Great Lakes and the Wilderness

[Wally]

Hello everybody, thought I'd come and see if anybody could drop some knowledge on us.

Me and kate are thinking of taking a month out and coming to the mid-west, possibly in march or april. Ideally we'd be going to Oregon, but it's too much to travel there, we're not even sure we can afford the mid-west.

Anyway, what we want to know is about the National Parks, forests and mountains. Our plan is to spend a week or so in a city, and then disappear hiking, trekking, camping etc in as isolated places as possible. So, some questions.

Does anyone know of any particular places? Info could include the likelihood of getting away with free camping? The likelihood of freezing to death? The possibility that there are yurts/barns to rent for cheap? Do any of you Chicago or Milwaukee people go out there much? What kind of gear ie: boots, coats, do you reckon we'd need. Where are we going to be able to go where we could go days without running into anyone (are there any such places?) If this time of year is frozen dead bodies get found in forest type of weather, is September October any better?

ta

[Ignatius]

You'll need some real serious gear to go camping in the midwest at this time of year, especially if you're outside for days at a time.

[Thermofusion]

My guess is you're gonna freeze your nuts off. Also good luck finding mountains in the midwest.

[YojimboMonkey]

It has been unseasonably warm here recently. I haven't heard one person make the stupid "where's your precious global warming now al gore????" joke or any of its many variants yet this winter. But this is not likely to last. Still, it's 46 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now, and sunny. 

I don't know much about camping opportunities in the area though. The only camping I've done recently has been with my kids' boy scout troop, where I'm basically just along for the ride. 

Thermo is absolutely correct about mountains btw.

[Nick Ink]

Wally!

    

[justinh]

Hey Wally!

I would recommend the Upper Peninsula of Michigan--Porcupine Mountains, lots of forests, Lake Superior, Keewenaw peninsula (a peninsula attached to a peninsula!).  Of course we're not talking mountains of Colorado (or even Peak District) stature--but they are quite nice looking nevertheless.

Another good option would be the north shore of lake Superior in Minnesota--it's a bit touristy, but you do have the Sawtooth Mountains, heaps of forests, lakes, and lots of state parks lining the shore.  There's also the Boundary Waters national park on the border with Canada a bit further up the road.   You can stop by in Minneapolis (which is amazing, of course) and Duluth (say hi to Low). 

Also, yeah, it's almost certainly going to be cold as hell. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine_Mountains
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyageurs_National_Park
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Shore_(Lake_Superior)

[elpollodiablo]

Hi Dom!

[dieblucasdie]

DOM!

[milly balgeary]

coming from across the pond and disappearing into midwestern wilderness to tough it... sounds like a horror film waiting to happen.

[clare]

Wally!

Bloke talks about the north shore of Lake Superior all the time, so another vote for that from me.

[jebreject]

Yeah, dude, Justin knows what he's talking about here. Are you guys going to be renting a car while here, or planning on taking the Greyhound, or what? Because that would greatly affect where you're going as well.

[Wally]

EVERYBODY!

Cheers Justin. Massively helpful.

We'll probably be hitching, trekking and occasionally greyhounding. We hadn't talked about renting a car, but it's worth thinking about and we'll look into prices.

Hope everyones keeping their hat on and shit. Nice to see so many of you are still alive and kicking.

[elpollodiablo]

What about the Appalachian Trail?

[Maaik]

What about the Appalachian Trail?

Also a good idea.

[Wally]

More questions- We're talking about buying a car or van, and then selling it before we leave. Does anyone have any experience of doing this, and Jeb do you know anyone who'd be able to give us a hand with the buying ie: Someone who knows their way around an engine.
And what issues might we have with getting insurance and break down cover?

We're also talking about coming in June now as there's a eco-defence gathering in colorado we'd both like to check out.

cheers ma dears

[jebreject]

I don't know how feasible such a plan would be. In my experience, both buying a selling a car tends to be a huge pain in the ass and a long, annoying process, and it's nowhere near as simple as just handing the current owner some money and then being on your way if you want to actually be street legal. You also have to deal with registration, getting proof of insurance, etc. etc. Also I'm not sure how it would work buying a car in the US without having a US-issued driver's license. Beyond all that, given the current economy, trying to sell a car is incredibly difficult. I feel like even if you were able to easily and successfuly purchase a car that you are able to legally drive around, trying to unload it again, especially in a short time frame, seems highly unlikely.

As for insurance, auto insurance is required by most states, so that's a whole other process you'd have to go through, and to my knowledge you can't really just get insurance for like, one month or whatever.

Though it would be more expensive, it seems like renting a car would be the way to go.

It is of course possible that I am wrong about all or much of this, so if anyone disagrees, do chime in.

[bethany_m]

Dom, depending on what part of Colorado you are going to, I have the most awesome people I can hook you up with for potential places to stay/advice on hiking around/where the cool wild hot springs are.  June would be a better time to go to the Great Lakes, but Colorado is seriously fucking beautiful and amazing.  I went out to visit them last July and rented a car for a week for about $300, just for kind of a baseline on that. 

These people also bought a box truck in Maine, moved all their stuff to Colorado in it, and then sold it for more than they bought it for.  So maybe they have advice on that too?

[justinh]

I agree with Jeb on buying/selling car logistics. 

However, I would add that lots of Aussies have told me that buying and then selling a car is exactly how they got around the states.   

[FreddyKnuckles]

WALSTROM AIRFORCE BASE

Duderonomy, I would recommend an early september trip to the wilds, if you really wanna enjoy yourself. 

[Chet]

which is the greatest of great lakes

[Ignatius]

Lake Bell

[jebreject]

which is the greatest of great lakes

Um, Superior. Obviously. It's in the damn name.