All About the Kids VII

“One would convince Matt to chip in for one's adventure race team and then race 270 miles across the state of Michigan.”


Lol or one could ask Upluver....I'm pretty sure he still has a few of them laying around here somewhere!”

“we are the goulish remains of matt's tormented past”

“I haven't gotten my confirmation for my pto request yet which has me worried. It's gonna get frickin' ugly if I don't the day off.”

“weather looks kind crummy at this point. It's pretty early though, could change drastically.”

“i didnt think it looked that bad, except for showers on saturday. temps are nice. and yea, thats a week away. no point in even looking at the forecast yet”

“My report said rain every day BUT Friday. And low 70s. I would rather low to mid 80s and no rain.”

“weather looks fantastic! cool, maybe a bit of rain, and isn't the moon full on the weekend?”

“It's definitely improved. I hope it does even more and magically gets HOT on Saturday so we can swim.”

“Sass,

I have a Michigan State Park sticker on my car. Will that work, or will I need to still buy a pass?”

“As for meeting up, are numbers OK? (Like GPS coordinates for the campsite, or a cell phone number, or something. Since I found out the hard way on a trip I organized in PA that the "email participants" doesn't work.)”

“hiknMachine
A pass huron manistee National Forest pass is required for Nordhouse..”

“you can pay for the weekend right at the parking lot. cash or cheque. they supply the envelopes.
ki0eh, if you want, i can mark the trail and the way to the campsite with bright pink trail-ribbon.

trix won't let me outta her sight since i pulled her pack out :)
BTW, we're shooting for a wednesday evening arrival.
last edited: 8/03/09 7:24:51 AM”

“Lukee and Helinka,

Thanks. Paying in the parking lot sounds easy enough. I may take Friday off if I can talk my boss into it. Brittany won't be joining us. She has some band stuff come-up that she doesn't want to miss. Looking forward to seeing everyone.”

“ki0eh, people just sort of wander in at all times and days, I don't know that anyone will really be meeting up for the hike in. I can hike out to get you around 1200 on Friday if you're uncomfortable hiking in on your own. I don't recall if I got cell service there or not but shoot me an email and I'd be glad to give you my number. And if you give me yours I can give you a heads up if the route to the trailhead has changed or anything. Last year there was a detour due to bridge work. My email is joymharvey@gmail.com”

“OK, for you GPS nuts the APPROXIMATE coordinates to the parking lot are: +44° 5' 13.68", -86° 26' 42.08"

I do not guarantee that these coordinate go to ANYTHING other than the general area of the parking lot. These are not the coordinates of the camp site.

Click on the link below to view the map. Click on the green arrow in the map to get driving directions.

My memory is foggy as to the location of the parking lot. I think this is it, but when you go down Nurmberg Rd make sure you have Sassafras's directions handy and look for the sign for the parking lot.

Sassafras, if I got this badly wrong let me know and I'll post a correction.


View Larger Map
last edited: 8/03/09 4:27:43 PM”

“Have they figured out how to build a bridge up there yet? Last year was a nightmare.”

“I have no idea what the coordinates are Jimmysan. The directions on the trip age are what I go by and they've gotten me there every time for 15 years or so. The arrow on your map looks like it's in the right place to me.

Why does this seem so complicated this year? And do you think your gps will get a satelite driving down that tree covered road for five miles? That's the type of stuff mine hates and protests against.

Nigal, if we had just followed the detour instead of trying to get around it last year we all would've made it there much easier. Worst part was I even called you and told you to just take the detour! It was all Kelly's fault wasn't it? ;)”

“Directions to the trailhead:

From the town of Scottville/ intersection of 10 and 31. Go west on 31 to "Stiles Corner" turn right (north) on Stiles rd. Take Stiles north till it ends at Townline Rd. Turn right and start looking for Quarterline Rd, turn left (north) on Quarterline. Continue north till you see Nurnberg (there is a party store on the corner) Turn left (west). Drive till you hit the trail head (dead end) stay left at the first fork in the rd on Nurnberg.”

“ohhhh (tail between my legs) i was just posting it cause somebody asked about gps coordinates. i feel smacked down like a pup swatted with a newspaper

if you are coming from the south (chicagoland/indiana) odds are you will be coming up 31 and then along 10 to scottville, in which case if I recall it's a left turn to stiles corner (since you are coming towards scottville from the south heading east.)
last edited: 8/03/09 9:29:06 PM”

“ki0eh,
we should be arriving friday around noonish.. If I am not at the trail head I will probably be hiking back out for my second load... email lukee1982@yahoo.com”

“for the first time, i googlemapped this place...wow!
you can see the HUGE amount of sand! and i never realized there was another lake in the vicinity!”

