COMPLETED: North Country Trail, Pictured Rocks - Upper Penninsula MI - early July 2010

42 miles along Lake Superior from Munising to Grand Marais.
4 nights, 5 days

3 hikers

Shuttle Service: www.altranbus.com/backpack.html
We took the shuttle from Grand Marais to Munising and start of trail and then we start the hike to the car. This worked out really well! We got our permit at the Grand Marais Visitor Center (issued by Park Ranger Brody) and five minutes later, the bus arrived to pick us up.

Permits: http://www.nps.gov/piro/planyourvisit/backcountry.htm
I faxed in my campsite reservations and got a mailed response within a week. My campsite reservations:

Camp at Cliffs after 5 mile hike
Camp at Chapel after 11 mile hike
Camp at Sevenmile after a 12 mile hike
Camp at Au Sable after a 7 mile hike
Last day we hike out 7 miles and we are finished.

After getting on the trail in Munising, it did not take long to get spectacular views from the cliffs. The campsites we were in were not crowded -- it was just us and 1-2 other groups. All campground we were in had bear poles for hanging food. On day three of the hike, we finally left the Picture Rocks cliffs behind us. We then walked along the beach. Some beaches were so lonely -- it was only us splashing around in the water! We hiked on some hot days and the biting flies came out. We were told that these flies come out on hot days all summer long. The flies attack only legs and arms so the only thing we could do is put on long pants. I found that Deet kept the flies off my arms pretty well. At Hurricane Beach, we found that once we were in the water, we were on a sometimes slippery rock ledge. This rock ledge extends out to Sable Point and to the lighthouse. You are able to see some shipwrecks in this area and the Aux Sable Light House. We ended the hike with a meal at a restaurant in Grand Marais -- minutes from the trailhead. Trail time always goes by way to fast. Here I sit home writing about the trip already. Sigh.

Pictures (left to right): Miners Rock, Miner's Beach, Pictured Rock overlook, waterfall, sunset on Twelvemile Beach

COMPLETED: Grand Canyon (AZ) - Bill Hall Trail - May/June 2010

The dream of hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River came true! This was a 3 night, 4 day hike. Started at the Bill Hall Trailhead. This is a very strenuous hike. The first day we did three descents and camped at Upper Tapeets campground, an oasis in Thunder Canyon. Thunder Canyon is amazing - the sound of the rushing water and so much of it was "thunderous".  Of course, all the descents had to be ascended again to get out of the canyon!

Notes:  We cached water on the Esplanade for the trip back, but I didn't need mine and left it for future hikers.  If you are scared of heights you might not like this hike.  In order to get to the Colorado River, you need to be on a path that has some exposure (if you fell, it wouldn't be good.)

Highlights: experiencing the heat of Surprise Valley, watching the rafters row down the Colorado, scary path with exposure down to the Colorado.

Pictures (l to r): Thunder River, me sitting in shelter by the Colorado River, view of Colorado and Tapeets River converging, Surprise Valley at the end of the day

Map used: National Geographic Grand Canyon Trails Illustrated Map

COMPLETED: Zion National Park (UT)- May 2010

This was a four night, five day West to East traverse of Zion. The car was parked at the East Rim trailhead. We paid Zion Adventure Company to shuttle us to the Lee Pass Trailhead. Total miles hiked: approx. 50 miles.

Highlights: getting snowed on one night near Wildcat Canyon, Hop Valley, viewing the amazing scenery on the West Rim Trail and Walter's Wiggles (a trail down to Zion Canyon with many, many switchbacks) and a hamburger eaten mid-hike in Zion Canyon.

Pictures (l to r): view of Zion Canyon walking down Walter's Wiggles, view from West Rim Trail, Hop Valley, LeVerkin Creek, start of hike at Lee Pass Trailhead

North Country Trail - Croton Dam to 20th - April 2010

The forecast looked mostly good and there was only a chance for some scattered thunderstorms, so we decided to go on a 19 mile weekend hike. We started at the Croton Dam Trailhead and hiked about 7 miles. The sky looked a little like rain and really set a gloomy mood through one dense section of forest. "Even the trees here stick their tongues out at you!" I said because a little tree we passed had a fungus growing out of it that looked exactly like a big ole tongue.

We were in the tent that night and not sleeping yet. There was a big crack of lightening and then a roll of thunder to the West of us. We listened. A few pitter patters of rain hit the tent. Then there was another crack of lightening and a the thunder boomed right above us. The rain came down hard! We listened as the thunder rolled across the sky. There was third large lightening blast and then the thunder was well to our East, rolling. I went to sleep with the rains coming down with me dry in the tent.

