Grex Nature Conference

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Grex Nature Item 73: Some more Info!
Entered by kaiwalya on Sun Mar 26 19:31:49 UTC 2000:

Well, here I am again, depending upon others for info! the thing is that
I read a few old items listed here  to get an idea about camping. I come
from India.. what i would do there is to get a place to stay and then
venture out from the base into the wilderness, spend atmost a nitgh on
my own.. so I never needed careful planning.. But it seems totally
different. the things that seem to be important are: 
1. the rain (though i love it, makes me really miserable at time when
combined with the cold here)
2. Bugs.. i don't know, I can keep the mosquitos away but what about
these black flies? I think a fly bite would be definitely more painful
that mosquito bite. 
The other thing about rain is that I don't know the pattern of rain
here.. we would have just one monsoon season. Its an altogether
different thing here. Does anybody have any suggestions regarding these
things?

5 responses total.

#1 of 5 by scg on Sun Mar 26 21:57:17 2000:

I'm afraid I haven't done much camping in MIchigan, but if you're going to
do so my limited experience says that it's much nicer in the Northern part
of the state than in the Southern part.

Flies are annoying because they buzz around a lot.  I don't think I've ever
been bitten by one.  Do they bite?

Rain here is just something that happens occasionally, following no particular
pattern.  If you're planning something a few days in advance, the weather
forcasts *may* be accurate.  If you're trying to plan something farther in
advance than that, you just have to hope you get lucky.

#2 of 5 by rcurl on Sun Mar 26 23:03:55 2000:

Deer and horse flies bite - hard (I was driven off a canoe trip once
because of deer flies, when I did not have repllent handy). Insect
repellent is pretty effective, especially when used on a "bug jacket" (a
very sheer jacket, with a hood, pre-soaked in repellent). 

We've camped many times in campgrounds, but only a few times off
trails. Few places in Michigan are very far from established campgrounds,
except in the UP. Camping on canoe trips can be done in both the LP
and the UP. You can also camp in State Forests just about anywhere,
though you are supposed to post a notice at your campsite.

#3 of 5 by scg on Mon Mar 27 06:34:03 2000:

What is the notice supposed to say?

#4 of 5 by rcurl on Mon Mar 27 07:24:55 2000:

It is a form you get from a State Forest office. This is for camping
"in the wild", not at registered campgrounds.

#5 of 5 by n8nxf on Mon Mar 27 18:33:16 2000:

I've done a fair amount of camping.  I prefer northern Michigan and the UP.
Insects can be bad but repellent will do the job if you have problems.  I
usually don't have to use it because I plan my trips for the late Summer and
Fall when it's pretty dry out.  Rains come either in the form of thunderstorm,
which come and go pretty quickly, or all day rains that can last for several
days but are usually not heavy.  I usually don't even bother with a rain coat
during the all day rains because I get just as wet from my own sweat under
my raincoat.  (I don't let the rain stop me.  I keep going.  If I do want to
stay out of the rain, I just stay in my tent and sleeping bag with a good
book.)  Wool and polypro will help keep you warm when wet and dry pretty fast.
I prefer wool because the polypro starts to smell fast once worn.  I like to
set up a base camp and then do day trips from that.  I find that I can cover
a lot of ground, see more and not feel as tired at the end of the day because
I don't have to carry much for a day trip.

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