Michigan Fall Circle Tour

This past October I participated in a circle tour of South Western Michigan from Grand Rapids to Muskegon and back.  All five of us met and stayed at the Radisson Hotel on Anne St. in Grand Rapids on the Friday evening.  The next day we arose early and enjoyed a buffet breakfast to fuel up for the day.  Here is the route for the Saturday ride which took us to the Shoreline Inn in Muskegon.  We enjoyed a great meal at the Lake House Waterfront Grille where I indulged in a Great Lakes Burger, a burger patty between two grilled cheese sandwiches.

The next day we returned to Grand Rapids (the route) via the many bicycle paths that were converted from old railway lines which in Michigan are mostly paved.  What a fantastic ride with some great friends.   

Here is a video of the tour.

A couple of Sewing Projects

One thing I enjoy doing is making my own camping gear.  Here are a couple of projects I have recently completed.

Raw material was purchased from Rockywoods Outdoor Fabrics and a great source of information on making your own gear can be found on the diytactical forums.

This pouch measures six inches tall by ten inches wide and three inches deep and was designed primarily with the intention of putting it on the back of the Kifaru Marauder but it will also fit on the Kifaru Scout and Tailgunner.

There is a patch of Velcro on the front designed to hold various patches with the opposing Velcro sewed to the back.  The rear of the pouch has a series of webbing rows to accept molle attaching straps.









The pouch on the Marauder to the left and the Scout to the right.






Here is a holster designed to hold a can of Bear Pepper spray.  It is made from 500 Denier Cordura Nylon and inch and a half webbing.  The bungee cord holds the can in place but allows it to be drawn without loosening the cord.

The holster attaches to the pals webbing on the Kifaru Omni-belt with Molle clips.

Three Day Pack

During the hike on the Bruce Trail this summer it became obvious to me that my pack was way too heavy for a three day hike.  The full pack weighed just over sixty pounds.  I got the idea on the Kifaru forums from Sawtooth to weigh each individual piece of gear and put it into a spreadsheet (link to spreadsheet).  After doing this and removing what I felt was not absolutely necessary I was able to get the weight down to around the forty pound mark.

Here is the EMR pack from the hike last summer, all 60 pounds of it.

Here is the reduced load using the EMR pack as a whole without any external pouches which some would say that this is a better way of doing things because you are less likely to get caught up on branches on the trails.  I used a waterproof dry bag for food storage which is nice for hanging the food in bear country.  This setup came in at 44.1 pounds.

Now the same load using just the EMR frame as a hauler but with a couple of Kifaru Claymore pouches and my homemade pod.  This seemed to feel better than the EMR pack but I'm not sure how the water bladder would work in the horizontal Claymore.  The weight came in at 41.4

Lastly this is using a Maurauder Pack with a Claymore, a 2 Quart, my homemade 10 x 6 pouch, my homemamde Pod and a Spec-Ops first aid pouch.  The weight came in at 41.2 pounds.  I like this setup best because of the organization and quick access to the gear.

Now for warmer weather to give it a try.  

2011 Summer Hiking Trip on the Bruce Trail

I had to re-post this entry because the original picture links no longer worked for some reason.  Hopefully it will be just as interesting the second time around.

I invited my brother Don and his son Joshua to come along with my son Steven and I on a short hiking trip on the Bruce Trail along the Niagara Escarpment. The Bruce Trail [URL="http://brucetrail.org/"]click me [/URL]for website) is a hiking trail that was established back in the sixties and runs almost 900kms from Queenston, near Niagara Falls, to Tobermory on the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. The main campground at Cypress Lake in Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario, Canada, is very popular and often books up months in advance.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I called the park office a couple weeks ago and found that there were spots available at the Stormhaven back country campsite.

After acquiring the required permits from the Park Office at Cypress Lake we drove down Emmet Lake Road to the parking lot and proceeded down the side trail that met up with the main Bruce Trail.  The side trail was wide and gently sloping downward towards Georgian Bay, an easy walk. So easy that we missed the main trail and ended up on the beach and had to backtrack.

Once on the main trail the terrain became much more challenging and included steep rocky sections that tested the will of the boys.

Occasionally we were greeted by spectacular views of Georgian Bay when the trail came to an opening high above the shoreline.  There were several crevasses along the way that were quite deep.  I had never hiked with trekking poles before but they were a Godsend, especially good for keeping your balance with the heavy pack.  As I suspected I had packed way too much gear but I guess this is the way you learn life's lessons, by trial and error.

I had a chance to use some of my Kifaru gear - an EMR pack with two Claymore pouches and a Tailgunner I.  My son was using an Eagle AIII pack and carried his clothes, his sleeping bag, Thermarest and his eating utensils.  I had the same plus the cooking gear, the tent and tarp and other gear.  We arrived at our destination, the Stormhaven back country campsite which has nine sites total, a composting toilet and a couple of bear hang stations all ready set up with a pulley system. ([URL="http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/bruce/visit/visit6/visit6g.aspx"]click here[/URL] for map) We climbed down the stairs to the beach and were elated to find that our site was just set back from the beach in the trees.

Looking east down the beach to Cave Point.

Looking west down the beach to Rocky Point.

The sites consist of a wooden platform, twelve feet by twelve feet.  We proceeded to set up our tents and tarps as a storm was looming.

