Is anyone interested in backpacking?  We usually camp at Trails End or Lake Jeanette but we want to start backpacking more.  Last summer we hiked the Centennial Trail and part of the Angleworm Trail.  Anyone have a preference on the best backpacking?  Can hardly wait to get back up there.

I used to, but more for money than for enjoyment.  Before I owned my canoe a trip would be $30/day for canoe rental.

While nowhere near BW/Q, Frontenac PP is well set for hiking.  A nice network of trails, well maintained.  The campsites are not as private as one might like, but understandable considering the traffic the park gets.

These days I think of hiking as an all day portage with fishing spots I can see but not get to.   :D

Preacher wrote on Dec 30^th, 2010 at 2:55pm:

These days I think of hiking as an all day portage with fishing spots I can see but not get to.   :D

;D ;D ;D

Hey, it's all good JJ99! Whatever floats your boat ;).

I would love to canoe if I wasn't too chicken to get in one.  We rented a canoe from an outfitter in Ely a few years ago, my husband portaged it, and then I tried 3 times to get in it, but it rocked so much I was afraid to go out in it.  I did sit in it and fish on the bank and caught a small bass.  I had him take my picture so it looked like I was on the lake!  LOL  I would love to take a trip in a canoe, but I guess I'll just stick with backpacking!  I love it too!

jjj-

My "special place" for backpacking is in the Wasatch-Cache in northeastern Utah.  Lots of nice Alpine lakes (mostly cut-throat trout) up above 8,000 feet and even the passes rarely get above 11,000 ... and compared to other areas, relatively lightly used.  The northern side is called the Ashley National Forest and its my "go to" place when I need to see moose by the hand fulls.  I'll generally camp at about 10,000 feet, since it is mostly below the tree line.

Colorado is my second choice, but you need to generally prepared for more up and down and passes that will sometimes reach 13,000.  New Mexico is closer for me, so I done several trips there.  

I'll bet you rented an aluminum canoe ... they tend to have rounder bottoms and are consequently more "tippy."  You might try sitting in something like a Wenonah Champlain ... very flat bottom and very difficult to tip ... feels a bit like a barge.

dd

jjjds1999 wrote on Dec 30^th, 2010 at 4:48pm:

I would love to canoe if I wasn't too chicken to get in one.

I wouldn't let my lack of experience stop me JJ. What you need is some good old fashioned instruction. I find audio visual very helpful. Observe the proper entry method.
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All kidding aside, welcome aboard as Old Salt would say. You will find a lot about camping here on this site as well as canoeing. Who knows, with proper encouragement maybe we'll get you out yet ;).

That's what I need!, a barge!  Might be kind of hard for the hubby to carry on his back though!  ;D  Now I'm going to watch the instructional video and see if that helps.

jjj-
You might like the Kekekabic Trail.  It is a several day hike from the Ely area up to the Gunflint Trail.  You can see its route on a canoeing map.  There is a group which looks after it...the Kekekabic Trail Club...they travel the trail yearly clearing up fallen trees, making the route clear for travelers and take care of some small bridges.  I am sure there is a lot of information on the web about the trail.
Regarding tippy canoes....they all feel that way at first.  Do you not swim?  Wear a life vest when you are out in the canoe and should you tip, you are only wet, no real disaster.  It takes a while to feel comfortable in a canoe but it comes with time spent in the canoe.   ;)

mastertangler wrote on Dec 30^th, 2010 at 5:15pm:

jjjds1999 wrote on Dec 30th, 2010 at 4:48pm: I would love to canoe if I wasn't too chicken to get in one. I wouldn't let my lack of experience stop me JJ. What you need is some good old fashioned instruction. I find audio visual very helpful. Observe the proper entry method.   (You need to Login or Register All kidding aside, welcome aboard as Old Salt would say. You will find a lot about camping here on this site as well as canoeing. Who knows, with proper encouragement maybe we'll get you out yet ;).

LOL, I didn't try that, maybe next time!  I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to get in from the end, which is what I tried to do.  :-[

From what I saw of the hiking trail around Angleworm and Home Lakes last August, I'd try there.  Lots of camp sites available, and I doubt the trail on the eastern portion of the loop receives much use in the warm months.  Some places it looked little more than a game trail, especially on the eastern side of Home.  However, I think it would be worth exploring on a backpacking trip.

