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Post by Coolkat on Mar 15, 2018 4:33:42 GMT -8
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littlerunneryogi
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When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.
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Post by littlerunneryogi on Mar 15, 2018 7:55:32 GMT -8
I hadn't seen this update. I was out there in October and didn't see a human. Saw a bear and a lot of tracks, but no people. I think it definitely depends on the time of year you go. I typically go in mid-October and I almost never see more than a handful of people.
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Post by Coolkat on Mar 15, 2018 8:44:34 GMT -8
I typically go in mid-October and I almost never see more than a handful of people. I'm thinking that you're right about that. I'm guessing though that by mid october the fall colors are mostly gone? |
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RedDoug
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Post by RedDoug on Mar 15, 2018 9:21:28 GMT -8
The biggest majority of that 300k drive up to the overlook of Lake of the Clouds.
The backcountry cabins are very popular, too.
It has been some time since I have been to the Porkies, but always a great place to bp. But it sure is getting expensive. Is that $15 per night x the number of nights? Very expensive.
The NCT (North Country Trail) runs through the Porkies. I have done the western end of the NCT. Some pretty good hiking, for sure!
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driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Mar 15, 2018 9:32:30 GMT -8
I'm guessing though that by mid october the fall colors are mostly gone? I've most often the first full weekend in October, and the colors are usually approaching peak at that time. The only crowded backcountry campsite area I've encountered was on the stretch along the Superior shoreline between the Big and Little Carp rivers. That occasion might have been an exception, as there were a couple very large groups. I haven't gone Columbus Day weekend because I assume there would be more people. The weekend after that is past mid-October, which is probably getting late for fall color (though I haven't been there at that time). Forests close to the lake tend to have a slightly later fall color schedule than further inland. |
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Post by Coolkat on Mar 15, 2018 10:12:57 GMT -8
Is that $15 per night x the number of nights? Very expensive. I agree, which is why I haven't bothered with making my way up & over there yet. Too many other places that are free or close to it. |
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RedDoug
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Post by RedDoug on Mar 15, 2018 20:12:45 GMT -8
I have covered all of the Porkies. All the main trails an some off trail stuff. Everyone in the mid-west should bp the Porkies at least once.
Min of 5days/4nights. Bears are habituated to humans and can be a problem. either hang the food bag well, or use a bear canister.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Mar 15, 2018 21:52:16 GMT -8
The last time I was there, I didn't see anything but mosquitoes.
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Post by Coolkat on Sept 18, 2022 3:43:46 GMT -8
As a Michigander I'm a bit ashamed to say that I've never been there but that is about to change in the first week of October. A little photography and looking for Yooperlites. Hope the weather holds out. |
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Sept 18, 2022 7:11:34 GMT -8
As a Michigander I'm a bit ashamed to say that I've never been there but that is about to change in the first week of October. A little photography and looking for Yooperlites. Hope the weather holds out. I love the Porkies, though it's been 9 years since my last visit. I recommend the "grand loop" counter-clockwise. Day 1 from LotC overlook take Big Carp down to Lake Superior. Several good campsites between the Big Carp & Little Carp trails. Day 2 Little Carp to Mirror Lake. Day 3 Government Peak to a campsite up on the east end of the Escarpment. Day 4 you'll have four miles of some of the best scenery the upper Midwest has to offer, back to LotC. I also highly recommend the two mile loop at the west end of the park around three major waterfalls. Be sure to follow the river to its outlet on Lake Superior. However you spend your time there, I wish you good weather and peak color. |
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 18, 2022 7:32:03 GMT -8
I have to laugh a bit that we all think$15/night is a lot of money, given that you can’t get a front-country campsite for so little most places. But we are used to the wilderness being free. Trouble is, when the space is small and the people are many, you have to regulate. And as soon as you need that, you have expenses. Makes sense that the users help pay for the extra costs of regulating the use.
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Post by Coolkat on Sept 18, 2022 8:06:38 GMT -8
I have to laugh a bit that we all think$15/night is a lot of money, given that you can’t get a front-country campsite for so little most places What you say is correct but I so rarely have to pay per/night for my hikes that it always surprises me when I do have to pay. Earlier this month because of a botched hike in PA I had to stay at rustic campsite in a PA state park. I about choked when I found it that it wad $31.00 after extra fees. |
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Oct 3, 2022 4:55:27 GMT -8
I have to laugh a bit that we all think$15/night is a lot of money, given that you can’t get a front-country campsite for so little most places. I think about how much a vacation staying in hotels/motels would cost and then $15/night seems like a bargain. Also it really isn't just a night you are paying for. It is also a day of activities in a beautiful place. If a small fee helps reduce crowds and fund conservation maybe you shouldn't look at as a bad thing. Plus numbers of people paying reflects on usage and likely the budgets of outdoor spaces that helps protect them. Maybe I am just looking at rationalizations to accept that there are too many people in the world and growing. Use fees will be more common going forward. |
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 3, 2022 8:29:17 GMT -8
If a small fee helps reduce crowds and fund conservation maybe you shouldn't look at as a bad thing. Plus numbers of people paying reflects on usage and likely the budgets of outdoor spaces that helps protect them. I generally feel that way. I am aware that fees have more of an impact on lower-income people, but when they are this low, I have to think that's kind of bogus. It's pretty easy to cut out $15 of other costs on a trip. Anyway, backpacking is already kind of not an activity for the truly poor, since they can't afford the gear (though I recall how we pulled it off a couple of times when I was a kid. Pretty marginal stuff, and we had to rent at least one pack, so that probably cost far more than the equivalent of $15 today). |
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Oct 12, 2022 16:45:20 GMT -8
I’m opposed to fees being used as a visitor volume regulator but as a method of recovering the extra costs of a service such as a reservation (for extra. recreation dot gov as a separate service provider charges parks for processing reservations, that’s where some fees will come from) or developed campground maintenance such as trash removal and bathroom cleaning as a user fee for services rendered I can accept them.
And the point is a good one that compared to any adjacent commercial lodging the price is a complete bargain. my national forest campsite even at the non discount $20 was a tenth of a local motel.
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