Before the Great Adventure in the Porcupine Mountains...

By P. 

When finalizing a trip, it is always a good idea to let at least two people know where you are going, your plans while you're away, and when to expect you home. (I say at least two people because one of them might forget.) There are a lot of crazy stuff and a lot of crazy people out in the world (and just random acts of bad luck) and it is always necessary to put your safety first.

So, as we wrapped up our plans for our first great adventure to the Porcupine Mountains, we sent out a mass email to all our close family and friends, letting them know exactly what our plans were and detailed descriptions of our planned hiking route along with a map and emergency contact info in case something happened to us. Better smart and precautionary than lying in a ditch with a sprained ankle unable to climb out, gnawing on tree bark for nourishment, hoping your sister somehow realizes she hasn't spoken to you in a week and gets worried enough to drive around to your place to realize you haven't been home in a while, and maybe calls the police who will, after the 24 hour waiting period, file you as missing and maybe a while later start looking through your computer files to see what your last activity was and ... okay. I think you get the point. Main point here, just let people know where you're going so they can send out a search party if you don't make it back in a timely manner.

Email Sent:

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 10:31 PM
1 attachment (Our Map into the Wilderness of the Porcupine Mountains)

From: P.
Subject: P. & Isa's Backpacking Trip in the Porcupine Mountains
To: Our Family & Friends

Hi All!

We are sending you all a copy of our itinerary in case *cross your fingers* something goes down and we need rescuing. We're leaving around 12:30pm/1pm Thursday, July 22 and returning late afternoon Monday, July 26. So, if you don't hear back from us after Monday, COME LOOK FOR US! (Please feed our babies before coming though.)

Puppy and Lilly, the babies.

This is a schedule of the trails we'll be hiking/camping along: We'll check into the ranger station at the park headquarters and register on Thursday (around 6pm) when we get there. Then we're going to drive down and park in the trailhead parking area near Section 17. Hopefully, we'll be able to start hiking for a while before setting up camp for the night. From there, we will hike along the Little Carp River Trail to see the Overlooked Falls and the Greenstone Falls. At the end of that trail is a rustic cabin called the "Little Carp." We plan to walk along the beach of Lake Superior to do some beach combing before getting on the the Big Carp River Trail. We will hike on that trail to the Lake of the Clouds and then get onto the North Mirror Lake Trail to see Mirror Lake. From there, we continue onto the Little Carp River Trail, past Lily Pond, and, eventually, make our way back to the trailhead parking area. We plan to leave after breakfast on Monday morning and then make the five hour drive back [home].

We plan to hike about six hours a day with a big break every two hours. We'll see how that pans out but we're optimistic. We plan to take tons of pictures and make a few video blogs along the way.

P.'s friend Chris (***-***-****) will be checking in on the babies while we are gone. She will be given a list of all your numbers in case she needs to reach you for whatever reason. Also, the number for the ranger station is 906-885-5275. (We like to be prepared.)

We will have our cellphones on us and they will be turned on in case we need to be reached. There's supposed to be good reception in the state park. Isa and I will take turns having our cellphones on throughout the trip. (Isa  ***-***-**** and P. ***-***-****). We also have walkie talkies in case we get separated. We've prepared and practiced for this trip. We plan to have a GREAT time and can't wait to come back and share it with everyone!

Much love,

P. and Isa