“Yeah, there is Hamlin lake which is huge and full of boats and cottages and then there is tiny Nordhouse lake. Someday if we actually wanted to hike we could take the other trailhead in and hike past Nordhouse lake and through the forest. It's actually a beautiful hike.

Jimmysan, you goof. I'm not smacking ya down. But seriously, will your gps work there or is mine just a POS (highly likely)?”

“Mine has always worked there.”

“Sigh....I really miss this place. I wish Nordhouse was closer to da UP. :(

Did they ever put a water pump at that trailhead? Last I remember they were expanding the parking area.

PS: Sass's directions are right on the money.

PPS: does Nigal still bushwack his way to the beach or has he finally figured out that big sandy trail?
last edited: 8/04/09 9:32:25 AM”

“No water. Nothing different really except the lot is now marked so you can't park willy nilly. There are actually less spaces now and they've created an overflow lot somewhere down that fork in the road no one ever wants to take. I've never been unfortunate enough to have to use it, or seen the lot too full. But, I think that has much to do w/ when we choose to go.”

“does Nigal still bushwack his way to the beach or has he finally figured out that big sandy trail?

cougheatmecough! LOL!

If it's too cold to swim I'm planning on doing a long afternoon hike north out of camp.”

“The walk south (along the beach) to the lighthouse was great, especially if the lighthouse is open for tours. I never did make the entire hike north to the campground.

Have fun!”

“My neighbor swam in the lake last weekend and said it was great, but of course that can change overnight. The key is having wind from the west to blow all the warm surface water over to us.”

“my poor heart is crushed...”

“I can tell. I hope you'll recover before the weekend. Cardiovascular strength is very important in the dunes!”

“i hope we have big waves

im bringing fun stuff for the kiddos (that includes myself): 2 supersoakers and madlibs”

“:)”

“Abby LOVES madlibs! You just have to remind her what adverbs and adjectives are occasionally.
I've got glowsticks. =D And a parafoil. And I'll bring the fossil book again if I can fit it.”

“Thanks for all the help! Laurel (6 yo) and I will be showing up at noon on Friday.”

“Abby tried her new pack load w/ 15# last night. She kind of wiggled into it and I showed her how to tighten her hipbelt and straps. I fully expected her to fall over and say it was too heavy. She looked at me in amazement and said "THIS HIPBELT ROCKS! I can't feel any weight on my shoulders!! This is doable Mom". She is so cool. =) I still expect some whining about the weight on the trail. I've already decided I'm going to tell her I don't like my pack weight either and that's what makes backpacking so much fun, lol.”

“just tell her when uncle crashy was in alaska, we hiked with backpacks as heavy as her!”

“Alright, I got Friday off. I should be there around noon.”

“If it's too cold to swim I'm planning on doing a long afternoon hike north out of camp.�
Nigal
9:44:33 AM
8/04/09

Those of us in Miss uh by god sippi in August can't even comprehend this.”

“Crash her Daddy carries a 125# pack now. AND 40# of body armor. YIKES!”

“Man, that'll get you into shape!”

“I'm off to work then will leave right after. Will try and check in one more time later. See ya all soon!”

“birch is the biggest stud i know”

“That's what you tell all the guys. LOL”

“we are leaving early tomorrow. it's about a 6-7 hour drive so we will be there mid to late afternoon.”

“Jimmy,

Looking forward to meeting the rest of your family.”

“same here! glad you will be on the trip. i have heard a lot of great things about you... i think that was you. lol!”

“I ask one favor from everyone. Our friend Betty is a bit sensitive about the gear they're taking and the amount of gear. They are noobies and need a little encouragement and reassurance. I really want them to have a good time.”

“Sounds like a great trip, guys. Enjoy!”

“Hehe. It is a learning process you only learn by doing. I qould glady lug their gear back and forth with a smile on my face nigal, knowing next year they would pack lighter and be further down the road. Lol!

Besides, I saw joe lugging stuff with a pulk over the sand one year.”

“We loved being there on Friday and meeting folks. Thanks again to Sassafras for setting things up!

Saturday morning was a little different, Laurel whined her way up the trail in the rain. But she recovered after having the recommended cinnamon swirl French toast at the North Country Cafe in Scottville.”