Overland trip: CK5 wheels the UP 2016 (trip report and pictures going up!)

[campfire]

That exactly the kind of terrain I'm building mine for. Just have to get my butt in gear. Still have to get my third axle and second tranfer case mounted up....then driveshafts

All of those shots are from last year's trip in the Western U.P. That route would have been 4-5 hours away from you depending on the site. But there are trails that are closer, those are just the ones we chose for that trip. I'm leaning more toward the Munising-->Paradise region this year, but it's just an idea at this point.



And any rig with 3 axles and 2 transfer cases deserves a picture.

 

[campfire]

It is getting close, but as I told dad we're getting the combine out mid summer so it's not a rush job in the last two weeks before harvest. If you set a date l do my absolute best to make it function.

Well, I meant you were getting close to conflicting with the Thresher's Reunion. I personally don't care if it conflicts with actual harvest.


And, yes, there will be a scheduled date. I'm just waiting to see who all is interested so we can work around everyone's schedule.

 

[Overkill6x6]

All of those shots are from last year's trip in the Western U.P. That route would have been 4-5 hours away from you depending on the site. But there are trails that are closer, those are just the ones we chose for that trip. I'm leaning more toward the Munising-->Paradise region this year, but it's just an idea at this point.



And any rig with 3 axles and 2 transfer cases deserves a picture.

Haven't figured out how to do that yet. The only pics I have right now are mock up pics for the axle spacing. But I'll be sure to post some up when she's back in the garage. The holidays kinda killed the momentum

 

[campfire]

Haven't figured out how to do that yet. The only pics I have right now are mock up pics for the axle spacing. But I'll sure to post some up when she's back in the garage. The holidays kinda killed the momentum

What type of rig are you building?

 

[campfire]

Haven't figured out how to do that yet. The only pics I have right now are mock up pics for the axle spacing. But I'll be sure to post some up when she's back in the garage. The holidays kinda killed the momentum

Some folks upload pictures to photobucket (in bulk) and then insert links to them here. I upload my pictures directly by dragging them into the text box while typing my posts. Since you aren't a paying member I think you hafta wait until you have a few posts before you can post pictures. But it's worth a try, and photobucket works regardless of status.

 

[Overkill6x6]

What type of rig are you building?

It started as a 1990 R3500 3+3. The harvesting operation my work hires in had it sitting around for years. Short version is my brother in law bought it, I had to have it, I bought it, then decided it needed two more axles and transfer cases.

 

[Overkill6x6]

All of those shots are from last year's trip in the Western U.P. That route would have been 4-5 hours away from you depending on the site. But there are trails that are closer, those are just the ones we chose for that trip. I'm leaning more toward the Munising-->Paradise region this year, but it's just an idea at this point.



And any rig with 3 axles and 2 transfer cases deserves a picture.

Paradise huh? Drummonds just a bit further

 

[78K30]

It's a little ways for me, but totally worth the trip all the same.

 

[Overkill6x6]

Looking at the sat images the area between munising----->paradise looks pretty cool

 

[campfire]

Paradise huh? Drummonds just a bit further

The U.P. is not a place of many highways. AFAIK I have traveled every mile of state & federal highway in the U.P. West of I-75, excepting some of the Munising-Paradise routes (which is why I put that region forth as an option). But East of the Interstate I have never been. There's not much there, but Drummond is on my list of places to go "someday." The further East/West you go, the less it feels like a local trip. I enjoyed doing 30-50 miles in a day, putting in 250 miles one way to get to the ferry dock means a pile of hours spend mile crunching instead of hanging out and enjoying fellowship in the woods. Worth it? Perhaps, but we can find plenty of stuff to do that cuts off a lot of time for us Western folks.

For the L.P. guys (trolls, all of 'em ), Drummond works out really well.

 

[campfire]

It's a little ways for me, but totally worth the trip all the same.

Taking the West side of Green Bay (the bay, not the city) brings you right past our house. I may well offer to sponsor the first camping site depending on how things go.

 

[campfire]

Looking at the sat images the area between munising----->paradise looks pretty cool

Yeah, it is. Getting up to Superior is my goal. The more time spent along the coast, the better. Given that all 3 of the interested people are from the West side gives incentive to shift the route closer to our end of the peninsula.

Munising means Pictured Rocks and waterfalls.