The next morning, at 6:00 a.m., there was another small thunder storm but it didn't last long. We at breakfast and were on the trail by 8:00. The mosquitos almost drove me mad in the morning and we didn't have spray. It was a good walk to the 20th Trailhead. We stopped and had a long rest by the White River. We ended the hike around 3:00 p.m. and of course, we headed straight for Sally's Family Restaurant in Whitecloud. Yum.

Pictures (L to R): Sally's Restuarant, Twinwood Lake, trillium, White River, watching train at campsite

North Country Trail - Nichols Lake to Bowman Lake - April 2010

We started hiking at Nichols Lake North. We hiked past Leaf Lake, Condon Lake, Sawkaw Lake and Highbank Lake. The leaves were not on the trees yet, so we had a good view of lakes. Highbank Lake we viewed from a high bank as name suggests. We camped near 16 mile Rd. The next morning we hiked north again. We passed many marshes. I assume these marshes would be great for bird watching. Walked through Sterling Marsh. There were NCT trail workers here building a boardwalk over some of the very swampy areas. Ended hike at Bowman Lake Trailhead. Nice hike! Except for the trail workers we had the whole 17 mile trail to ourselves!

Check out my Maah Daah Hey Trail article and photos ...

Several of the photos from the Maah Daah Hey hike are now part of the Photo Gallery on this website: http://www.mdhta.com/ Cool!

http://www.mdhta.com/bin/kalsbeek_article.htm <-- Here is a link to an article I wrote.

My photos are: IMG_0843, IMG_0844, IMG_0944, IMG_0952, IMG_0981 and IMG_1081.

COMPLETED: North Country Trail, Manistee River Section - MI -- Sept 2009

This is 119.2 miles of blissful trail. I hiked the trail solo except for a 16.8 from Nichols Lake North Trailhead to the M-20 Trailhead. Two friends joined me while I hiked this section of trail.  For the first two days of my hike my Dad shadowed me in his car and he took his tent and stayed out in the woods with me.

The trip took seven days. The most miles hiked in one day was 21 miles. The least amount of miles hiked in a day was 6 miles. I enjoyed the beauty of the Michigan woods, swamps and marshes. I didn't see any bear but I did see plenty of deer, turkeys, partridge, a couple of porcupine and a weasel. I didn't see many people on the trail during the week, but the weekend brought out a few other hikers and bikers.

I enjoyed the hike by myself, but I prefer to hike with friends. The worst part of a solitary hike is the dark nights in the woods with only snorting deer to keep you company.

Start: Marilla Trailhead

End: Croton Dam

If you'd like to do this hike, you can find the maps here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/Recreation/trails_nonmoto_hiking.htm#mh

Pictures: Highbank Lake campsite, Bowman Lake, boardwalk on the Freesoil to Udell section of trail, hike break, Big Sable River

COMPLETED John Muir Trail/Yosemite, CA - August 2009

My fourth adventure in the wilderness. I'm hooked! This was a great hike and a very popular trail, which means -- we saw a lot of other hikers. The Rush Creek trail is challenging with the elevation gain. We day hiked to Thousand Island Lakes, once we reached the John Muir Trail, and this hike was saturated with gorgeous views -- every direction you looked was a postcard view. Going through Donahue pass was also a challenging hike -- but worth it! It was cold, windy and desolate looking at the top -- beautiful! For the most part the weather was average, except for the last day when snow was predicted about 8000 ft. We got snowed on while we hiked out and the temps were most likely in the 40's in Lyell Canyon (per park ranger).

Start: Rush Creek Trailhead near June Lake.

End: Toulumne Meadows in Yosemite

The Plan: Park at Toulumne Meadows and take YARTS bus to Rush Creek Trailhead. (Our bus driver was new and didn't know the Rush Creek stop. Thankfully a local was on the bus and told the driver where to stop.) Hike back to car via John Muir Trail. Parking in Yosemite is free. Rent bear food canisters in Yosemite.

Permits: Barely squeaked out a 2 person permit from Inyo National Forest. Was told August is the busiest month. If you go -- get permits as soon as you can!

Approx. total hiking mileage is: 35 miles or so. 2 nights camping, 3 days hiking .

Highlights: view of Thousand Island Lake, Island Pass,Donahue Pass (11056 elevation)

Weather: Summers in the Sierra are warm and dry. Yosemite receives less than five percent of its annual precipitation in summer, mostly as rain from thunderstorms. Daytime temperatures in Yosemite Valley sometimes reach 100°F during summer, while nights are cool. Temperatures in Tuolumne Meadows (8,600 feet) in mid-summer are usually in the 70s in the daytime and in the 30s at night. Though skies are usually clear, thunderstorms can be a daily occurrence in summer afternoons. Usually forming at higher elevations, thunderstorms form suddenly and can provide intense but brief downpours, lightning, thunder, hail, and gusty winds. Typically, by nightfall skies are clear once again.

