Michigan Winters

[Hamza]

Greetings,

This coming winter i plan to take my family into the wilderness for a couple of days, i live in West Michigan, and i'm fairly new to the area, I would like to ask someone from this forum who is from MI or not, if they knew any good places in the West Michigan or Upper Peninsula area where i could go and live ''primitive'' for a couple of days, considering that i'm going with individuals who are very much city folks ... thanks in advance!

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Greetings,

This coming winter i plan to take my family into the wilderness for a couple of days, i live in West Michigan, and i'm fairly new to the area, I would like to ask someone from this forum who is from MI or not, if they knew any good places in the West Michigan or Upper Peninsula area where i could go and live ''primitive'' for a couple of days, considering that i'm going with individuals who are very much city folks ... thanks in advance!
There is a place in central mi> called Charles Howell, lots of forest there,Also try the Greyling/Gaylord area.

[tacmedic]

What sort of wilderness experience do you have? How about winter wilderness experience? There is a world of difference between Michigan wilds in the summer and winter. If you have a relatively limited amount of wilderness experience it might be best to try a state/national park first so that you are not too far from help should it be needed. I lived in various parts of Michigan as a kid, I don't remember a lot about it but I do remember that the snow can pile up quickly when it wants to. Especially in the UP.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Dont be that Guy that died 1 mile from his car( his wife and kids survived) . staying at a
campground or other Staffed wilderness area is a good suggestion.

[Hamza]

Dont be that Guy that died 1 mile from his car( his wife and kids survived) . staying at a
campground or other Staffed wilderness area is a good suggestion.

I certainly font want to be that guy, my wilderness experience is limited, so i'm certainly not planning nothing extreme ... i want to take it slow, i'm newbie when it comes to all of this, but i know one thing for sure, i love the outdoors and i want to spend as much time as i can in the backcountry, learning in the process of things, not being stupid and pulling a McCandless :D

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Fending off exposure is the dificult thing.

[Sourdough]

Start in you back yard. In the long ago times we would test a lot of equipment in the back yard. -30* is more fun if you know that if your feet start freezing, and the sleeping bag failed......you just walk in the heated cabin. What we learned is the equipment we did not test like primius stoves. Is what would not work at -30*. And if it ain't kicks and giggles in the back yard, you know your family will not enjoy the wilderness in the winter.

However once one learns what works, winter camping is fun. NO BUGS.....:) We have camped at -37*, but it is more fun at 20* above.

[crashdive123]

Greetings,

This coming winter i plan to take my family into the wilderness for a couple of days, i live in West Michigan, and i'm fairly new to the area, I would like to ask someone from this forum who is from MI or not, if they knew any good places in the West Michigan or Upper Peninsula area where i could go and live ''primitive'' for a couple of days, considering that i'm going with individuals who are very much city folks ... thanks in advance!

PGV Outdoors lives and works in the area that you are asking about. He may be able to help you a bit.

[Sourdough]

You learn things the hard way and sometimes painfully. Like how do you get the sleeping bag full of ice crystals back in the stuff sack it came out of....well you don't.

And if you wear Chippewa -40* leather boots with snowshoes everything is fine......that is till you get up and your boots are frozen like concrete with the top folded over and the tongue froze inside down by the toe.

That is how you learn what if I put them in the sleeping bag stuff sack and put them inside at the bottom of the sleeping bag. Then from that you learn you should have bought the extra-extra long arctic bag.

Just do it....and you will learn. You will learn few women think being cold, wet, bored. and miserable is a bucket of joy. Note: you won't find any men out there, saying wow this is great, better than football and beer.:)

[Hamza]

Thanks alot for all the info guys, would PGV Outdoors please post on this forum if he is reading this, and advise me, i'm in the Grand Rapids area ... again thanks alog guys!!

[crashdive123]

Send him a PM with your question or a link to this thread in case he does not get on for awhile.

[wareagle69]

why primitive? have you learned the basic skills first? what is you objective for camping out in the winter "primitive" as the ruggedly handsome member said in post no 7 practice in your backyard near your safety net, documrent what you do then analyz and learn then apply, repeat if neccesary.
when i go out for my primitive trip i set up a base camp which is know by a friend then i go from there and do my primitve thing so that way if i get into trouble even though i am far from help i still have my base camp to fall back to.
best of learning to ya there are some here with real time skills some are not, when i learn from anyone i always triple check with allot of research some have done it some have read about it it is your job to take what you read here and do your investigating to prove these theories and advices for your self, but document it as you go for future reference
enjoy your stay
wareagle

[Hamza]

Greetings,

I myself m a beginner, when it comes to alot of the small details of survival, as i've stated numerous times before, no doubt about it, but i certainly am not dumb when it comes to the matter of surviving, i can adopt quickly to any enviroment, which is the key to survival as far as i'm concerned, and to answer your question wareagle69, yes i certainly have learned the basics, and it was not in my backyard - i was 8 years old when i was forced to hide in the forests in my hometown of Bosnia from the invading forces at the beginning of the war, alongside my cousin - we as children learned how to be survivors.

After that I developed a deep love and respect for the outdoors, i moved to MI, i love MI, it reminds me alot of home, the forests, the lakes and rivers, i'll never move from here!! and being ignorant of the laws of this land to which i came to, when it comes to going out and living of the land, where can i camp,where not, what fish can i catch which not, can i kill this squirrel or is it too small, will i get busted by a ranger and then fined, all those things are the details which i'm struggling with. When it comes to survival, blindfold me and throw me into the most remote regions of a land [of course, not without my Mora] and i will come out alive, maybe not with all my limbs, but alive :)

Greetings & Respect!!

