Manistee River: Sharon Bridges to Coster Road Access

In early September, Water Weasel (check out her blog) her boyfriend, and my wife and I headed up North to our favorite river, the Manistee. Water Weasel had just purchased a like new canoe on Craig's List and was eager to try it out. We drove up Friday night and stayed at the CCC campground. This is a nice place as it is right on the river. There were many other people there that night and at first we were worried we would not have a site. After set up, we cranked up the radio and busted out the High Life and Boones Farm. A tame night was had around the fire.

The next morning we packed up and headed towards the Sharon Bridge access. When we were just 500 yards from the put in point, I realized I had a flat tire! The last time we did this section of the Manistee I messed up my car. I am two for two now. After a Nascar-like tire change to the donut, we were on our way. The put in point has changed a lot since our last time on this section! There is a parking area, toilets, and ramps to help put in your boat! This is a far cry from the washed out gravel, stump, and grass infested put in point of old! We were pleasantly surprised! After unloading and spotting cars, we were finally on the river around 11. My cares started to melt away with that first paddle stroke and sip of High Life. We paddled for a few hours and camped just before the US 66 bridge. We love this river because there is a lot of government land surrounding it. That means you can "ninja camp" as we call it. We are very self sufficient and are able to camp anywhere. We discovered this site on a previous trip. I think we call it Kick Ass now. I am not sure how this site stays as open as it is. There are a few trees which seem to be old apples. I discovered some OLD rusting cans in the woods. Maybe this was a homestead at one time? The site is pretty flat, gets a nice breeze, has a fire ring and is on a nice small bend. There is great swimming here! We arrived at this site about 6 hours after we left Sharon Bridge access.

After supper the bugs came out. They were not horrible, but they were bad enough to just be annoying. Then, I remembered something I read in a wilderness survival book Water Weasel got me. I made a smoke can. I gathered one of those old cans and cut out some holes in the bottom. Inside I put a few hot coals from the fire and added lots of green brush. This made lots of smoke that I placed upwind from our site. A light wisp of smoke drifted through Kick Ass site and kept the bugs at bay...until the green brush ran out. Then I added more.  Check at the end of the post for a video to better explain this technique.

We had a fun evening at the site. We did some swimming and of course lots of consuming adult beverages. The Freeplay Ranger radio kept us entertained with Big Ten football. After much searching, I finally got in my Buckeyes on AM radio. They were playing USC and I really wanted to hear it. I managed to hear the entire 4th quarter and even though we lost, I had a great time during that quarter!

From here we paddled another 3 hours or so to the Coster Road access. This access is very well maintained and has very good parking with a boat launch and restrooms. On the way home we stopped at Houghton Lake Walmart to get a new tire. We also picked up some more ratcheting straps to better secure the canoe. This trip was short, but it is just what we all needed after a very busy summer. No matter how long or short the trip may be, just getting out does so much! So, the question is...what will happen to my car next time we do this section???

Two Great Stoves Part 2: Trangia Westwind

This post will be rather short as there is not much to the Trangia Westwind. I love this stove because it is very simple and reliable. I started looking for a simpler, lighter and safer stove about 6 years ago after I had a close call with my MSR Whisperlite stove. I almost blew myself up! I was also getting tired of the complicated set up and priming rituals. Weight was also an issue as I was counting every ounce trying to go as light as possible when backpacking. I researched and compared countless stoves and eventually went with a Trangia.

The Westwind, like all Trangia Stoves, run on alcohol. Any wood, isopropyl, denatured or grain alcohol will do the trick. Although I think using grain alcohol for fuel is a waste! ;-) Denatured alcohol has the highest percentage of alcohol out of all of those listed unless you find some pretty high proof moonshine! The higher the alcohol content the hotter the flame and less time needed to boil water. Alcohol is also eco-friendly and can be made at home if necessary. Just make sure the Gubbmint doesn't find out you are making alcohol or they will send in the SWAT teams.

