Backpack trip

[tspeth111]

We doing a backpack trip the second week in January… Does anybody have any suggestions…places to stay, eat, drink, mileage between stops, things we must see, what to avoid?

We are dropping in Eagle River Wi Sunday Am and heading west to Cable Wi.
Day 2 we are heading to Copper Harbor MI
Day 3 we are heading to silver city
Day 4 back to Eagle River

Thanks
Tom

 

[rp7x]

back packing

day 2 will be a long one

 

[techsledder]

...

 

[tspeth111]

Day 2 will be about 280 miles???

Day 2 will be about 280 miles???

We doing a backpack trip the second week in January… Does anybody have any suggestions…places to stay, eat, drink, mileage between stops, things we must see, what to avoid?

We are dropping in Eagle River Wi Sunday Am and heading west to Cable Wi.
Day 2 we are heading to Copper Harbor MI
Day 3 we are heading to silver city
Day 4 back to Eagle River

Thanks
Tom

day 2 will be a long one

 

[tspeth111]

Your point is a good one…but we watch the weather closely and go where the snow is.

 

[techsledder]

I agree... Day two will be a long poke...

 

[maddog24]

I agree, Day 2 is a major stretch!!

 

[mride460]

You will be fine on day 2!!! My group backpacks the UP all the time. Our trips start in St. Ignace and we run no less than 300 miles everyday. Get on the trail early (7-730) and you can really pile on the miles before most guys are done screwing around with breakfast.
Most days we hit the trail at 630 and have 200+ miles on before we stop for lunch!!!
Have fun and be safe!!

 

[tspeth111]

Does anybody have any idea on miles from Cable area to Copper Harbor?
mride460
We don’t worry about making it to a certain place. If we need to stop for the night we stop where we are.
A couple of years ago we dropped in Curtis and went to Copper Harbor and back it was about 950 miles in 4 days. We try to average 250 miles a day. But we are all in our mid 40s now and getting 300+ miles in a day maybe but not 2 days in a row.
Last year we dropped in Minocqua WI and went to copper Harbor. It was 45 degrees one day… Great trip though…you always have that high temp issue to deal with but you just have to be flexible.
What some trips you have taken?

 

[samc]

Day tow will be a solid 300 and time wise, you'll be moving t get there.

 

[rp7x]

tag along

i'd ride from cable to twinn lakes with ya

 

[yamalaris]

My buds and I have made the 300 mile Copper Harbor Run a few times.
I strongly recommend a massage when you get there that and a hot tub will melt the days ride away in no time. Have fun you only live once!

 

[fire126]

You should not have a problem at all. Start early and enjoy the ride.

 

[limey]

Day 2 will be a very long day. It is about 300 miles from Cable to Copper Harbor and the trails from Cable to Hurley are twisty and not like the wide open trails in the U.P. I ride 300 mile days but I wouldn't want to ride from Cable to Copper Harbor.

You should think about riding more in the U.P. and heading a bit more east. Maybe something like this:
day 1: Eagle River to Silver City
day 2: Silver City to Copper Harbor
day 3: Copper Harbor to Ishpeming
day 4: Ishpeming to Eagle River

 

[mride460]

Does anybody have any idea on miles from Cable area to Copper Harbor?
mride460
We don’t worry about making it to a certain place. If we need to stop for the night we stop where we are.
A couple of years ago we dropped in Curtis and went to Copper Harbor and back it was about 950 miles in 4 days. We try to average 250 miles a day. But we are all in our mid 40s now and getting 300+ miles in a day maybe but not 2 days in a row.
Last year we dropped in Minocqua WI and went to copper Harbor. It was 45 degrees one day… Great trip though…you always have that high temp issue to deal with but you just have to be flexible.
What some trips you have taken?

