Sylvania Wilderness Canoeing and
Porcupine Mountains State Park Sightseeing,
Upper Peninsula, MI
Sunday, October 1 through Saturday, October 7, 2017
Co-Leaders: Elden Hartman: elhart54@sbcglobal.net and Roger Coulter: jroger7@aol.com
Trip Fee: $355.00
Cancellation Date: August 15, 2017
Rating: Beginner to Moderate Level; Adults and Teenagers 14 or older, with experience
We will depart Indianapolis early in the morning on Sunday, October 1, 2017 and drive through Rockford, IL and then straight up through the middle of WI into the Upper Peninsula of MI, to the 60,000 acre Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park near Ontonagon, MI, where we will spend two nights in a rustic cabin with 8 bunks near the shores of Lake Superior. We will spend a full day there on Monday to see some beautiful sights of the “Porkies”, including the Lake of the Clouds Scenic Area, the Escarpment Trail and the Overlook Trail. On Tuesday, we will drive 70 miles to Sylvania Wilderness in Ottawa National Forest near Watersmeet, MI, stopping on the way at Sylvania Outfitters to pick up our canoe paddles and PFDs. Our canoes will be shuttled for us to the Clark Lake landing. We will camp four nights in a primitive wilderness campsite on Clark Lake about a one hour paddle (and no portaging) from our entry point, and take some day paddles or hikes from our base camp there. Sylvania Wilderness is a beautiful and pristine area of 18,000 acres, with 34 lakes, and 25 miles of hiking trails and portages. The portages are well-maintained and easy trails of short to moderate length. One of the days while we are camping in Sylvania, we will take a day trip in the van to the resort town of Eagle River, WI, about 35 miles away. We will leave our campsite on Clark Lake early on Saturday morning, paddle back to the landing, and hit the road after a much-needed hot shower, arriving home late Saturday evening.
The trip fee will include all meals and snacks on Monday through Friday, except for the day we travel to Eagle River, and meals on the drive up and drive home on Sunday and Saturday. We will provide the stoves, fuel, cook gear, eating and drinking cups, plates, and eating utensils. For suppers, we will have home-made dehydrated meals or Mountain House entrees, and Ramen noodles, along with some puddings or other desserts. We may be able to have some fried fish to supplement our regular menu, if we have fishermen, and they catch fish they can keep. For lunches, we will have peanut butter, jelly, tuna in foil packs, Miracle Whip or mayonnaise on tortillas, flatbread or sandwich thins. There will also be beef jerky, summer sausage, dried apples, and granola bars for snacks. For breakfasts, we will have bacon, eggs, oatmeal, granola, and pancakes, but probably not all for the same breakfast! We will have coffee singles, tea bags, Crystal Lite drink mix packets, and hot cocoa for drinks. No alcoholic beverages will be permitted. We will have filtered lake water to drink at all times as well. If you have any special dietary needs or complaints with the above fare, let me know. There will be weight and space restrictions on what you can bring. The club leaders will bring all the food and gear needed for the trip. You will just need an inflatable sleeping pad, sleeping bag, tent, and clothes. No bulky foam pads or metal chairs will be allowed, and cans and bottles are prohibited pursuant to National Forest regulations.