The Westwind is different from other Trangia models as it is a basic stove. There are no nesting pots or a cooking system included like other Trangia models. It comes with a 3 part stand that fits together in a triangle shape. A burner is included with a screw cap and simmer ring. That's all folks! To really be successful you need to add some sort of wind screen and a cooking pot. Below is a pic of my solo set up. When my wife is with me I add in a 1 liter pot and discard the hardware cloth.


Hardware cloth is that mesh grate you see in the pic. This helps hold my stainless mug more stable. Below the cup is the brass simmer ring. You might wonder what that other thing is next to the brass simmer ring. It is a priming dish and it is for cold weather use. The priming dish helps pre-heat the stove so it works faster and better in below freezing weather. Simply fill the dish with a splash of fuel, slide it under the stove, and light. Sometimes the flame from the priming dish ignites the fuel in the stove. If not, light the stove after priming dish goes out. I could have spent $20+ on one but instead I made one from a pint beer can. To make your own priming dish for the Westwind stove follow these instructions: Step one: Cut a hole in the box. Wait...wrong instructions. Ok, now for the real instructions.

1. Buy a pint can of beer. Any beer that you enjoy will do. Make sure you are legal to consume!
2. Drink said beer.
3. Cut off the bottom of the can. I can't remember how tall exactly. Just cut then slide under stove until there is a small gap between cup and stove bottom. The trial and error method works best!

That is all you need and the only cost is that of the beer. Be careful! I am not responsible if you do this while drunk or in any other mental state and hurt yourself.

Ok, now to stove operation. Fill the burner with alcohol fuel of choice. Remember, denatured works the best! Stop filling when fuel level is just below the top. Assemble the stand. Place burner into the slots on the stand. Light stove and wrap windscreen around stove. Allow stove to burn awhile. When you see a blossom of blue flame that resembles the jets on a gas stove you are ready to cook. Place pot on top. Depending on the temp of the water expect 7-10 minutes boiling time for up to a liter. I like to do something else while waiting for water to boil. This is a great time to gather firewood, set up camp, prepare the meal, or consume some adult beverages.

Once water is boiling, I place the simmer ring on to tone down the flame. This conserves a lot of fuel as a full flame is not needed to keep the water boiling. When I am ready to extinguish the flame, I remove the simmer ring, close it all the way, and drop it back onto the stove. This is done with my Gerber multi-plier. After the stove is cool, I refill it and securely fasten the screw top. Make sure the stove is cool before doing this. Otherwise, you will melt the rubber O-ring. A friend of mine did this with his stove and it took much twisting with pliers to get it off.

So that is that for operation of the Westwind stove by Trangia. As for maintenance or fixing the stove...there really isn't any. These stoves are built like tanks. The all brass construction will last a lifetime. This is my go to stove when I want a super light, simple and above all reliable camp stove.

Two great stoves! Part 1

Greetings! Summer camp is winding down and I am looking forward to fall backpacking and paddling trips. Soon I will have weekends again! The next two posts will be focusing on two camp stoves that I am very familiar with. They are the MSR Whisperlite and the Trangia Westwind. I will start off with the stove I have used the longest and my first stove the MSR Whisperlite. http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/fast-and-light-stoves/whisperlite/product
I am sure there have been hundreds or perhaps thousands of articles written on this stove. However, there is one trick with this stove that I have not found written about anywhere. It is the trick of making this stove SIMMER. But, we will get to that later. As for now I will explain how I came to know and love the Whisperlite. I first experienced the thrill of cooking on a small backpacking stove during my NOLS course back in 2001. I was with a group of 10 others in the wilds of the Yukon Territory Canada. Our instructors taught us all the ins and outs of this stove. We learned simple operation, maintenance and field repair. I thought it was so cool to be able to repair this stove in the field. After using this stove for 3 weeks cooking breakfasts and dinners I absolutely had to have one. Fortunately, NOLS allowed us to purchase our gear at a signigificant discount. For $35 I had a complete stove minus fuel bottle and maintenance kit. So you might be wondering...what is so great about this stove?

