Isle Royale Forums

nice report and nice pictuers!

Which huginnin cove trail was better east or west?

Great report and pictures. I enjoyed your daughters antics. Would love to meet her in person!!

Thanks Lucky Chicken I liked the east trail far better.It had more things that I find interesting.I liked the old cabins and the cliffs.It just seemed prettier.

Thanks Nancy T,your guide book sure helped in planning a beautiful trip

Hey Tree Ratt! I think I met you and your dad at chippewa last year! if this was you glad you made it back Ill be there in 2 weeks. great trip report

Enjoyed the TR. Thanks!

Yes Zims that was us at Chippewa last year....good luck and happy hiking on your next trip!

Thanks Ingo.Your welcome ....it was fun!

So I want to go even more ultralight than I already do, can you ask Madeline if she has any tips as to how to get my pack weight down to the 4-5lbs that you mentioned her achieving? I'm going to be going on a trip is August, so if you could let me know by then I'd greatly appreciate it.

Yes Rafiki I deffinately can tell you the secret! It is simple, have me carry all your gear except what you want to carry! . She does use one piece of equipment that I have come to like though.She has a nice little down blanket. That comes in at 1lb.when I scrape some more cash together I am going to make a summer weight one for myself.

What kinda weight do you run?For what lenght of time?

tree rattt wrote:Yes Rafiki I deffinately can tell you the secret! It is simple, have me carry all your gear except what you want to carry!

Wonderful. What a brilliant idea! Will you be available in August to be my personal pack mule from 8/8-816? Truth be told before you agree to anything, now that I know how things work, I don't want to carry anything. You are a swell guy Jason and don't let anyone tell you otherwise

Lately I have been carrying about 32LBs, that is including 64oz water. However, I have been over packing on food that does not get eaten and going on trips that usually are just over a week and a half. With that said, I'd like to believe that I could easily get down to 25lbs for a one week trip. Really though, if I planned everything perfectly with no room for possible needs and just focused on the essentials, I think 20lbs would be doable (this for early May and early September hiking). While I'd like to achieve these type of weights consistently at some point in the future, I am fortunate enough to have a body that does not know the difference between 20 and 32 lbs at the present time. When I was 22 and took my first trip to Isle Royale, I did not have a second thought about the 80lbs I carried. We all get old though, and I know there will be a point where 32lbs will not be a preference of mine. But why are we talking about all this, come August I'll have myself a new pack mule and all this weight talk will be a distance memory

HEE-HAWW! If you can sneek it past the rangers, I have a pack trained llama that could Do most of what we saw on the Minong and go around the rest.Starting out I had a base wt of 17lb ...it all went to heck from there I was at 26 lbs with food and water before Madeline joined the tour . I added ten pounds of food for her and an extra16 oz bottle of water for me...oh yeah and a subway pizza .she did carry all of her base gear plus water and a few snacks. To my suprise she never once complained about the weight. Which is more than I can say for me!

Well Rafiki sounds like you have a fun goal! It is so much fun when we can save a few ounces here and there the next think we know it is pounds lost! And it is really nice when the piggy bank doesn't get broken to do it.Right now I am quibeling over ounces for my August Grand Island pack trip. At the moment I am at 24 lbs for a 4 day.I tend to carry heavier food for short trips. One of my favorites is a summer sausage cut into quarters an cooked like a hot dog.....yummm! Probably a small steak . Short trips have better food , but at a cost. oh well I like to eat!!!

Just a note for those who want to ease the load, go to you tube and check out some of the vidieos on super ultralight backpacking.....most of these guys are sub 5 lb for short trips......it may get u thinking in a little different way
Or ya may just think that they are nuts!

Indeed. There is an age old engineering "saying":

You can have it correct.
You can have it inexpensive.
You can have it on time.
Pick two.

******

A backpacking corollary might be:

You can have it lightweight.
You can have it inexpensive.
You can have it durable.
Pick two.

Thanks for sharing.

Your daughter is adorable. Makes me remember way back when mine was that age.

tree rattt wrote:HEE-HAWW!

I laughed so hard when I read that opening line Oh man was that a great laugh. Thank you brother.

Returning back to the note of being ultralight, yes some of those ultralight people are insanely crazy. While I think having a 5lb pack is great...it's too far on the one side of the spectrum for me just like it is too far on the opposite side of the spectrum for me to carry 80lbs. I think there is a correlation that goes hand in hand with each side of the spectrum. The lighter your pack is, the more easy going the hike is at the costs of leaving more to be desired at the campgrounds. The heavier your pack is the more difficult the hike is at the reward of living like a king at camp. I already know at this age my body appreciates having a somewhat easier hike than living like a king. In fact, on a different note and one that refers to mind set, having lived like a king when I was 22, it felt like it took away from my backpacking experience. When you go backpacking, it does not feel customary to eat a lavish variety of foods almost like the ones you have at home. At least for me, it takes away from my whole appreciation of the experience and time on the island. For example, let's say I was lucky enough to be offered some fish by someone that had caught a northern pike on the dock of a campground, I surely wouldn't appreciate it as much if I was eating my fill of delicious entrees on a daily basis instead of freeze dried garbage. I also wouldn't appreciate eating a pizza or having a beer (assuming I drank) as much when I got back to civilization if I had good eating along the way on my trip. So I like the idea of living minimally while on my vacation, because it makes me appreciate the things that I take for granted on a regular basis and it reminds me that I should be more grateful for the small things in life. Now when we look at the other end of the spectrum, I would never want to carry a 5lb at the cost of where it would leave me at the campgrounds. I like a nice fluffy pillow, I like a mattress, I like my pocket shower, etc. These things make it easier to start my next day. If you take away these things, so I can save 2lbs 14oz (I did the calculation)...while it will be great to be that much lighter...that still is not going to change how I feel in the morning. Sure, with the stiffness and aches of my body subside once on the trail? Of course, but I'll still have a groggy and aggravating morning. So again, it returns to balance. How much weight can your body handle? Is getting down to 5lbs really necessary for anyone? To what extreme should we really take this? In my opinion, as long as my body allows myself to go to Isle Royale, I'd like to believe that I could always carry 15-20lbs and that if there ever becomes a point where that is not the case, chances are my life cycle will be winding down and I will have other things to worry about which will not even allow me to consider going to Isle Royale. That said, why consider measures or ranges of lightness that are not going to be relevant to the needs of my body. With that said, my suggestion to everyone is get to know or know your limits (what you will and will not do without) and get to know or know and predict your abilities (what you know you are capable of carry and what you believe you will always be able carry at any given time in your life cycle). Once you are able to do this, I like to believe you will come to a balance state of mind and realize that going too far to either side of the spectrum becomes pointless and that you will only end up making yourself suffer one way or another either at the campground or while on the hike. Let's make this fun people! Down with the suffering

Btw I like your corollary Midwest.

Yes ..that makes sense, pack to your comfort level.I left my luxuries home on this last run.You may find this funny ....I traded my beloved sierra cup for a plastic super man cup.It saved 5ounces for an equal volume.I missed that stupid sierra cup with every sip! the other trade off was leaving my hunting knife behind.turns out I never needed it but I felt a little naked with out it. Together they saved a pound ........the sierra cup goes next time!I left the long underware bottoms home too.....sure could have used those on multiple occassions.....but hey 7 more ounces!I could go without the sleeping bag before I left my neoair home........hmmmm I may try that


Ok....I may need help