Who is going: I only have a permit for two. Most trailheads in the parks in this area have a quota of how many people can start on them per day.

COMPLETED: Grays and Torreys Peak, CO -- July 2009

My first 14er!

To plan my first climb I went here: http://www.14ers.com/.

I decided to do a Class 1 hike. Just a walk up. I had heard that it is best to start early and get off mountian before afternoon storms. I hiked up to trailhead (3 miles?) from the highway parking lot. There is a road up to trailhead but it is rough and I didn't want to risk ruining my friend's car. On the way up, a ranger told me a storm was coming and to try to get to trailhead and get my tent up. Trailhead was at the treeline. I set up tent and I don't remember if it stormed because I feel asleep.

I ate a power bar in the morning and packed my pack for my solo hike up Grays. I admit, I was scared being alone. I hiked at a slow rate to pace myself. I gained confidence as I started passing people. There were a lot of people going up the mountain and I wasn't scared anymore. (I found out that there was a pancake breakfast on the top of Torrey's that day. Yes, you read that right!) I finally saw the mountain come into view and I was on my way up. It got rocky and I slowly switchbacked my way up. I was hiking at same pace as two young guys. "Do you guys feel the elevation? I'm thinking slow," I said. The three of us reached the summit. There were others up there. The young guys hooted with joy and I suppose I would have made a loud celebratory commotion if I was with buddies. Instead I caught my wind, took a good look around, had my picture taken and was so enthused I forgot about any mind fog and decided to hike the saddle over to Torreys.

It was a great hike. I made it back down to my tent and packed up. I did have a little bit of a headache (maybe I didn't drink enough water). I can't wait to hike my next 14er!

COMPLETED: Maah Daah Hey Trail ND, July 2009

This was a strenuous trip -- but we did it! 96 miles of trail in 7 days. We hiked in the heat of July. To beat the heat, we'd get up at 5:00 a.m. and hike until it got too hot. We laid around the whole afternoon (we called it a siesta!). We'd finish up our hike at the end of the afternoon/early evening. The goal was to hike 14 miles per day.

There were a number of other obstacles, besides the heat. One day we had to bushwack around an impassable creek. We also had a very close encounter with a rattlesnake. The snake was coiled on the trail and I did not notice it until I was about 2.5 yards from it. My legs shook from the close call for the next hour. That was when we reached the Little Missouri and I had something new to think about. How where we going to get across this river?? But we did.

We did not see many people on the trail. We saw some horse back riders and a couple bikers -- but no hikers the whole week. That was fine by me! We had the whole trail to ourselves. We enjoyed a thunderstorm from a distance one day. The storm's grand finale was a rainbow. We

enjoyed hiking through Devil's Pass, star gazing, talking to cows, and stock tank baths.

We hiked 12 miles the last day of the hike and ended hike around 11:00 a.m. Our feet were sore and mine were blistered -- but wow, what an adventure. I was happy that I was going to finally go eat some real food (at Buffalo Gap Ranch), but I was sad that the adventure on the Maah Daah Hey was over.

So far, this has been my favorite hike -- I'm very drawn to the North Dakota scenery. Also, you don't see many people which gives this hike an even wilder feel. Forty new miles of trail have been added to this trail and I hope to go back and hike them in the near future.

Two hikers: Becky, Kirsten. Chuck is going to be our resupply guy.

COMPLETED: ISLE ROYALE - June 2009

This was my second venture into wilderness area and the trip was a success! We stayed in the shelters at Three Mile. Good thing because it was rainy. We ate breakfast and then started a soggy hike up to the ridge (Greenstone Ridge Trail). Up on the ridge is was foggy but as we hiked the sun came out and slowly burned the fog away.

We camped at Lane Cove. This was the most beautiful campsite we had on our trip, in my opinion. It was quiet (no boat motor noises) and we heard the loons calling. My brother-in-law saw a moose on the hike out the next day.  (Side note: I am happy to say that my brother-in-law and I got my Dad to Lane Cove. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson's a year earlier.  He loved it here and he loved the  Greenstone Ridge Trail. Often we carried his pack and I would hike behind him to make sure he stayed safe.  A year later, my Dad was no longer able to do a hike like this.  We did it just on time!)

The advantages to hiking in early June are that you beat the crowds and the bugs. The disadvantages is that the temperatures can be a bit chilly. The weather on Isle Royale is pretty unpredictable and you never know when you'll get rain. We had rain almost every day.

Ferry tickets: Round trip ferry ticket costs: $114 per person. the ride is approx. 3 hours 15 minutes from Copper Harbor. We'll need to pay park recreation fees ($4 per day per person) on the boat and confirm itinerary with park rangers at Rock Harbor.