The Whisperlite stove runs on liquid fuel like Coleman fuel or white gas. White gas is a highly refined form of gasoline, or petrol as my friends from the UK say. Coleman fuel is a form of white gas, but not as refined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_fuel You can use the two terms interchangeably. I primarily use Coleman fuel as it is easy to find and cheap. (About $8.50 a gallon at Wal-Mart, white gas is $5 a quart!) As with all liquid fuel stoves, the Whisperlite must be primed with a little fuel first. This heats up the stove to turn the liquid fuel from the fuel bottle into gas form when it reaches the stove burner. Priming only takes a minute or two. Then a VERY hot blue flame erupts. The edges of the stove often glow red. Water can be boiled in about 4 minutes. The stove is fairly compact for a liquid fuel stove. It can also be cleaned and fully disassembled in the field. This is a plus when the stove gunks up from dirty fuel. To help with this problem, the stove has a "shaker jet". If the fuel jet is clogged, shake it like a polaroid picture and the jet is cleared. Ok, the stove is cool. What are some tricks with the stove?

There are some tricks to make the whisperlite much more useful. This stove is known for sounding like a jet engine and having two settings: ON or OFF. I beg to differ. If all you need is a low flame to warm up a sauce, don't pressurize the fuel bottle much. Five pumps is all you need to get the fuel into the fuel line and prime the stove. No matter how far the fuel valve is opened, the flame will stay a constant low blue. If you need a low flame after your water has come to a boil two things can be done.

First, you can "feather" the stove. This is a long process of gradually closing the fuel valve until the desired flame strength is achieved. Second, you can depressurize the fuel bottle. I prefer the second method. To depressurize the stove you must first turn off the stove. Make sure all flame is estinguished. Next, unhook the stove from the fuel bottle. Set the stove aside. Slowly unscrew the fuel pump from the bottle. When you hear air escaping stop unscrewing. Once you no longer hear air, screw the pump back onto the fuel bottle. Connect the stove to the fuel bottle. Finally relight your stove. If this procedure is done quickly you will not need to re-prime the stove. Now you have a steady low blue flame and a true SIMMER! This is a really awesome stove, but is it safe?

The Whisperlite is a safe stove if it is respected at all times. Story time... Back in December of 2003 I was camping out in near Athens, Ohio. I was taking a Wilderness First Responder course and to save money I camped at a state park. It was VERY cold but I was prepared with my brand new MSR 4 season tent, 20F sleeping bag, and my whisperlite stove. I was cooking dinner when a blast of cold air blew off the wind screen and hit the stove. It was so cold that the fuel instantly turned from a gas back to a liquid. Immediately the perfect blue flame turned into a massive pillar of yellow flame. It was this experience that made me switch, for awhile, to the Trangia Westwind.
With liquid fuel stoves, care must be taken when handling the fuel. Winter time is killer if l is spilled on bare hands. Frostbite happens much quicker this way as the fuel evaporates quickly.
The fuel is highly flammable so dont open fuel bottles near open flame like a campfire or a cigar.

So, this is my take on a Whisperlite stove. The benefits are quick cooking times, cheap fuel, field maintainable, and portability. The negatives are dangers of liquid fuel, weight, and many moving parts. The MSR Whisperlite is a fine stove to have on any adventure!

Paddling the Huron

The first weekend of May, my fiance' and two of our friends paddled the Huron River. We started just up river from Millford, MI and paddled to Huron Meadows metropark. The paddle overall was good but I probably won't do it again. We paddled through the lake at Millford and Ford Lake which was very difficult. We had to get permits for EVERYTHING. I understand permits to control access but the whole concept sucks in my opinion. It is just nickel and dimeing you to death. Just issue a permit for free and stop when too many people are there. Ok, I am done with that.

The sections of the river without the lakes were beautiful. We found out since construction was going on the 96 bridge that we couldn't go under it. We had to pay a livery to shuttle us around 96. After haggling the price down to $40 we were set. When we needed to shuttle, the livery arrived right away. However, they were very disorganized. We went to one place and our boats to the other. Our driver wasn't listening to us when we told him where we were supposed to go. Eventually we got back on the river.

Overall, the trip was fun. I probably wont do it again overnight because of the lakes, permits and general difficulty of planning the trip. Any day paddling is better than a day at work.