You can find a lot of great hiking on the Superior hiking trail also. If your going for short trips I like around Tettagoche, Silver Bay, Finland area. Some up and down, terrific views, and really nice trails. But there is people and you are frequently within ear shot of motors and such so there's that draw back.
I agree with the others, if you want to go canoe tripping, you just need to spend some time in a canoe. It's like riding a bike; tippy at first then it gets better as you learn your feel for it. I often take kids for their first trips. One thing I like to do is send them out without gear and make them tip. Seems to help them get over that initial fear of tipping. After they do, as long as the canoe is loaded right, they rarely have tipping issues.
Only person I could get past tipping was one adult I brought on a short trip. He was 400 pounds or so and had mediacal issues where he didn't have much feeling in his legs and feet. His partner was a 100 kid that had never been in a canoe before. We ended up putting the guy in the middle of the canoe with the kid and no gear. The two of them spent a lot of time in the Vermillion river swimming for shore. Cold water but they seemed to make the best of it. The kid even asked to go on the next trip, but with a different partner.

[quote author=jjjds1999 link=1293715453/0#8 date=1293729952]LOL, I didn't try that, maybe next time!  I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to get in from the end, which is what I tried to do.  :-[/quote]
Oh dear, that's where it's the tippiest!  I bet you were in the bow too, which often feels much tippier than the stern.
You'll see videos of folks launching with one foot in the end and a push and step, step and away they go.  Takes a little practice.
Canoes are much more stable when they're moving.
Hands off the gunwales.  Actually, hands off the canoe.  Hands on the paddle.  Paddle across the canoe.Mind your head.  Where your head goes, your body is sure to follow.  Keep your head between the gunwales and you'll be fine.

Agree with grizzlylarso.  Tipping is the first thing (water temps permitting) someone should do.  Learn how to tip, that way you know what it takes and what not to do.  Like driving a car.  How can you control a skid without knowing what skidding is like?

You might find sections of the Trans-Canada Trail to hike.

The best part of canoeing is that you can see more, go further, work less.

Spots to Backpack

MN:

Superior Hiking Trail
Border Route Trail
Kekekabic Trail
Crosby Manitou State Park
Cascade State Park
Temperance River State Park



Rest of the US

Beartoothes-MT/WY
Bighorns-WY
Hoh Rainforest/Olympic National Park-WA
Isle Royale National Park-MI
Wind River-WY
Big Bend National Park-TX
Canyonlands National Park-UT
Escalante Primitive Area-UT
Grand Gulch Primitive Area-UT
Mule Canyon-UT day hikes only
Death Valley National Park-CA
Arches National Park-UT
Point Reyes National Seashore-CA
Sinkyone Wilderness State Park-CA
Kings Peak Wilderness-CA
Muir Woods-CA
Big Sur-CA
Nipomo Dunes-CA
Theodore Roosevelt National Park-ND

Canada

Banff/Lake Louise

PM me if you have questions

There's lots of great backpacking all across the continent, and lots of good suggestions above.

Grand Canyon is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but you need to plan ahead and know what you're doing. We went in May some years ago: still some snow on the south rim, but at the bottom, we typically got up at first light, hit the trail around dawn, and by 10 am it was too hot to hike.

If you happen to make it to the Canadian Rockies, PM me and I can make some specific suggestions depending on time available and season.

Many good hiking trail ideas offered for you.  There are lots of day hikes on the Gunflint Trail as well as the option of the longer Kek and Border Route Trail trails.

I hope you'll try canoeing again too.  It's  lots of fun and if you  have weight low in the canoe and keep your center of gravity low you'll be just fine.

If you ever need hiking trail information on the Gunflint Trail then be sure to stop in at Voyageur, we can help you out.

Happy New Year.

Lots of great places to go for a walk. I would, however, be remiss if I didn't mention to our new friend an absolutely wonderful place that would make for a very memorable trip indeed.

And that would be Isle Royale national park. Located in Lake Superior it is a hikers paradise. Many differing levels of difficulty can be found from flat to steep and tailored to your liking. The ferry ride over is nice and then of course there is also the intra costal ferry a hiker can take advantage of for a quick ride home after the hiking is done.

Throw in the beauty of the Lake Superior shoreline, a generally cool summer and no bears to worry about swiping your food and it is very pleasant indeed!! One little surprise which will be looked upon with disdain by the purists (I Liked it :) ) are the three sided shelters. These little mini huts have a screened front and once you put your tag on the door it's yours. There are usually 2 or 3 at the campsites that are on Lake Superior.....none on the interior. There is usually a resident mouse so bring a trap cause when the lights go out they are in your pack. I went to war with a rather portly specimen one night. May he R.I.P.

Isle Royal is a national gem that many people never consider.I believe it's the least visited of the National Parks?I backpacked it 3 times in late 70's-80's.There are 3 main trails that run the length of the island.The center trail runs along the bony spine of the isle.Campsites there at the small lakes that dot the interior.