ABOUT ISLE ROYALE: Isle Royale is a striking combination of dense wilderness and broad vistas. The main island is about 45 miles long and 10 miles wide and is surrounded by a myriad of smaller reefs and shoals. Though teeming with wildlife, Isle Royale is best known for its moose and wolves living in natural balance. Those who stay for more than the day usually see a moose or two. More than 98% of the land in Isle Royale is designated wilderness.

TRIP SCHEDULE:

Monday - 8:00 am ferry from Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor. Camp in Rock Harbor. Recover from sea sickness. :) Hike to Scoville Point.
Tuesday - 8 mile hike to Daisy Farm. Camp here.
Wednesday - 7.5 mile hike to Lane Cove. At one point on this hike we will be on Mt Ojibway and the well known Greenstone Ridge Trail. Camp at Lane Cove.
Thursday - Hiked to Lookout Louise.
Friday - 7-8 mile hike back to Rock Harbor. Ferry leaves at 3:00 pm.
Saturday - drive back to Grand Rapids (it takes approx. 10 hours to drive from Copper Harbor to GR)

CLOTHING: Be prepared for cool, wet weather. You should have wool hat and mittens, a coat and rain gear. Take a light jacket -- you'll need this for the ferry ride.

TEMPERATURE/WEATHER: Lake Superior weather is cool throughout the operating season. Temperatures during the summer months average in the 60's and rarely exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Thunderstorms and rain occur throughout the season. Day to day temperature changes are strongly moderated by the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, the coldest of the Great Lakes. Bring plenty of warm clothing, even in August.

Month: June
Average high (°F)temp 62
Average low (°F)temp 43
Normal Precipitation(inches) 3.1

WHO IS GOING: 6 hikers
Average hiking per day: 8 miles.

CAMPSITES: Campsites cannot be reserved, except for group campsites by groups of seven to ten. Shelters cannot be reserved. Individual sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The number of tent or shelter sites are limited. Be prepared to travel to an alternate campground in case the one where you plan to stay is full.

WATER: Drinking water should be filtered due to the possibility of getting tapeworm. If filter is suitable for Giardia it will be adequate to filter out tapeworm.

2009 Spring Saturday Hike -- Manistee National Forest

CONFIRMED HIKE:
Saturday, April 25 -- NCT: Bowman Lake Trailhead

Three of us ventured out early Saturday to this trail which was about 1.5 hours North of Grand Rapids. The temps were warm, skies were gray. A half hour into the hike it started to drizzle and then the heavens opened up. We all got soaked. Since the air was warm we continued hiking. There was a little bit of thunder and a few scary cracks of lightening. We still continued hiking. An hour later we were hiking in a steady drizzle and we decided to head back. Good thing we did because another torrential downpour came upon us soon after we got back to the car. Despite the rain, we managed to get in approx. 11 miles and I think everyone had a good time. On the ride home we cranked the heat, drank coffee and rehashed what we had seen on the hike. Good times!

Pictures from hike:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105124&id=550722462&l=0c98b8eac6

COMPLETED 2008: Aug/Sept - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND

Ah, my first real backpacking trip. So much to learn!

We started the hike on the Lower Padock Trail. We took numerous breaks because it was a really hot day. It turned out to be the only hot day of the trip. The rest of the week it was cold and rainy. We camped out on the Upper Paddock Trail and the next day we cut this hike short and went back to Medora as one of us had a wet sleeping bag and it was raining continually. I'm pretty sure that in North Dakota you only get extremes in temperatures -- either super hot or super cold!

We saw large herds of elk and antelope. The antelope are swift and it was fun to see them running around us. At night we heard coyotes and owls. We saw a lot of buffalo too. I've included a picture of some that I snuck up on. That was probably not the smartest thing to do. You need to take great caution with wild animals. I had somewhat of an encounter with a rattlesnake while crossing a muddy stream. Thankfully it just gave a warning rattle and slithered away.

We waited out the weather and then started our two day hike on the Petrified Forest Trail. It was still wet and muddy. The mud here is called "gumbo" and it would stick on our shoes in huge clumps (see photo) which we were continually poking off with our hiking sticks. I felt like a cartoon charactor with huge feet. The Petrified Forest Trial lives up to its name -- you really do see a lot of petrified wood.

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To find out more about the trails, visit these websites:

http://www.nps.gov/throw.nps.gov/thro
http://www.mdhta.com/dhta.com/

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Permits: It is easy to get permits. I picked up our permit from TRNP Park Station in Medora.

Total miles hiked: 40 (approximate)

Driving time from Grand Rapids, MI to Medora ND is: 17.5 hours

4 hikers