendation; buy one. Put it in your car, backpack, bedroom garage, anywhere really. 

-J

Woohoo to the Mitten!

Congratulations is in order to our great state of Michigan for claiming two top honors in Outside Magazine's "Where to Live Now" article in the August 2010 installment. It turns out that the towns they picked in Michigan were very Grand.

Grand Rapids was named as the best town in the nation for the mountain biking enthusiast. While the local trails are the main focus of the article (75 plus miles of marked trail in the surrounding areas with access to the North Country Trail), GR also boasts an in-town park complete with a roller/ pump practice area, trials/ skills park and three miles of single track. Kudos to GR, turns out that the whole Cool Cities plan wasn't only referring to the walkability and the artwork.

Continuing with the Grand theme, Grand Marais took the first runner up position as the place to live if you appreciate flat water paddling, aka kayaking or canoeing on lakes. Grand Marais came to the title due to its proximity to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The house prices are affordable (can you say vacation home?) and the town even has a yearly paddling festival! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=241388245346. Sounds like a place for me to test out.

Well well, looks like things are looking up for Michigan in my book. I think that it is high time people start to see this state for what it really is, a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, nature lovers, tree huggers, wide-eyed optimists and health nuts.

Give yourself a hand Michigan... you deserve it.

As always,

-J
   (A proud Michigander)

Updates and a busy year ahead of me

Ok, so as with everyone of my other posts I will start out by saying that I have not updated in a while. Got that out of the way. Since the pre-4th of July post I have been on many adventures, and picked up a new hobby or two and taken some adventurous trips!

So to start out:

4th of July: We took the first, of what is to hopefully become an annual event, hike along the shore from Onekama to Arcadia.

It was a looong nine miles, and we braved a mini rainstorm but the things taken from the trip were well worth it.

The journey started out by finding an infinity shaped clump of seaweed which was a symbol that nature is everything. Further down the beach we came upon a true rarity, the remains of a sturgeon. This was quite possibly one of the coolest thing that I have ever seen in my whole life, due to their near extinction sturgeon sightings are definitely unique. It's a shame that this one was dead.

Nearing the end of our trip we feared that we would only leave with pictures and blisters, however much more was in store. Beneath the Arcadia Bluffs we happened upon two huge Petoskey Stones while searching for golf balls.

-one of the two large Stones we found

Following the Onekama-Arcadia trek I showed Chels the joy of kayaking on several short excursions in Portage Lake. During one of the trips we found ourselves in the middle of a sailboat race. Below are a few shots from our trip.

The fall brought a few hikes and trips home, but nothing too adventurous as I was studying for the LSAT and trying to get things in order for the upcoming year. However we did get the chance to walk around some family property and snap a couple shots of the beautiful fall color before it was blanketed by snow.

Finally with the LSAT behind me we celebrated a wonderful Christmas in the company of our great families. In fact, this could possibly have been the best I have ever had. Chels got me a Wii, which we have made good use of in the cold months, my grandparents got me a handgun and Chels's mom gave me money that I used to fuel our new favorite wintertime hobby; snowshoeing!

Talk about a healthy addiction, if you have never tried this relaxing sport you need to strap a pair of them on and go explore the places that are usually unreachable in the winter. Great investment.

With the passing of winter and spring upon us my brother and I decided to make good use of a decent day during our spring break and take to the Manistee River.

The trip took much longer than originally planned, you see we thought that it was 5-8 miles when in fact it turned out to be more like 22 miles and took about 6 hours. However it was a great trip, the ice cold river was refreshing. Found a few rapalas, fished a while and endured on and off sprinkles.

All in all it was a good trip.

This brings you up to date with the major outings of the past year.

For the future, I will be graduating from FSU in a few weeks, and going to law school in January. At first I was a little put off by the later start, but I now see the time off as much needed, and a chance to breath. Chels and I will also be using the time off to take as many adventures as we can. Some ideas include: Manistee River Trail Hike, as many kayaking trips as possible, multi-day camping in the UP and a trek to the East Coast around D.C. If you have any other ideas for us to try out I am happy to hear of them, preferably in the Northern Michigan area.

That is all for now, hopefully I will post frequently more on here, but time will tell. We also plan on beginning to review products as well under HopeThisWorks Productions, with links for the best places to find gear that we trust.

Take care, and remember that some of the bes adventures are not half way around the world, they are right in your backyard.

-j