Bugs are to be expected. When the black flies are at there peak, it's as bad or maybe worse than Q/BWCA. I found a bug head-net to be invaluable in camp, and in the more bushy sections of the hiking trails.

The trails that run on the South and North shore were my favorite for there views of Lake Superior. The cool breeze off the lake could be chilling, but it also helped with the black-flies. Of the 2 shoreline trails, I preferred the Northern trail. Seemed less traveled and had the more spectacular views.

When I went, there were 3 sided screen huts on all the trails, but that was quite a while ago. We used them when available. A place relatively free of bugs was nice, but like MT said, the little critters love them too.

I'm not a " hanger", but if you are, Isle Royale is the place to do it. Rocky soil and shallow duff, makes for poor tent staking. A nice hammock and good fly would be perfect. Fires are frowned upon, maybe even illegal now? We had a few, but for obvious reasons, a fire on the island could be disastrous.

Wildlife is plentiful. The ratio of moose/wolves fluctuates, but when I was there, it was almost a daily occurrence to have to step off trail to let a moose cow/calf pass or a big bull. Foxes are all over and not very skittish around humans. A couple of camps had a Fox that hung around and begged for food. You can blame well intentioned but mis-guided hikers for that.

We saw wolves each trip, but usually just as they crossed a trail in front of us. They did howl at night and responded when we howled back.

We brought minimal fishing gear. A lightweight pack rod, some spinner baits and minnow type lures. I caught Walleye/Pan-fish/ Pike and a small Laker on the various trips.

We flew over/back from Hough ton/Hancock in the UP. Did do one trip over and the ferry, but rough seas there and back made us look for a quicker way ;)

It took us 8 days to hike from east to west the length of the isle each trip. You could do it in less time, but we took are time and enjoyed the spectacular views and scenery.

We saw a few hardy souls canoeing the isle. Most traversed the perimeter, and would portage in to the interior lakes they wanted to fish.
Lake Superior isn't for beginning paddlers though. Winds can come up out of no-where, and the water is freezing even in summer.

We did run into a lone kayak-er at Windingo our exit point on the western end. He had the full wet-suit gear and had capsized while paddling into the narrow bay where the campsites are located in Windingo. He said that he barely was able to recover himself and that if he wasn't wearing a wet-suit and had years of experience and could Eskimo roll without thinking, he would of perished in the frigid waters and high surf.

I would hardly recommend Isle Royale, at least once in your backpacking life. It cost's a lot to maintain the Isle, and with few paying tourists along with a shrinking National Park budget, it may not be economically feasible to maintain it for years to come.

I've heard rumbles of offers by private developers to buy the island outright, or swap it for private land holding that could be developed into wilderness areas. I'd hate to see it become a retreat for the wealthy and not a gem accessible by the average Joe :(

I echo the sentiments about Isle Royale.  Quetico and Isle Royale are #1 and #1A on my favorites places on earth.  A backpackers paradise, to be sure.

Don't forget the Porcupine Mountains in the U.P. of Michigan.  Fantastic backpacking experience.  Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, also in the U.P., is very cool as well.

Quote:

Pictured Rocks National Lake shore, also in the U.P., is very cool as well

 First year the trail opened. First backpack trip ever. Two words summed up the trip, Young and Dumb ;D
$20 K-mart tent, leaked from git-go. Actually brought some can goods.
Bought brand new Vasque hiking boots a week before trip. Super boot, but heavy leather demanded a break-in period. Ended up with Silver dollar sized blisters on both heels. Thank God for Moleskin!

I learned a lot that first trip, unfortunately had to suffer for the knowledge :'( One highlight among many was the decision to leave the start of the trail from Gran Marais, and hike the Superior Beach becasue I thought getting my new tight boots wet would break them in faster. problem was when we ran out of beach, we had to climb up the Devils Slide :-[ Ever try hiking up a 300 ft sand slide with a pack on ;D 3 steps forward, one step back. Now I know why the trail runs inland from Gran Marais instead of along the beach ;)
Oh to have the energy of a 27 yr old ST and the knowledge I've gained over the years. But then where's the fun in that ;)
Another often overlooked gem of a hiking trail. Did catch Brook trout in the feeder streams, so bring your pack rod if you go.

There are a lot of State Parks in Minnesota that have more rustic trails.  Tettegouche, Cascade River are a few that I've hiked in recently enjoying some challenging trails with few people, but glorious views.  Cascade River State Park has a nice series of waterfalls.  State Park websites typically offer good information about the various trails, type of scenery and other details.