Sorry I don't know the milage you are asking about. We did a few big mile backpack trips last season. One we left St. Ignace about noon on a tuesday. Went up thru Newberry to Grand Marais across and down thru shingleton and west to stay the night at the buckhorn near Wetmore. Got there about dinner time, about 200 miles. Wednesday we headed west to Bergland and then north. Went to hopper harbor then down to Mohawk to stay the night at the white house motel. Got there about 4pm, about 350 miles. Stayed in Mohawk thursday night also. We have a friend that owns a body shop in Calumet and his boy took us out off trail riding for the day. We only did 125 miles but after digging 7 trail sleds out of 6 foot deep snow a few times it sure was a work out!!! Left Mohawk friday morning and headed down thru Silver City and the porkies. Stopped in for a few pops at Bingos then on to stay Friday night in Hurley. Friday was a good 250 mile day perfect conditions the whole way. A good time was had in Hurley on Friday night.
Saturday we headed south and east thru Merinesco and Watersmeet, ended up eating lunch in Crystal Falls. Then headed up to Gwinn and jumped back on trail 8 and ended up staying back at the buckhorn Saturday night. Saturday was a heck of a ride also, almost 350 miles. Sunday was a nice easy tool back to St. Ignace. When it was all said and done we rode just under 1500 miles in 5 1/2 days.
Our group was 7 guys. Im the youngest at 35 the oldest being 74 and the majority being 50 somethings!! lol. It was a lot of fun and everone got home safe and we saw a lot of great country..

 

[se3racing]

In your carrying 2 1/2 gallon gas tanks, carry oil in at least one of them.

 

[tspeth111]

The most amazing thing is you do that many miles with 7 guys. We have been to all the places you talk about but 330 miles is our record for one day. We have found 4 guys to be a good number for us. A couple things we do differently is we always stay one night in Copper Harbor, we all love it up there and it has become kind of a tradition. We always start on Saturday with only a few miles less than 100 and take off on Sunday and come home on Thursday. We like to avoid the weekend traffic and bumps. Although we have done Hurley on a Saturday night and that was a good time.
Do you guys reserve hotels in advance? Do all of you have newer sleds? Do any of you rent? Do you kitty everything?

 

[mride460]

The most amazing thing is you do that many miles with 7 guys. We have been to all the places you talk about but 330 miles is our record for one day. We have found 4 guys to be a good number for us. A couple things we do differently is we always stay one night in Copper Harbor, we all love it up there and it has become kind of a tradition. We always start on Saturday with only a few miles less than 100 and take off on Sunday and come home on Thursday. We like to avoid the weekend traffic and bumps. Although we have done Hurley on a Saturday night and that was a good time.
Do you guys reserve hotels in advance? Do all of you have newer sleds? Do any of you rent? Do you kitty everything?

It takes a good group of guys who can put their trust into a system of riding that the older guys have done for years, in order to pile the miles on like we do. of course, four guys is easier to do then seven but having seven friends on a long trip is more fun for me. You know the old saying "the more the merrier".
No we don't reserve rooms anywhere. We just ride till almost dark then start looking. If one town is full we ride onto the next. One time it was late and we really wanted to stay in Big Bay but there were no rooms. We ended up sleeping on the barmaids basement floor for 50 bucks!! We normally kitty the rooms and we put 4 sometimes 5 in a room. Its tight but we also only spend about $15 a night each for lodging. The rest of the stuff we go it alone. Some of us eat and drink more then others. lol
I would have to say all of our machines are 2004 or newer. Some of us have rented sleds to finish a trip when our sleds have burned down or something, but we all start the trips on our own machines..
Its a heck of a lot of fun and the riding is great, but the night life and the laughs are a big part of it to. We don't tend to drink while riding, we get more miles on by staying sober. But once we find a room for the night we can get pretty crazy. Thats why the buckhorn, the mariner north and the white house are all great places to stay because they all have bars within walking distance..
MR

 

[snoflies]

This sounds like a great trip that will be filled with lots of adventure! I wish that my friends would be more open to this type of trip. Ride safe and let us know how it goes.

 

[swanee]

On day 2 if you make it to Copper Harbor stay at the Mariner. You can get a great meal there as well as a message ($1/minute). The drinks and locals are great as well. Or if you want a more intimate experience go to Lac Labelle Lodge instead of Copper Harbor. You will have the bar almost to yourself and they have great food as well. If your there on (I think) Wednesdays you can play the radio trivia night game with the rest of the bar-lots of fun! Try to do this trip during the week as the weekend warriors usually ruin the trails. Not fun when the Keewanaw groomer is broken down. I have included this route on my backpack trip for the past several years. Oh and if time is of the essence avoid the Dreamland Trail!

Oh and pack lightly, you don't need much. And don't forget your shoes.