If anyone is interested, the 2017 Quiet Water Symposium will be taking place at the Michigan State University Pavilion this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The address is: 4301 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI

My dividend was only about $9 and some change but I invested that and the 20% discount in a new women's backpack as a gift for my niece. She hiked the Greenstone along with my daughter and I in her first backpacking trip two years ago using an older borrowed pack. I'm trying to encourage both of the ...

I didn't see this mentioned elsewhere and thought it fell within the category of "Miscellaneous". The Quiet Water Symposium is being held at the MSU Livestock & Agriculture Pavillion in Lansing on Saturday, the 5th of March. The schedule reflects that Jim DuFresne will be speaking on Michigan's "Top ...

Forget the Tobin to Duncan Harbor portage except in an emergency. If you don't believe me, paddle over to the Lookout Louise trail, climb to the top, and look down at Duncan Bay and just realize that you just went up the easy side.

I would add that you always need to weigh the effort of the ...

I experienced an extended stay in August 2009. I'd arrived via float plane in Windigo and hiked the length of the island via the Feldtman loop. I was supposed to leave on the float plane out of Tobin Harbor at 9 a.m. on a Thursday morning. I recall sitting there and waiting as the weather closed in ...

Anybody got any updated bug reports? Heading up for my first trip soon!

I returned from IR on Saturday. As usual for this time of year you need bug spray. I saw a couple of people wearing head nets on the island but I never had a reason to pull mine out of my pack. My worst experience was at a ...

I know that you can carry a handgun to IR on the float plane although you have to notify the pilot. I can't imagine they would allow pepper spray on the aircraft due to the close, enclosed environment. You should call and ask. I've seen a fair number of women hiking solo on IR and never heard or ...

+1 on the spare paddle. I use a light carbon fiber double paddle which the wind easily snatches if I don't have my hands on it. For that reason (and because my hands are sometimes occupied with a fishing rod) I use a paddle leash. I once forgot to attach it on Siskiwit Lake and was surprised by a ...

That's a lot of weight to spread among 5 backpackers, especially considering 4 of them have never backpacked before. How young are the teenagers, and is everyone in a very good level of fitness? Don't forget that everyone will be carrying sleeping bags, sleeping pads, a couple of liters of water ...

I stayed at Craig Lake for two nights in late September 2013. The "prime site" head2north mentioned is site #3. It probably has the best view on the lake. The two nights I stayed there a party occupied one of the two rental cabins and stayed up pretty late talking, laughing and drinking. Their ...

I didn't need anything for myself so I spent my dividend and discount on a new pair of boots for my daughter.

Her boots began to fall apart at Island Mine last year and gave me a source of stress all the way to Rock Harbor. The failure was due to age (glue and rubber breaking down) and wasn't a ...

Hopefully there will be ice bridges over the next few years and wolves will come over and decide to stay. That's the only genetic rescue I'll see in the 30-40 years I have left on this rock. Superintendent Green is just like the rest of the bureaucrats she reports to upstream. No one wants to make ...

Two to three years to conduct a study, then wade through public opinion of 'intervene vs. let nature take its course', make a decision, defend the decision, and then eventually implement the approved plan. People have been studying the wolves and moose in IR for years. I don't know what is to be ...

If the Topo 24k great lakes is indeed the right version that contains IR, please let us know here on the forums. I'm sure many others may have the same question...

I have the Great Lakes version loaded on my Garmin Rino 650. I can confirm that it's the correct version for IR. I purchased it for ...

I know this post is kinda old ....but I'll add that boiled fish is one of my favorite ways to eat it! I'm a power boater, but from a hikers perspective...my wife turned me on to coconut oil...kind of a paste that she keeps in the cupboard so it needs no refrigeration..and its heathy...pack some in ...