NCT Backpacking Trip: Rain, More Rain, then Sunshine!

Two friends and I are going to be spending five days on Isle Royale later in August, so we got together for a test-run. This is our trip report.

Day 1:

Jeanie and I rocked out 10+ miles between Spring Lake state forest campground and Old 131 state forest campground, in spite of the 80+ temp, enjoying the pretty views along the Manistee River.

We set up camp at the Old 131 campground, where we had staged a car, just before the rains came, and were treated to the antics of some people landing from their float down the river. Their offers of shots of whiskey confirmed that alcohol may have played a role in their day.

The rain stopped long enough to fool us into thinking we could cook dinner on the picnic table. This pattern continued throughout the evening: rain, then a little bit of not rain, then more… Eventually we gave up and just went to bed so we could be dry in our tents/hammocks.

Trying to sleep through the rain and wind all night proved difficult. Throughout the night, the wind gusted and I worried about my trekking pole tent collapsing–it’s new and I’ve practiced setting it up in my yard, but I don’t have it quite figured out. It did collapse once on me in the night when one of the poles came out of its loop at the V of the tent. I didn’t sleep very well, worrying about exactly that scenario in a downpour, but I did stay warm and dry.

Day 2:

I was a little out of sorts, putting on my damp clothing from yesterday, and contemplating packing up a wet tent. I noticed that the hydration bladder I had left on the picnic table (stupid mistake on my part!) was now on the ground and no longer full of water. Upon closer inspection, I discovered a couple of big scratches in the vessel–probably from a raccoon. An expensive mistake on my part, I discovered upon ordering a new one after returning home. 

I decided that coffee would probably improve my life, so I set about getting that going. The park’s water pump was close to our campsite, amazingly quiet, and provided water within a few pumps–it was like the unicorn of water pumps! I set up my backpacking stove and prepared to boil some water, but when I lit my stove, flames came out in places where they should not, so I quickly turned it off. I unscrewed it from the gas canister and carefully re-threaded it, but the flames continued to come out from a midway point on the stove instead of the burner. The stove is a BRS 3000, a discount product that often gets poo-poohed, but also has a bit of a cult following. This one had worked reliably for me for the last five years or more, but apparently, this was the end of its life. I had boiled water for my dehydrated meal the night before with no problem, but now it was creating a hot mess, literally. So no coffee until Jeanie woke up and I could borrow her stove.

Eventually I got a text message from our friend Kelly, who was joining us for the next two days of the shakedown, that she would be arriving in about an hour. I decided to wake Jeanie, who had decided to weather the storm in her car at about 3:30 a.m. the night before, and get organized before Kelly’s arrival. Coffee ensued, we attempted to dry our gear in the misty morning air, which was a fool’s errand, and packed up our gear.

Kelly arrived, bringing Scout, her adorable Australian cattle dog/husky mix, who was an enthusiastic hiking companion. We hit the trail, anticipating a five to six mile hike to  a dispersed camping site along the river. The air was misty, the ground was sodden, and every fern we passed was covered in rain water, so we were quickly drenched, but the views through the cedar groves down onto the river were magical, and the droplets of water on the leaves looked like crystal when the light hit them just right. The skies were gray and threatening rain, so we felt grateful for every moment it continued to hold off.

About a mile into our hike, we came upon some serious construction going on over an old railroad trestle. Temporary office buildings, dozens of trucks, and lots of beeping equipment. We waited to be waved across the construction zone, and continued on our way.

This section of NCT has a series of benches at scenic overlooks, and we took advantage of most  of them to stop and enjoy the view, eat snacks, and talk gear, food, and hiking plans for our upcoming trip to Isle Royale. We found a few ripe raspberries, pondered a spot where it looked like someone had dragged a body or canoe down a steep bluff (probably a beaver slide), and marveled over the gorgeous views of the river. A few areas were thick with ferns, and we were thoroughly soaked for most of the hike, but it was a lovely hike. 

We began to look for a “just right” campsite: near a water source, nice views, enough room for three tents, enough breeze to keep the bugs at bay… I had hiked this stretch a few times before, so I had a place in mind, but I was a bit off in my calculation of how far down the trail it was. I played the classic “It’s just a little bit further” line that all hike leaders employ a time or two. The site was worth the extra distance though, as it met all of our criteria. During our hike, we caught sight of two other hikers in the distance ahead of us, but never crossed paths with anyone. 

After setting up camp, filtering water, and generally getting comfortable, we ate dinner (ramen with dehydrated tofu and edamame and powdered peanut butter for me, a chicken-lime pho dehydrated meal for Kelly, and Dinty Moore stew for Jeanie, who also brought a peach fruit cup to which she added a shot of whiskey.) We changed into our dry sleeping clothes and sat around chatting as the sun sunk further in the sky. It was too damp to have a fire without a huge amount of effort, so instead we sat around the stone fire ring, and Jeanie contemplated carrying one of the prettier rocks in it back out the following day. Carrying a ten pound rock in my backpack sounds like madness to me, but she is a true rockhound, so I figured it might happen. 

We went to bed while it was still very light, Jeanie and I being very tired from lack of sleep the night before. I slept like the dead, and apparently missed the growl of a nearby coyote, hoots for an owl, and far off yips of a coyote pack. Kelly’s dog was sick in the night, and so they were up about every half hour or so, but I slept through all of that.

Day 3:

I was awakened by the sound of cows mooing and herding dogs yipping at about 6:30 a.m., so we must have been in proximity to a farm, even though it seemed like we were far from civilization. I shared my filtered water with Jeanie in exchange for use of her stove, and we enjoyed breakfast, discussing ways in which we might share food on our upcoming trip, given the 2-serving nature of most dehydrated meals.

By 9:30 or so, we had packed up camp and were ready to begin our hike back to the Old 131 State Forest Campground. (Jeanie looked wistfully at that pretty rock in the fire ring, but in the end decided not to pack it out.) The sun was out, the breeze was lovely, and the sky was blue. It was a much different look than the previous day. The Manistee River was running high and muddy from all of the previous rain.

Mushrooms that hadn’t been there the day before were pushing up through the forest duff, and the sunlight peeked through the more dense sections of trees in a way that I always find magical. We maintained a steady pace, but took time to enjoy each of the scenic view points. When we arrived back by the railroad trestle construction site, we were impressed by the progress they had made in just a day. Arriving back at the campground, we discovered that most of the sites had filled up, showing what a difference a midweek visit compared to a weekend visit can be. 

After a round of damp hugs, we went our separate ways, all feeling that we had a bit more work to do in preparation for our upcoming trip to Isle Royale, but better prepared for the last couple days’ experience.