Article Travel Leisure Tip

I was backpacking in the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was March
so when I made it through the woods and over the dunes
I'd have miles of beach to myself. It was an over-nighter
a chance to test new ultralight backpacking equipment. I hiked the wooded hills quickly
enjoying the cold air.

Halfway through the forest
I stopped to cook noodles. The cheap 3-ounce pot was from a dollar store
and it worked fine. I was happy
because from the catalog descriptions
the expensive titanium pots are all heavier
probably because they're too thick and with too many gadgets.

I had to use a small twig-fire when my homemade alcohol stove didn't provide enough heat. I later learned that isopropyl alcohol doesn't burn as hot as the alcohol used for a gas additive
but the twigs worked in any case.

Backpacking On The Beach

After eating
I hiked to Lake Michigan
and sat up on a large sand dune. I watched the waves push ice up onto the empty beach. Coyotes began to howl in the distance
and the clouds rolled in. I was on the beach looking for petoskey stones when the snow began. Backpacking in March has its risks.

I was in running shoes
and it would be below freezing that night. In northern Michigan
March is definitely part of winter. My feet stayed warm while I hiked
but I hadn't planned on them getting wet. At least I had a pair of warm
dry socks for sleeping.

Ultralight Backpacking Equipment

It was the first time I used my GoLite Breeze backpack
which weighed only 13 ounces. I was hiking with about nine pounds on my back
and that only because I threw in some canned food. I was going light
but I knew the forests here and felt comfortable with my abilities.

My down sleeping bag was a 17-ounce Western Mountaineering HighLite. It was the first time I would use it below freezing (It hit 25 degrees fahrenheit that night). Fortunately
it wasn't too windy.

At the edge of the forest
behind the dunes
I set up my small tarp. I piled pine needles and dead bracken ferns under it
finishing just as it became dark. This made a warm mattress
and I slept well
listening to the coyotes
and to the waves pushing ice around in the lake.

In the morning I was happy to see only a dusting of snow. My one-pound sleeping bag had been warmer than my three-pounder - and I thought that was light. I poured alcohol in the cut-off bottom of a pepsi can (my 1/2-ounce backpacking stove) and made tea. After some crackers I was soon hiking in my mostly-dry shoes
along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Backpacking Lessons Learned

I ended my trip that afternoon
with a hike to the village of Empire
seven miles away. I was mostly satisfied. Only two problems: My tarp was too small
and the alcohol I brought was the wrong type.

After backpacking in Michigan for years
I know it well. I know where to find dead grass and bracken ferns
for example
to make a warm mattress in a few minutes. Knowledge
obviously
can be as valuable as expensive backpacking gear.