Paradise gets you out to Whitefish Point.

And more waterfalls

I haven't been up to Au Sable Point or the Log Slide, so those are on my list.

 

[campfire]

It's a little ways for me, but totally worth the trip all the same.

But think about how much gas money you'll save by bringing the 2500HD!

 

[78K30]

But think about how much gas money you'll save by bringing the 2500HD!

It does get 17+ Mpg, have cruise control, AC, and comfy seats which is likely better than anything else I'll have by then If the Jeep is in shape by then it'll likely get the nod. Being able to store everything inside and dry is a huge benefit as you've found in the past using the K10.

 

[campfire]

It does get 17+ Mpg, have cruise control, AC, and comfy seats which is likely better than anything else I'll have by then If the Jeep is in shape by then it'll likely get the nod. Being able to store everything inside and dry is a huge benefit as you've found in the past using the K10.

True dat. You'd almost think the coast is a wet place.

I will say this, the problem with the K10 was mostly that I got caught by a surprise storm the night before the trip, before I put on my tarp. Also, I should have taken the sideboards off so I could dome the tent instead of trying to haphazardly shove the tarp underneath the sideboards (causing water to pool on the tarp the first couple of days). Overall, the tarp worked pretty well despite my incompetence.

And if I had started with it properly tarped up everything would have stayed dry. I still would have had the issues of tenting in the rain, but starting with dry equipment would have meant that only the tent itself got wet. As it were, starting with lots of soggy stuff meant that water got carried INTO the tent and that several critical things didn't stay dry like they were supposed to (MatchesMatchesMatches). We could go back out there with our newfound wisdom and have a much drier week this time.


I guess the moral of the story is plan for rain and get some GOOD totes (2 or 3 of our totes also got caught out in the rain on night zero, but were completely dry inside, while several weren't so waterproof).

Oh, and don't trust the lying weatherman!

 

[Overkill6x6]

Yeah, it is. Getting up to Superior is my goal. The more time spent along the coast, the better. Given that all 3 of the interested people are from the West side gives incentive to shift the route closer to our end of the peninsula.

Munising means Pictured Rocks and waterfalls.

Paradise gets you out to Whitefish Point.

And more waterfalls

I haven't been up to Au Sable Point or the Log Slide, so those are on my list.

Is the Marquette-manistique route basically grade riding? thought it might break up the highway miles on the way up

 

[Blue85]

For some folks, the schools starting up is a deal-breaker for late August.

There are many more miles of forest roads, rail beds and 2-tracks in the UP than blacktop. If you're headed through the Manistique area I can recommend some routes North. Exploring is fun but it's likely to chew up a lot of your day just poking around, so knowing sure routes makes all the difference when there's a schedule.

I'm never going to say for sure that I can't make an August run, I just have wait and see how things are going closer to that time since I have the other plans this year. I mean I didn't know what I could do last year and was in the UP 5 times.

 

[campfire]

For some folks, the schools starting up is a deal-breaker for late August.

There are many more miles of forest roads, rail beds and 2-tracks in the UP than blacktop. If you're headed through the Manistique area I can recommend some routes North. Exploring is fun but it's likely to chew up a lot of your day just poking around, so knowing sure routes makes all the difference when there's a schedule.

I'm never going to say for sure that I can't make an August run, I just have wait and see how things are going closer to that time since I have the other plans this year. I mean I didn't know what I could do last year and was in the UP 5 times.

10-4, Luke. I'll want some route guidance when the time comes, but we'll have fun whether you can swing it this year or not.

 

[78K30]

Tail end of July could also work for me, it'll be a bit hotter but not the end of the world. And it'll be farther away from the start of school and old threshers.

 

[campfire]

Is the Marquette-manistique route basically grade riding? thought it might break up the highway miles on the way up

It can be either way. There are no big roads running between them (no surprise), but you can choose between 2-lane or gravel or logging trail without any difficulty. We tested out this idea when we came to rescue Luke just North of Manistique. This is CR448 heading Northeast from Hiawatha, hitting M-28 dead in the middle of the Seney Stretch.

And then we turned off CR448 onto the Hickey Truck Trail.

Either route should get you back out to civilization, it comes down to preference. The speed was a lot lower out there, though, so if you were to trail your way to Drummond you wouldn't have near as much time out there.