After cooking supper we hung our food and went for a swim.  The water was freezing but refreshing.  The water of Georgian bay is known for it's clarity so purification was easy as we just used our Steri Pens.  My son could spend hours throwing rocks into the water so we made a game of setting up some rocks by the edge and seeing who could knock them down.  Once the stars came out we retired to our platform and were
lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves hitting the shore in front of us.

After breakfast we packed our daypacks and set out.  The trail continued for another two kilometers or so with some pretty challenging sections until we reached the beach that met up with the Horselake Trail from the main campground ([URL="http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/bruce/visit/visit6.aspx#cyprus"]link[/URL]).  The trail suddenly changed to a flat groomed trail with larger rocks marking the trail.  Again, when we met up with the Georgian Bay Trail the path became what appeared to be a walkway at a theme park.  This trail is used by 95% of the visitors from Cypress Lake.

A little farther up this trail and we arrived at Indian Head Cove which is a rocky beach that reminds me of something you would see in the Caribbean with the clear waters and sunbathers.

We continued up around the point to a place called The Grotto which is one of my son's favorite spots.  When he was younger he could easily spend hours jumping into the water from the ledge above.  The Grotto is a cave carved into the rock from the repeated wave action over the years.  There are two tunnels that run from the pool under the rock and out to the bay, one of which is evident from the blue light coming from the pool.  Divers frequent the area and can appear from nowhere beneath you with the telltale sign of the bubbles breaking the surface.

We climbed around another point and found a much quieter spot for swimming and diving.  As you get away from the Grotto and Indian Head Cove, the crowds subside.  We spent the rest of the day exploring and swimming before heading back to camp.

That night the sunset was spectacular and cast a golden hue onto Cave Point and the escarpment.  Supper consisted of mac and cheese with extra cheddar added for good measure.  A few new hikers arrived for the night but it was a quiet spot compared to day at the Grotto.

The following day we retraced our steps back to the parking lot and were out by noon.  The boys found carrying their packs much easier the second time around, possibly because they knew what to expect.  Before driving home we completed our day with a trip to the Tobermory Sweet Shop for a Lighthouse Sunday.

Putting up the Treestand

The weather forecast indicated a low chance for rain so I thought it would be a good oportunity to put up the treestand.  When I arrived at the farm I sighted in the crossbow and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was shooting acurately even after having the string removed over the winter.  I have it shooting on target at 30 yards and eight inches high at 20 yards.  I met up with Mike who was also putting up his stand.  Some of'the trees looked like their bark had been shaved off, possibly the ash borer?  I stayed untill I could no longer see enough to take a shot which was around 8:10 pm or twenty minutes after sunset.

No Deer Yet

Well I've been out a couple of times since my last post.  Last wednesday I thought I should go out since it looked like rain was in the future.  It turned out to be quite windy so I didn't stay in the stand as long as I normally would.  I decided to investigate the bush further and look for sign.  While walking along the south side of the bush along a corn field that was just being harvested, I came upon four does running towards me from the south east.  I froze in my tracks to see what they would do.  Once they spotted me they stopped but were not alarmed.  They ended up turning south and running along the corn edge.  I estimate that they were about sixty yards away when they spotted me.

Here are some picutures of my stand and the surrounding bush.

The ladder stand is made by Big Dog stands and was only $80 at Meijer in the States.

My new Kifaru Express pack is great for packing in my insulating layers as well as the Excaliber Exocet Crossbow.

There are still some leaves on the trees.

I have some trail tape marking off the ten, twenty, thirty and fourty yard distances.  The crossbow will shoot four inches high at twenty yards, right on at thirty and ten inches low at fourty.  Some of the markers are reflective to make finding the blind in the dark easier.

First Bowhunt of 2010

Made it out this morning for this years first bowhunt.  The property owner is logging out all the ash trees in the bush so I may only be hunting there for a few more days.  This fall I purchased a Kifaru Molle Express backpack for hunting and gave it a try this morning.  The pack has what is called "Palls Webbing" which enables you to attach various other bags or straps to customize your carry options.  I attached the crossbow to the pack as well as a small pouch to carry a thermos of noodles to warm myself up after the hunt.  The weight of the gear rides on the hips as opposed to the shoulders making the walk in much more enjoyable.

I packed up all the gear the night before and woke up at 05:15.  After making my noodle lunch in the thermos and a cup of tea I was out the door at 05:30.  I made it to the farm at 06:00 and enjoyed the walk into to bush as there were a multitude of stars out.  I found the stand with little problem as the reflective tape I put up last year guided my way to the stand.  I was set up and waiting for the hunt to start by 06:45 and started the hunt at 07:08 which was a half hour prior to sunrise.  I gave a single call with my grunt call and sat waiting for the woods to awake.  The squirrels started to climb down from their nests and move about on the forest floor.  My presence didn't seem to bother them at all as they carried out their business of burying nuts and scavenging for the same.  Then at around 7:30 I caught a glimps of a doe in front and to the right of me.  Then there was another and finally one more.  All does but no bucks.  I can only shoot bucks this year as I drew a doe license for the gun hunt up on the peninsula later this fall.  I continued to watch as all three does sniffed the air and looked up at me.  I'm sure they could see me but they didn't startle or seem alarmed.  It looked like one of them that was larger may have been the mother and the other two may have been her fawns.  They all walked within ten yards of my stand, one of them actually bumped my ladder stand with her snout as she looked up at me.  They  eventually walked off to my left out of sight.  Before they were completely gone, I made a grunt call to see if it would startle them, but they were unphased.  There was no more action after that other than the squirrels and birds so I called it quits just after 10 and enjoyed my thermos of noodles.