Chippewa River May 2010

The first weekend of May found my wife and I and a few friends on the Chippewa River near Mount Pleasant Michigan.  This was a new river for us all.  We packed up the canoes and gear in a light rain and headed North.   We used Chippewa Outfitters to spot our canoes and as our take out point.    http://www.chipoutfitters.com/  We put in at Winn Road.  The access here was a little more than a small pull off along the side of the road with a dirt path to a landing near the bridge.  There was just enough room to drop off our 3 canoes and gear.  We did this quickly as traffic on the road was heavy.

The river was absolutely beautiful and a little more technical in places than what we are normally used to.  We had some tight turns to make around fallen trees and some large boulders to navigate around.  The river got shallow in places where we scrapped bottom a few times.  After a few hours of paddling we arrived at Deerfield County park.   This park allowed camping at designated sites for $20 a site.  We reserved 2 since we were just over the legal limit of occupants per site.  A ranger was supposed to check on us and collect a $3 per boat fee.  We told the livery this and they thought it sounded odd.  The ranger never came.  We were the only people camping there that weekend.  After camp was set up I tried my hand at fishing.  I managed to catch about 6 rainbow trout but none were large enough to keep.  One trout swallowed the hook and I felt it a greater crime to release a mortally wounded fish to the river than eat it.  So, wrapped in tin foil the rainbow went into the fire.  A few minutes later we dined on fresh trout!!  

The next morning we woke up to a downpour.  This thoroughly soaked our entire campsite.  Our tent kept us very dry except a little puddle under my wife's thermarest.  Not bad considering how much rain fell  and we were on a packed down campsite.  The gigantic tarp I brought sheltered all 7 of us very well and we enjoyed fresh coffee, eggs, sausage and more eggs in relative dryness.



Beyond Deerfield Park the river widened in places and we also paddled through several ponds.  This was my favorite section of the trip.  It had a much different feel than our usual trips.  We had a sense of wilderness at times and at other times we did not.  We paddled through a golf course!  The massive houses along the river were impressive!  The covered bridge was a highlight of the trip.  You don't see these everyday!  We had more capsizes than all of our previous trips combined.  TIP...TIP!  All capsizes were experienced by the 3 person boat.  We discovered that a middle seat in a canoe is not the best place for someone to sit!  At least the weather was warm and the river not too cold!

 The take out point at Chippewa Outfitters was fair.  There was a 50 yard walk from the river to a small pull off along side the road.  The livery itself was another 50 yards or so beyond that.  The road was busy so we had to be careful loading the boats and gear.  This was a fun and slightly more challenging trip than previous ones.  I would definitely do this trip again!

New trip reports coming soon!!

It has been a while since my last post.  I was not able to get out and paddle this winter...cuz its COLD!  Although, I want to do a winter paddling trip someday.  My wife and I traveled to Malaysia for the third time so no winter backpacking trips were planned.  

However, we did go with a large group of friends to the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area in middle November.  Swimming, exploring and an epic game of Munchkin were played.   We hiked out of the woods on opening day of Michigan deer season.  It looked like a military campaign was underway!!  I have no idea how anyone takes a deer in that area since so many hunters were walking around.  Great times were had this weekend!  Chug what?  Chug this!!

As the weather has warmed up here in Michigan my thoughts are turing toward my next trip.  Water Weasel (check out her blog) and I are planning a few trips for May.  These will hopefully include one new Michigan River, the Chippewa, and our usual Memorial Day tradition of paddling the Manistee.

A friend of mine and I are planning on doing a "wilderness survival" themed trip sometime soon.  His super rich uncle owns a HUGE tract of land in the U.P. of Michigan.  That is too far for us to go for a weekend, so we are planning on doing this trip on some other family owned land of his a few hours drive from where we live.  We might also plan a trip to one of our favorite hikes called the Manistee River trail.

So I am chomping at the bit to get out and hike or paddle.  Trip reports will be posted!

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???