[crashdive123]

Hamza - when you were young, you were placed in a survival situation due to the ravages of war. Your trip to the wilderness this winter should not become a survival situation. You should not intentionally place yourself in harms way where it becomes a true survival situation. I think from your description you are planning on some wilderness camping and exploring. That's great and you should have a wonderful experience doing it. Ask, learn, practice.....you'll do fine.

[Sarge47]

Listen to these guys...Wareagle, Hopeak, & the others know what they're talking about. Here's a clue, which I think you already know: If you're in the woods enjoying yourself, you're not "Surviving", you're "Thriving" & camping.:D
If you're on death's door-step & scared ****less,:eek: then you're "Surviving." The Boy Scout motto is always the right one..."Be Prepared". You've already shown me that you have a leg up on some of the other Newbies we get here when you mentioned your "Mora Knife".:cool:

[Hamza]

Crash,

I'm not planning on intentionally getting myself into a situatuion of "survival or demise" by no means - but i do want to experience the outdoors and learn from it, as i've stated i love the outdoors and i want to spend as much time as possibe enjoying the outdoors ... And of course, i must learn, practice & implement, without a doubt, it is a lifelong learning experience! Thanks alot ....

[Hamza]

Greetings Sarge ... ;)

[TOOLTIME]

WELCOME HAMZA....MICHIGAN HERE TOO. SOUNDS LIKE FUN. NEVER HEARD OF CHARLES HOWELL BEFORE SO I CANNOT HELP YOU THERE. THE U.P. CAN BE PRETTY TRICKY COME WINTER TIME. FROM NO SNOW TO FEET DEEP VERY QUICKLY. LOTS OF LAND UP THERE TO GET LOST ON. NOT SURE WHAT THE LAWS ARE FOR ''primitive'' CAMPING ON FEDERAL LAND OR EVEN STATE FOR THAT MATTER. WHEN I SAY THAT, I MEAN LIVING OFF THE LAND TYPE CAMPING. AS FOR JUST CAMPING OUT IN THE WOODS, FEDERAL PROPERTY IS OPEN FOR CAMPING, STATE YOU NEED A PERMIT HERE IN MICHIGAN. WHICH CAN BE OBTAINED THREW THE DNR WEBSITE.

[Hamza]

... Your trip to the wilderness this winter should not become a survival situation. You should not intentionally place yourself in harms way where it becomes a true survival situation ...

No mentally stable person will intentionally place himself "in harms way" as you've put it, unless your name is Bear and you get paid millions to run through forests during the day and sleep in Holiday Inn's at night, but that's not the point of the discussion now and his mental stability is also questionable, but, what i've learned in the short time that i've been on this forum is that, practice naturally results in experience and experience is survival if the situation shoud ever arise, God forbid!

Of course i will not jump from a heli into a rainforest with nothing but my knife and try to find my way out ... but i want to prepare myself in case the situation of survival or demise should ever arise, i don't plan to become the next McCandless, i love life! :)

[crashdive123]

Sounds like you're on the right path. Enjoy your time. Who knows, maybe your family will really like it ane "make" you do it more often.

[bulrush]

Hamza, I am also in West Michigan, in Kentwood. I have researched the laws this year about this. You can get a permit for camping in any state forest or land. I forget the actual term the DNR uses, but you basically fill out a form telling them the dates and places you will camp, so they can find you in an emergency.

It is not legal for "primitive camping" in a state campground with camp sites. That means, you cannot use your own cat hole for a toilet, you must use given pit toilets. I don't know if it is legal to get your water from the lake. Do not ask rangers about camping rules for they are frequently misinformed. Instead get a copy of the rule in writing and bring it with you when camping. Make sure you have written proof that you can be there, complete with the names of rangers/DNR people you talked to.

You cannot camp on private land, so you must be sure you are on public STATE land (not federal) when you camp. So a map is essential.

Here we go. The DNR calls it "dispersed camping".
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10365-32926--,00.html

It is also against the law to collect any plant, animal, stick, rock, or any material from a state park for eating or removing from the park. Except in a true survival situation. So if you are looking to eat plants/animals in a state park you would be breaking the law.

[DOGMAN]

Something I have seen happen for many people, especially city dwellers with limited outdoors experience, is that they don't need to PLAN a survival, or "primitive" experience. If they just plan a normal weekend camping trip- with all the amentities and gear they can get their hands on, then just go for it- nature provides the rest.

[ryaninmichigan]

Practice in the lower before going to U.P. Things can go south on you up there and teh vastness of the country will make it even harder. Otherwise you might not be practing living up there you will practice dying.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Sounds like you're on the right path. Enjoy your time. Who knows, maybe your family will really like it ane "make" you do it more often.

Wll planed trips work because you have made a precise plan and have stuck to it. you have notified your family and park ranger or law enforcement with a detailed plan in Writing.you have provided for each person protective gear and provisions that are demanded by the climate and season at your camping location.you are prepaired to get dry,you have a means of purifying water,you have an edible wild plant handbook,you have confirmed weather forcasts,and its also a good idea to get phone numbers of people in the campsite area that can help you if you need it.

[crashdive123]

Yeah OK ------ but I'm not the one going......Hamza is.

[Hamza]

Hi everyone,

Thanks alot for all your information and suggestions, it all will be given thought to & considerend - bulrush, i also live in Kentwood, the info that you've given me has been very informational! Thanks alot again everyone!

Until the next thread ... adios!

[yellowcab]

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[yellowcab]

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