Porcupine Mountain Adventure

My gear. Several things are going to get the ax!

The last week has been busy. Starting about ten days ago I began firing my kiln to have all the pieces I wanted for my big art show. While I was firing and glazing I was also trying to prep for a backpacking trip to the Porcupine Mountains.

My tent at the Renaissance Festival

Having never been on this type of trip I ended up taking more than I needed for the length of trip we had planned and way more than the amount of gear and supplies for the length it ended up being.

Some of the brushed design pieces I'm enjoying making.

Back to the Renaissance Festival though. I enjoy making creatures and dragons. I enjoy the highly involved style of pottery that I have started doing with the brushed on designs. I think I may need to try some more Renaissance Festivals in other parts of the state, at least, and maybe eventually work up to one of the bigger faires. At the very least I am going to look into the smaller faires and see if I can get them into my regular show schedule.

A carved stein that I really like.

The faire last weekend ended up being quiet with bad show weather and road construction messing up the highway. Attendance was down from last year. But the organizers have plans and are taking suggestions from the vendors and exhibitors as to what can change for next year.

The map of the Porkies. We started out from Presque Isle on the Lake Superior Trail and were going to take Cross Trail to Little Carp, but ended up coming out on Pinkerton Trail and then taking the road back.

The faire was done on Sunday evening and Monday morning I immediately began preparing for three days and two nights in the backcountry wilderness of the Porcupine Mountains. We were going to leave Monday afternoon and head out on the trail Tuesday morning. Come back Thursday afternoon. It took me most of the day to get my gear into my pack. My pack was not designed to hold 40 pounds of gear and it ripped before I even left the driveway. I ended up using my friend's extra pack and wishing I could drop 10 or 20 pounds of gear.

We slept in her camper van Monday night and left Tuesday morning as planned. The hike was hilly and very boggy. A lot of rain this year meant anywhere that could hold water was holding water. And anywhere that was a steep hill, was suddenly a mudslide with a clay based mud making the downhills fairly treacherous.

On the boardwalk overlooking the falls before we really got into the hike.

About 5 miles in at the most soggy place we had seen so far, my friend fell from a log we were going to use to cross over the water and sprained her ankle. We had one more mile to the campsites and she trekked on. We decided to head out the next day on an easy trail that would take us back to the road and try to hitch a ride back to her van.

Lots of really awesome mushrooms, good inspiration for my pottery.

I tried for over an hour to get and keep a fire going at our campsite, but things were just too wet and it was just too windy. So we missed out on having some awesome looking burritos that another friend had made for us. But the sunset that night was gorgeous, the waves huge and the night, thankfully quiet except for the sound of the waves. No wildlife trying to get in our tents or in our food bags. Those were secured in a bear pole down away from our site.

At the two mile mark we had already seen plenty of mud.

We headed out in the morning, after using some of the tape in my first aid kit to wrap the sprained ankle. For a while we went one behind the other and after a quick rest I suggested I take one pack up ahead, drop it off then go back for the other pack and play leap frog with them while my friend could just go on at a comfortable pace without the extra weight. We did this for a while and thankfully the trail was fairly level and the paths did have boardwalks over the muddiest and wettest areas making the hike much easier for both of us. Eventually she took her pack again and we finished up the last mile or so, got to the parking lot and road and started back toward the van. We were only walking a short time when a truck came along and we got a ride.

I scrubbed off the day in the lake with a handkerchief.

It was only a short drive back to my house and we were there well before noon. We of course have plans to try another hike in the future. But even the two days we were out there I learned a few things: I must reduce my pack weight, I don't think I will be able to manage 2 months with a 40 pound pack if I was that tired after 2 days; I need a better padded pack, more lightweight and yet able to handle all the gear I need (need not want); I think I took enough food for 5 days instead of the 2.5 plus one that I needed, so there is something I can adjust there; I definitely need better shoes; and a different water system, I took two Nalgene bottles and I could reduce some weight by getting a water bladder. I'm already trying to think what clothes I can get rid of, I didn't have that many to begin with and if I can find an even more lightweight tent than the one I borrowed. I am very glad I got trekking poles, I would have fallen many times without those to stabilize myself.

The view out my tent.

I think I am ready for some changes in my life. I don't know what they all are yet, but even that day and a half on the trail made me think I can do anything. I can go where I need to go and not feel guilty about the changes. And I shouldn't fear those changes. That doesn't mean I won't fear them, just that it isn't a bad thing to change when it comes time to.

Sunset over the lake was gorgeous, so many colors. I'm glad there were clouds to catch the pinks.